Peter Olivera Nicks (born May 2, 1968) is an American film director, producer and writer. He began his career in television and served as co-producer and editor of the 2006 episode "Blame Somebody Else" of PBS series AIR: America's Investigative Reports. The episode received an Emmy Award in 2007 for Outstanding Feature Story in a News Magazine,[1] for its exposure of the pipeline of illegal labor human trafficking during the Iraq War.[2]
He directed the 2012 documentary film The Waiting Room. It follows the life and times of patients, doctors, and staff at Highland Hospital, a safety-net hospital in Oakland, California.[3]
In 2015, Nicks received a United States Artists (USA) fellowship.[4]
In 2017, he released The Force, a documentary about reform measures at the Oakland Police Department.[5]
In January 2021, the third in his planned trilogy about Oakland public institutions, Homeroom (2021 film), received its world premiere at the online Sundance Film Festival.[5] The film is a documentary following the Oakland High School class of 2020 through their senior year. The 2019-2020 year started normally, with students focusing on education as well as activism for social justice. But it took an unexpected turn when the Covid-19 pandemic forced the students into isolation, with virtual classes and no graduation ceremony.[6]
Nicks next directed Stephen Curry: Underrated, which premiered at the 2023 Sundance Film Festival.[7]