BESS KARGMAN is a Producer’s Guild Award Winning, two-time Emmy Award nominated director with a body of critically acclaimed work that has spanned 15 years. Her first film, the award-winning dance documentary FIRST POSITION, is a showcase of awe-inspiring talent, tenacity and passion. The film paints a thrilling portrait of gifted young dance stars determined to succeed against all odds. The documentary premiered at the Toronto International Film Festival in 2011 and then was released theatrically worldwide. First Position is now being adapted into a musical.
In the world of sports, Kargman has directed the Tribeca Film Festival Jury Prize winning film COACH, produced by ESPN FILMS for its 30 FOR 30 shorts series and EP’d by Whoopi Goldberg. This 2013 film tells the remarkable story of Vivian Stringer, head coach of the Rutgers University women’s basketball team. Despite enormous personal tragedies, Coach Stringer’s accomplishments with three top NCAA teams,
and the dignity with which she conducted herself when confronted with racism and sexism, earned her entry into the Basketball Hall of Fame (the same year as Michael Jordan). COACH was nominated for a Sports Emmy in 2014.
Kargman also directed, produced and EP’d the 2020 PGA Award-winning, Sports Emmy nominated doc series DEFYING GRAVITY: The Untold Story of Women’s Gymnastics. This 6-part Youtube Originals series goes beyond the headlines to explore women’s artistic gymnastics through the voices and stories of its greatest icons — and the next generation hoping to join their ranks in the lead up to the Tokyo Olympic Games.
Kargman has just completed, as both Director and Producer, the award winning, 2024 SXSW feature length documentary DIANE WARREN: RELENTLESS, about the life and career of one of the most unique and prolific songwriters of our time, Diane Warren. Shot over the course of nearly three years, the film explores Warren’s notoriously private creative process and delves into topics that reveal surprising storylines about her life and career.
Bess also directs branded content and commercials for major companies and organizations around the world. Additional directing credits include ESPN’s “Sneaker Center,” the dance docu-series “Strictly Ballet” for Teen Vogue, a soccer documentary short about Cubo Torres for Major League Soccer’s YouTube channel, and she has been a contributing producer for segments on NPR and NBC Olympics. She served as an American Film Showcase Fellow in Panama (sponsored by the U.S. Department of State) and has been recognized by SHOOT Magazine as a “Director To Watch.” Kargman was also named to DOC NYC’s “40 Under 40” list of independent filmmakers in 2019. She holds degrees from Amherst College and Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism. Though she has spent many years living in Los Angeles and New York City, Kargman is a proud born-and-raised Bostonian.
