Brian Wilson is an Emmy-winning filmmaker who got his start in film and video in the late ‘90s, editing biographical episodes for Lifetime Television’s Intimate Portraits, news and cultural reports for Canal Plus Spain, and art films for gallery exhibition. He graduated from Brown University with a degree in Comparative Literature and History and is based in Brooklyn. 

The Story of Plastic, the 2019 feature documentary addressing the global plastic crisis that Brian co-wrote and co-edited, for which he and others were awarded the Emmy for Outstanding Documentary Writing, aired on Discovery Channel and continues to screen and raise awareness internationally. The film is notable for its focus on the fracking boom as a cause of the plastic crisis, for emphasizing the harmful upstream effects of plastic production along with the more commonly highlighted downstream effects, for calling for a circular, reuse economy as a solution to the plastic crisis, and for highlighting the urgency of requiring the plastics and oil and gas industries to pay for and restrict the costs they currently impose on society. The Story of Plastic received numerous awards and nominations in addition to its Emmy win, including nominations for the Griersons and the Environmental Media Awards.

2014 feature documentary A Will for the Woods, which Brian co-directed and co-edited, tells the story of a North Carolina man with terminal lymphoma who is determined to receive a natural burial and help save a tract of local woods from being clear-cut. A Will for the Woods won multiple awards on the festival circuit (including two at the prestigious Full Frame Documentary Film Festival), aired on PBS and World Channel stations throughout the US, and continues to inspire holistic approaches to the end of life that help restore and maintain natural areas.

Through his editing and writing on a large number of shorter films, Brian has been honored to be part of helping journalists in Afghanistan with the Committee to Protect Journalists; safeguarding bighorn sheep populations with Wild Sheep Foundation; supporting NYC public school children with Publicolor; pushing back against the plastic industry buildout in the Gulf Coast and Ohio River Valley with Peak Plastic Foundation; spreading the word that we have a plastic packaging crisis, not a recycling crisis, with Alliance of Mission-Based Recyclers; shining a light on corporate pollution in North Carolina with Center for Environmental Health; and many other endeavors. 

Passionate about justice for all beings, as well as wilderness and its preservation, Brian is particularly drawn to work in these areas. He is fascinated by the process of exploration and distillation inherent in documentary editing, and strives to bring empathy, clarity, and wonder to every project. Brian’s other interests include music, dance, deejaying, language, gardening with indigenous plants, transportation alternatives, and exploring.