About Us

Susan Lacy is most well known for creating American Masters, the acclaimed PBS biography series profiling artists & visionaries who have helped shape our country’s culture. Susan created the series in 1986 and went on to serve as its Executive Producer for nearly 30 years.

American Masters has garnered unprecedented awards over the years – Susan earned the series 71 Emmy nominations and 28 wins, including a remarkable 10 for Outstanding Non-Fiction Series, in addition to 12 Peabody awards, 3 Grammy awards and a nomination, and an Academy award and 4 nominations.

Susan has also directed multiple award-winning films for the series: Inventing David Geffen, Judy Garland: By Myself, Joni Mitchell: A Woman of Heart and Mind, Leonard Bernstein: Reaching for the Note, Lena Horne: In Her Own Voice, Rod Serling: Submitted for Your Approval. She produced the American Masters films Paul Simon: Born at the Right Time, LennoNYC, and No Direction Home: Bob Dylan.

Susan has received lifetime achievement awards from CINE and the Lincoln Center Institute for the Arts. She served on Television Academy’s governors board for two terms and is currently a member of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences.

In 2013, Susan began a new chapter in her long and celebrated career - she made the move from public television to independent filmmaking, with the formation of her own company, Pentimento Productions. 

Susan has most recently directed & produced Spielberg, Jane Fonda in Five Acts, Very Ralph, and executive produced The Janes, all for HBO Documentary Films. Spielberg was the first project in her company’s exclusive multi-picture deal with HBO. The film had its world premiere at the New York Film Festival in 2017 and was later nominated for an Emmy. Jane Fonda in Five Acts had its world premiere at Sundance Film Festival in 2018 and its international premiere at Cannes Film Festival. The film was nominated for the 2019 Emmys. Very Ralph had its world premiere at The Metropolitan Museum of Art and aired on HBO in 2019. The Janes had its world premiere at the Sundance Film Festival in 2022 and its broadcast premiere on HBO the same year. The film won "Best Documentary," "Outstanding Social Issue Documentary," and "Outstanding Direction - Documentary" at the 44th News & Documentary Emmys.

Emmy and Peabody award winning producer Jessica Levin has devoted her career to creating high quality non-fiction films, bringing to each new project her passion for music and the arts as well as her seasoned approach to archival material and inventive storytelling. She has collaborated with Susan Lacy on a rich variety of films, including the American Masters documentaries Joni Mitchell: A Woman of Heart and Mind, Judy Garland: By Myself, No Direction Home: Bob Dylan, Annie Leibovitz: Life Through A Lens, LennoNYC, and Inventing David Geffen. Some of Jessica’s earlier producing credits include PBS projects Swingin’ with Duke and The Shakespeare Sessions plus ABC specials Wingspan and The Beatles’ Revolution. As one of Pentimento's principal producers, Jessica most recently produced Spielberg, Jane Fonda in Five Acts, Very Ralph, and The Janes, all for HBO Documentary Films. Spielberg had its world premiere at the New York Film Festival in 2017 and was later nominated for an Emmy. Jane Fonda in Five Acts had its world premiere at the Sundance Film Festival in 2018 and its international premiere at the Cannes Film Festival. The film was nominated for a 2019 Emmy. Very Ralph had its world premiere at The Metropolitan Museum of Art and was released on HBO in 2019. The Janes had its world premiere at the Sundance Film Festival in 2022 and its broadcast premiere on HBO the same year. The film won "Best Documentary," "Outstanding Social Issue Documentary," and "Outstanding Direction - Documentary" at the 44th News & Documentary Emmys. Jessica is based in

Los Angeles, CA.

Emma Pildes is an Emmy award winning filmmaker who directed (together with Tia Lessin) and produced the feature documentary The Janes. The Janes had its world premiere at Sundance Film Festival, its broadcast premiere on HBO, and was shortlisted for an Oscar in 2022. The film won Best Documentary, Outstanding Social Issue Documentary, and Outstanding Direction - Documentary at the 44th News & Documentary Emmy Awards and was nominated for four Critics Choice Awards. 

As one of Pentimento Productions' co-founders and principal producers, Emma produced Spielberg, Jane Fonda in Five Acts, and Very Ralph -- all for HBO Documentary Films. Spielberg had its world premiere at the New York Film Festival in 2017 and Jane Fonda in Five Acts premiered at Sundance Film Festival in 2018 with an international premiere at Cannes Film Festival later that year. Both films were nominated for Emmys in the Outstanding Documentary Or Nonfiction Special category; Jane Fonda in Five Acts also earned an IDA and PGA award nomination. At PBS’ American Masters, Emma helped to produce the Emmy and Peabody-award winning LennoNYC, Emmy-award winning Inventing David Geffen, as well as American Masters: Billie Jean King.

Emma is an Alfred I. duPont–Columbia University Award recipient and Chicken & Egg Project Hatched grantee. Born and raised in Chicago, Emma graduated from Sarah Lawrence College and is based in Brooklyn, NY. She is a member of the Directors Guild of America.