Ivy Meeropol

Ivy Meeropol (born October 13, 1968) is a director and producer of documentaries for film and television, known for Indian Point and Heir to an Execution. She is the daughter of Michael Meeropol and Ann Karus Meeropol and granddaughter of Julius and Ethel Rosenberg, and adoptive granddaughter of Abel Meeropol (pen name: Lewis Allan), author of "Strange Fruit" and "The House I Live In". A graduate of Sarah Lawrence College, she served as a legislative aide to Congressman Harry Johnston.[1]

Career

Meeropol worked as a speechwriter and legislative aide to Congressman Harry Johnston of Florida, and then began a career as a journalist, publishing articles in The New York Times, O, The Oprah Magazine, Premiere, Nest, Paper, Black Book Magazine, and Provincetown Arts Magazine, where she was also the fiction editor.[2]

Meeropol produced her film, Heir to an Execution, to explore her family's conflicted views of the Rosenbergs' trial and subsequent execution. The film was featured at the Sundance Film Festival and was shortlisted for an Academy Award.[3][2] In a 2004 interview with FF2 Media's Jan Huttner, Meeropol commented on the connection between the events in the film and the then-current Bush administration:

The McCarthy era was all about quashing dissent in the name of national security, and that's what we're doing today. There were massive, peaceful marches in the period leading up to the start of the Iraq War, but the protesters were told that they were "unpatriotic." You don't support the troops if you have any questions for the government? This country is supposed to be about encouraging dissent; that's the beauty of democracy.[4]

Ivy Meeropol also directed a six-part documentary series for the Sundance Channel entitled The Hill. It focused on the work of four young staff members at the office of congressman Robert Wexler as they responded to his electoral defeat in the 2004 presidential election. The documentary aired on the Sundance Channel in August and September 2006.

In 2013 Meeropol was a Sundance Institute Fellow, and was awarded grants from the Sundance Documentary Fund, The NY State Council for the Arts, and The MacArthur Foundation.[2]

In 2016, Meeropol directed and produced the documentary film, Indian Point. The film explores the issues surrounding the use of nuclear energy by looking at the Indian Point Energy Center, located just 35 miles from the heart of New York City.[5][6]

In 2019, Meeropol revisited the story of her grandparents to inquire into the man who prosecuted them, Roy Cohn. She directed and produced Bully. Coward. Victim. The Story of Roy Cohn. In an interview with Women and Hollywood, Meeropol pointed out the urgency of the Roy Cohn story in light of the Trump administration:

I want people to understand why Donald Trump’s relationship with Cohn is critically important, and help audiences to gain a deeper insight into how Cohn helped set Trump on a path that reverberates today. This film is my way of impressing upon audiences that the past is very much present, and we would be wise not to forget how we got here.[7]

In 2023, Meeropol directed After the Bite for HBO, a documentary revolving around the local community in Cape Cod, grappling with the sightings of sharks and the science behind their appearance.[8][9]

Personal life

Meeropol lives in the Hudson Valley with her husband, production designer Thomas Ambrose, and their two children.[2]

Filmography

Year Title Producer Director Notes
2004 Heir to an Execution Yes Yes Cinematographer. Also appears in the documentary.
2006 The Hill Yes Yes Documentary TV series.
2015 Indian Point Yes Yes Writer.
2017 THE END: Inside the Last Days of the Obama White House Yes No Senior producer.
2019 Museum Town Yes No
2019 Bully. Coward. Victim. The Story of Roy Cohn Yes Yes
2023 After the Bite Yes Yes

Notes

  1. ^ "Camera follows staffers' lives on and off 'The Hill'". Los Angeles Times. 2006-08-21. Retrieved 2020-05-18.
  2. ^ a b c d "Meeropol, Ivy". Environmental Film Festival. Retrieved 2020-05-18.
  3. ^ "Heir to an Execution". www.sundance.org. Retrieved 2020-05-18.[permanent dead link‍]
  4. ^ Huttner, Jan (September 17, 2004). "Jan Chats with Ivy Meeropol About 'Heir to an Execution'". FF2 Media. Retrieved May 18, 2020.
  5. ^ Turan, Kenneth (21 July 2016). "Review 'Indian Point' sagely examines the nuclear power debate from all sides". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved 18 February 2017.
  6. ^ Jaworowski, Ken (7 July 2016). "Review: Is the Indian Point Nuclear Plant Safe? Nobody Knows". The New York Times. The New York Times. Retrieved 18 February 2017.
  7. ^ "NYFF 2019 Women Directors: Meet Ivy Meeropol – "Bully. Coward. Victim. The Story of Roy Cohn"". womenandhollywood.com. Retrieved 2020-05-18.
  8. ^ Pederson, Erik (May 27, 2021). "Pic About Great White Shark Surge Off Cape Cod Lurking At HBO Documentary Films; Ivy Meeropol Directing". Deadline Hollywood. Retrieved July 26, 2023.
  9. ^ Lattanzio, Ryan (July 18, 2023). "HBO's 'After the Bite' Is a Smart Doc Complement to Shark Week — Watch the Trailer". IndieWire. Retrieved July 26, 2023.