Hilary Klotz Steinman
Independent Documentary Film Producer & Director
Recent Screenings:
-
![]()
Smithsonian National Museum of American History Screening. March 13, 2025.
-
![]()
Smithsonian National Museum of American History Screening. March 13, 2025.
-
![]()
Gallaudet University Screening, Washington DC, March 12, 2025.
-
![]()
Loud Enough - Surviving Justice: International Premeier. FemFest 2025, Tirana, Albania, March 6, 2025.
-
![]()
Loud Enough - Surviving Justice: FemFest Virtual Q&A with Film Director & Participants. March 6, 2025.
Recent Films:
Producer:
Change, Not Charity: The Americans with Disabilities Act
Steward/Gazit Productions for American Experience
National PBS Broadcast: March 25, 2025 9pm EST/8 pm CST
Change, Not Charity: The Americans with Disabilities Act tells the emotional and dramatic story of the decades-long push for equality and accessibility that culminated in the passage of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) in 1990. While curb cuts, ramps at building entrances, and braille on elevator buttons seem commonplace today, they were once the subject of a pitched battle that landed on the steps of Congress. Told through the voices of key participants and witnesses, the film highlights the determined people who literally put their bodies on the line to achieve their goal and change the lives of all Americans. A story of courage and perseverance, the film brings to life one of the great civil rights movements in American history, where ordinary people made their voices heard and Congress responded. A testament to the power of coalition building and bipartisan compromise, the passage of the ADA is a shining example of democracy in action.
Director & Producer:
Loud Enough - Surviving Justice
Engel Entertainment
Loud Enough - Surviving Justice follows the story of Madison Smith, a sexual assault survivor, and her tight-knit family as they fight for justice and systemic change. This intimate, personal film, directed by the Emmy Award-winning producer Hilary Klotz Steinman, reveals the Herculean effort still required for a survivor of sexual violence and their loved ones to hold an attacker and the U.S. judicial system accountable.
Producer:
The Codebreaker
Steward/Gazit Productions
The Codebreaker reveals the remarkable story of Elizebeth Smith Friedman, the groundbreaking cryptanalyst whose contributions to the powerful new science of cryptology laid the foundation for modern codebreaking. Her genius at cracking secret messages and analyzing intelligence brought the mob to their knees in the 1930s and helped destroy a major Nazi spy ring in WWII. Her story was buried for more than half a century, and we are pleased to bring her inspiring life and pioneering work out of the shadows in our documentary.
Producer:
Children of the Inquisition
Lovett Stories & Strategies
Children of the Inquisition is an eye opening reconsideration of history and identity that unearths the long-hidden secrets of what happened to the people forced to convert or flee during the Spanish and Portuguese Inquisitions. Children of the Inquisition takes us on a intimate journey unearthing 500 years of diaspora and hidden history.
Producer:
Death by Design
Ambrica Productions
In an investigation that spans the globe, Death by Design explores the underbelly of the electronics industry and reveals how even the smallest digital devices have deadly environmental and health costs. From the intensely secretive factories in China, to a ravaged New York community and the high tech corridors of Silicon Valley, this bold documentary tells the story of the high tech revolution hidden from most consumers.
Producer:
Going Blind
Steward/Gazit Productions
“Going Blind: Coming Out of the Dark About Vision Loss tells the stories of everyday people and their heroic efforts they make to live in today’s world with vision loss.”
Director & Producer:
Test Tube Babies
Steward/Gazit Productions for American Experience
American Experience presents Test Tube Babies, from filmmakers Chana Gazit and Hilary Klotz Steinman. This one-hour documentary tells the story of doctors, researchers, and hopeful couples who pushed the limits of science and triggered a technological revolution in human reproduction.
Co-Producer:
The Pill
Steward/Gazit Productions for American Experience
“In May 1960, the FDA approved the sale of a pill that arguably would have a greater impact on American culture than any other drug in the nation's history. For women across the country, the contraceptive pill was liberating: it allowed them to pursue careers, fueled the feminist and pro-choice movements and encouraged more open attitudes towards sex.
Among the key players in the development of the drug were two elderly female activists who demanded a contraceptive women could eat like aspirin and then paid for the scientific research; a devout Catholic gynecologist who believed a robust sex life made for a good marriage and argued tirelessly that the Pill was a natural form of birth control; and a brilliant biologist who bullied a pharmaceutical company into risking a possibly crippling boycott to develop this revolutionary contraceptive. In describing the obstacles they all hurdled, The Pill presents a compelling account of a society in transition.
About Hilary
Hilary Klotz Steinman is an Emmy award-winning independent documentary film producer and director and has been producing historical and vérité documentary films for over 25 years, with a focus on women’s history and the impact of technology on American lives. Her work has been featured on PBS, NBC, MSNBC, CNBC, at the Sundance Film Festival, the New York Historical Society and in theaters.
Hilary recently worked with director Jim LeBrecht(Crip Camp) to produced Change, Not Charity: The Americans with Disabilities Act for the PBS history series, American Experience. The film tells the emotional and dramatic story of the decades-long push for equality and accessibility that culminated in the passage of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) in 1990. A story of courage and perseverance, the film brings to life one of the great civil rights movements in American history, where ordinary people made their voices heard and Congress responded.