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Hilary is an Emmy award winning independent documentary filmmaker who has been producing investigative , vérite , and historical documentary films for over 20 years.

- Learn more in my Full Bio

Full Bio

Hilary Klotz Steinman is an Emmy award winning independent documentary filmmaker and has been producing historical and verite documentary films for over 20 years. 

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In February, 2020, Hilary established Napatree Films to produce independent projects that explore forgotten or overlooked histories and illuminate the experiences of women and girls in America and globally.

Hilary just produced, The Codebreaker, a documentary for the PBS history series American Experience about Elizebeth Friedman, a pioneering codebreaker who thwarted organized crime gangs during Prohibition, hunted Nazi spies during World War II and helped develop the science of cryptography in America. 

Hilary won an Emmy award for co-producing The Pill, about the history of the birth control pill and its impact on the lives of American women for the PBS series American Experience. Watch The Pill | American Experience  

As a follow up to The Pill, Hilary produced and directed, Test Tube Babies, the story behind the development of in-vitro fertilization in America, for American Experience. Watch Test Tube Babies | American Experience

Hilary has also been honored with the Christopher Award and an Emmy nomination for the PBS series Slavery and the Making of America, and an Emmy nomination for her research on the Bill Moyers PBS series Becoming American: The Chinese Experience.

She recently completed Children of the Inquisition a Lovett Stories and Strategies 90 minute independent documentary film that follows the stories of 4 people as they uncover and explore their lost or hidden Jewish roots that trace back to the Spanish and Portuguese Inquisitions and the expulsion of the Jews from Spain in 1492.

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Filming of

Children of the Inquisition

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Death by Design

2016 premiere at Seattle International

Film Festive (SIFF)

Hilary produced Death By Design, a 2016 feature length documentary film about the unintended environmental consequences of our addiction to our digital devices.

Hilary also produced Going Blind, a 2012 documentary film for Lovett Stories & Strategies about the challenges newly blind people face as they navigate a world without their sight, featuring personal stories and cutting edge scientific research on regenerative medicine and gene therapy to restore vision.

Other projects include a video installation for 2019 New York Historical Society exhibit on the Hudson River, developing documentary films for Show of Force about the global impact of climate change, and working with Alex Gibney’s production company, Jigsaw Productions, to develop the CNN series Death Row Stories.  

Hilary lives in New York City with her husband Rob and daughters Lucy (17) and Paulina (14). For the past 5 years she has volunteered extensively for Days for Girls. Currently serving on the Days for Girls New York City Chapter leadership team, Hilary is the outreach coordinator, responsible for educational and hands on volunteer events for NYC schools, youth groups, girl scout troops, women’s groups and synagogues. Hilary was honored in 2018 for her work on behalf of Days for Girls by Congregation Rodeph Sholom and by the Women of Reform Judaism at their national convention and the North East Regional conference.

Memberships & Affiliations

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Filmshop

Hilary is a member of Filmshop. Founded in 2009, Filmshop is a nonprofit collective of independent filmmakers committed to developing new work through peer support and collaboration.

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IDA

Hilary is a member of the ida. The international documentary association (ida supports the vital work of documentary storytellers and champions a thriving and inclusive documentary culture.

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NYWIFT

Hilary is a member of NYWIFT. New York Women in Film & Television (NYWIFT) advocates for equality in the moving image industry and supports women in every stage of their careers. 

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Days for Girls

Hilary is currently serving on the Days for Girls NYC chapter leadership team as the outreach coordinator. Days for Girls envisions a world where menstruation is no longer a source of shame and taboo. Through volunteers, through enterprises, and through public and private partnerships, Days for Girls is working to shift how women and girls see themselves and are seen by their communities. Hilary can be found at the monthly meetings making menstrual hygiene kits and teaching men, women, girls and boys from age 8-88 how to make & assemble the washable and reusable kits so that no women or girl misses school or work due to lack of adequate menstrual hygiene products and education. 

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Cycle for Survival

As a member of Team Kiss My Grits Cancer since 2012, Hilary has raised over $200,000 for Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center to fight rare cancers. For 5 years straight, from 2015-2019, Hilary was the leading individual fundraiser for her team's "ride" and led her team to the top of the leaderboard.