BIOGRAPHY

Michael Downey is a two-time Emmy nominated cinematographer,

director and producer working on feature documentaries, series,

short films and commercials. His work has been featured on A&E,

BBC, CNN, Channel 4, Disney+, HBO, National Geographic, The

New York Times, PBS, Rolling Stone, VICE and other online,

broadcast and streaming outlets.

Downey started out as a print journalist, doing magazine features

as a contributing writer to Rolling Stone, then moved into

video journalism where he was staff at the BBC in Beirut, covering

the region as a shooter/editor. After going freelance, he began

working for Channel 4 News and NYT, among other news outlets,

before starting work in feature documentaries and series.

Downey started out as a print journalist, doing magazine features as a contributing writer to Rolling Stone, then moved into

video journalism where he was staff at the BBC in Beirut, covering the region as a shooter/editor. After going freelance, he began

working for Channel 4 News and NYT, among other news outlets, before starting work in feature documentaries and series.

Downey’s most recent conflict work covered the Russian invasion of Ukraine for The New York Times, of which Downey was the

recipient of an Edward R. Murrow Award for that coverage. Following his work during the invasion, Downey worked as a

cinematographer and field producer on the feature documentary ‘Defiant,’ with Academy Award nominated filmmakers Karim Amer

and Mike Learner, and Academy Award winning producer for ‘Navalny’, Odessa Rae. The film, which premiered at TIFF, offers a rare

behind-the-scenes look at the war in Ukraine and roles of key world leaders in the war. Following those projects Downey worked as

cinematographer on Frontline’s feature on Elon Musk and WSJ’s feature on Wagner Group, both of which were nominated for an

Emmy in 2024.

Downey’s first work on a documentary feature was in 2015 with Academy Award winning filmmaker Eva Orner on her film ‘Chasing

Asylum’ as a segment DP for Lebanon. The film received an AACTA Award for Best Feature Length Documentary.

In 2022, Downey received Picture of the Year International’s Documentary Award of Excellence for his short documentary on the

dying bird language in northern Turkey. Later that year Downey DOP on the blue-chip six-part series titled ‘Lift the Ice’, an

adventure/science series which was filmed across five continents in some of the most remote places in the world for Beach House

Pictures and Curiosity Studios.

Additionally, he was approached by Emmy award-winning documentary filmmaker Rita Baghdadi to assist as an additional

cinematographer on her film ‘Sirens,’ a coming-of-age documentary and Sundance selection for 2021.

In 2018, Downey worked on his first series with Chef Nigel Slater OBE as DP for BBC2. His earlier work saw him cover major political

events in the MENA region, such as the civil wars in Libya and Syria, the Syrian refugee crisis in Lebanon, the 2011 Arab Spring

uprising in Egypt, as well as the conflict in Iraq.

Downey is currently working on a feature documentary for Open Planet Studios.

AWARDS & NOMINATIONS

2024 National Press Photographer’s Association Best of Photojournalism – First Place Video Photojournalist

2024 Emmy Nomination – ‘Shadow Men: Inside Wagner, Russia’s Secret War Company’ The Wall Street Journal

2024 Peabody Nomination – ‘Shadow Men: Inside Wagner, Russia’s Secret War Company’ The Wall Street Journal

2023 Edward R. Murrow Award – The New York Times Coverage of the Russia-Ukraine War

2022 Picture of the Year International – Documentary Award of Excellence for ‘Bird Language’