Daniel Raim - Filmmaker Bio
Daniel Raim is an Academy Award–nominated documentary filmmaker and AFI alum, based in Los Angeles. Across five feature films, Raim has built a body of work defined by its patience, intimacy, and unrelenting humanism. His films have premiered at Venice and Cannes, screened at MoMA, and been acquired by the Criterion Collection, Turner Classic Movies, Netflix, Paramount+, and Canal+. Critic Jim Hemphill, writing for Filmmaker Magazine, called his approach "powerfully moving and richly complex."
Raim's latest project, The Ozu Diaries, produced in collaboration with Shochiku and TCM, premiered at the 2025 Venice Film Festival and has since screened at MoMA, the Tokyo International Film Festival, and festivals worldwide. A seven-year journey to explore the life and lasting influence of Yasujiro Ozu, one of Japan's most esteemed directors, the film has been acquired by Criterion Collection/Janus Films and Turner Classic Movies for North American distribution, Carlotta Films in France, A Contracorriente in Spain, Jinjin Pictures in South Korea, and Shochiku in Japan. It will receive its broadcast premiere on TCM in 2026.
Raim's journey began with his acclaimed documentary, The Man on Lincoln's Nose (2000), which earned an Academy Award nomination and paid tribute to Robert F. Boyle, the legendary production designer behind Alfred Hitchcock's Saboteur, Shadow of a Doubt, North by Northwest, The Birds, and Marnie.
In 2015, Raim's documentary Harold and Lillian: A Hollywood Love Story premiered at the Cannes Film Festival to widespread acclaim and was nominated for the Golden Eye (L’Œil d’Or), Cannes’ prestigious documentary prize. A New York Times Critics’ Pick, the film explores the lives of storyboard artist and production designer Harold Michelson and his wife Lillian, a legendary film researcher, whose significant — though often uncredited — contributions helped shape some of Hollywood’s most enduring classics. Interweaving film history with an intimate portrait of a sixty-year marriage, the documentary features personal insights from industry icons including Danny DeVito, Francis Ford Coppola, and Mel Brooks. The film captivated audiences worldwide, leading to its distribution by Zeitgeist Films, Kino Lorber, Netflix and TCM. The story’s impact continues to grow, with a Broadway musical adaptation now in development.
He has also written and directed more than thirty documentaries and visual essays for The Criterion Collection and Criterion Channel, exploring the work of filmmakers including Yasujiro Ozu, Alfred Hitchcock, John Cassavetes, Robert Altman, François Truffaut, Buster Keaton, Andrei Tarkovsky, Hou Hsiao-hsien, Jim Jarmusch, Kelly Reichardt, and Aki Kaurismäki. Among these are In Search of Ozu, Marvel Mon Amour, and Time Travelers: Uncovering Old LA in Keaton Comedies.
His work continued with Image Makers: The Adventures of America's Pioneer Cinematographers (2019). This TCM Original Documentary feature film celebrates the innovators of early cinematography, shedding light on their foundational contributions to the visual language of cinema.
In 2022, Raim released Fiddler's Journey to the Big Screen, a feature documentary narrated by Jeff Goldblum that enjoyed an international theatrical release. This film, distributed theatrically by Zeitgeist Films and Kino Lorber and now streaming on Paramount+, chronicles director Norman Jewison's adaptation of the beloved musical Fiddler on the Roof into a widescreen epic, exploring its cultural impact and the challenges of bringing such an iconic story to the big screen.
Raim has screened his films and lectured at the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, ILM, AFI Conservatory: Harold Lloyd Master Seminar, Canadian Film Centre, Disney, Pixar, DreamWorks, and Sony Animation Studios.
