Sarah Macdonald
agent: Camilla Chiverton - camilla@sternwild.com
Sarah Macdonald is a New Zealand-born, BAFTA-winning investigative Director and Executive Producer with 30 years' experience bringing major stories to the world's leading broadcasters and streamers, including HBO, CNN, A+E, Canal+, Channel 4, BBC and ITV.
Hailing from an early career as an investigative journalist on Newsnight, Sarah built a reputation for uncovering stories that others miss. She brings exceptional instincts, strong editorial judgement and cinematic storytelling, creating films that are both deeply human and journalistically rigorous. Sarah brings unrivalled expertise in navigating the legal, editorial compliance and contributor duty of care responsibilities that underpin investigative filmmaking. Whether directing or executive producing, she is trusted to lead sensitive, complex and often high-stakes productions, balancing her creative ambition with meticulous editorial oversight.
Known for securing access others can't, she directed four films on clerical child abuse within the Catholic Church that prompted the Vatican's first-ever sacking of a Bishop, and a Government inquiry. Another of her films led to the jailing of three men. She went undercover to expose the CIA's extraordinary rendition programme and in China for a film about North Korean dissidents.
From the critically acclaimed Thirties in Colour: Countdown to War, which used pioneering colourisation technology to vividly transport audiences into the decade leading up to the Second World War, to HBO’s chilling Indian murder mystery The Talwars: Behind Closed Doors, winner of an Asian Academy Award, Sarah delivers compelling storytelling confidently across genres. She is currently exec producing an as-yet-unannounced true crime series for Sky Docs with Magna Studios.
A calm and decisive presence under pressure, Sarah is a strong team-builder who is equally at home developing a project through to commission as she is steering it through production, transmission and beyond.
Alongside her freelance work as an Executive Producer and Director, Sarah continues to develop and produce major environmental feature documentaries through her independent production company, MAKE Waves. Her credits include The Great Green Wall, which premiered at the Venice Film Festival in 2019, and Blue Carbon, which premiered on CNN in April 2024 following its launch as a headline event for UNESCO and its prominent showcase at COP28. Her work has earned international recognition for its impact, integrity and storytelling excellence, making Sarah one of the industry's most respected investigative filmmakers and Executive Producers.