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Paul Wagner

Lecturer, Drama

Biography
Paul Wagner is an Academy Award and Emmy Award-winning independent filmmaker, whose documentaries and dramatic features have premiered at the Sundance, Toronto, Telluride, and Rotterdam film festivals.  

His documentaries include Miles of Smiles, Years of Struggle, about the first African American labor union; Signature: George C. Wolfe, a portrait of the controversial New York theatrical writer and director; Out of Ireland, a sweeping history of Irish emigration to America featuring Liam Neeson and Gabriel Byrne; Black in Blue, about the University of Kentucky football players who broke the color line in the Southeastern Conference in the 1960s; and The Stone Carvers, winner of the Oscar for Best Short Documentary. 

Paul’s dramatic feature Windhorse, about the struggle of young Tibetans living under the Chinese regime, was filmed secretly inside China and in Kathmandu. The film was released theatrically, receiving awards for Best US Feature and Best Director at the Santa Barbara Film Festival. 

Over his career, Paul has taught documentary and narrative film at George Washington University, the University of Maryland at Baltimore County, and the University of Virginia.