Rory Kennedy

Rory Elizabeth Katherine Kennedy, born December 12, 1968, is a renowned American documentary filmmaker known for her powerful films on socially pertinent issues such as addiction, opposition to nuclear power, the treatment of prisoners-of-war, and the politics of the Mexican border fence. She is the youngest child of U.S. Senator Robert F. Kennedy and Ethel Kennedy. She was named after the last high king of Ireland, Rory O'Connor and was born six months after her father was assassinated. Kennedy's career began when she and a fellow Brown University classmate, Vanessa Vadim, founded a non-profit, May Day Media, in the 1990s. Her first documentary, 'Women of Substance', emerged from a paper she wrote at Brown about female addicts. After that, she founded Moxie Firecracker Films, a company specializing in documentaries that shed light on pressing social issues, and directed and co-produced several critically acclaimed documentaries. Kennedy's ability to bring overlooked stories to the mainstream, whether it involves a struggling Appalachian family, AIDS patients outside the Western world, nuclear power detriments, or the midst of war, is remarkable. In 2024, her documentary series revolving around Synanon aired on HBO and she was announced as the distinguished speaker for Manitoba Film Master Series.