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John Beder

he/him

John Beder

Asian

Available for Hire

Open to Mentoring

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Affiliations

DPA, NATAS, ADOC

Links to Work

https://www.thecivilcase.com, https://www.palliativefilm.com, https://www.nytimes.com/video/opinion/100000007249913/dying-in-your-mothers-arms.html

Bio

John Beder (he/him) is an Emmy-nominated Asian American documentary director specializing in community-centered storytelling on social justice, public health, and climate change. A member of the Asian American Documentary Network, Documentary Producers Alliance, and The Video Consortium, he also serves on the ArtsBuild Board, is a 2023 Tennessee Arts Commission Fellow, and has been a mentor with Kartemquin and the Southern Documentary Fund. As co-founder of Bedrock Productions, he has directed four films, including Dying in Your Mother’s Arms, which earned an News & Doc Emmy® nomination. His recent documentary, How to Sue the Klan, qualified for the 2025 Academy Awards® and has been selected at 11 Oscar-qualifying festivals.

Projects

How to Sue the Klan

How to Sue the Klan is the story of how five Black women from Chattanooga used legal ingenuity to take on the Ku Klux Klan in a historic 1982 civil case, fighting to hold them accountable for their crimes and bring justice to their community. Their victory set a legal precedent that continues to inspire the ongoing fight against organized hate. (Film Festivals and FYC)

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Dying in Your Mother's Arms

Dying in Your Mother's Arms follows Dr. Nadia Tremonti as she helps families to ease the passing of their terminally ill children. Her role as a pediatric palliative care physician extends well beyond providing end-of-life care, easing the suffering of both her patients and their families. Our human aversion to discussing death has made the job of these healthcare professionals even more delicate as they advise parents through their heartbreaking situation while also treating their patients. (NYTimes OpDoc)

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RARE

RARE unveils what stands between the families fighting rare disease, hoping for treatments, and the emerging groundbreaking therapies available.

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COMPOSED

Through the lens of professional classical musicians, Composed explores the many ways we experience and can address performance anxiety. Faced with the judgment of peers, audience, conductors, and worst of all themselves, these musicians spend years trying to understand and overcome the physical and mental manifestations of their anxiety. Through their stories, we learn valuable lessons learned over a lifetime of professional performance; and we find that we are not alone in our quest to overcome the fear of failure and embarrassment. For anyone wanting to feel strength over fear and compassion over judgment, or simply seeking a closer look at anxiety and what makes us tick, Composed opens the door to a world of high stakes, high pressure, and peak performing.

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