CNN Films, Imagine Documentaries, and Storyville Films Announce Betsy West & Julie Cohen’s “Amelia”
NEW FEATURE-LENGTH DOCUMENTARY ON LEGENDARY AVIATRIX AMELIA EARHART IN PARTNERSHIP WITH ICON INTERNATIONAL AND SANDBOX FILMS
LOS ANGELES – (February 4, 2026) – CNN Films and Imagine Documentaries, the production team behind the Emmy® Award winning JULIA, have reunited with Storyville Films to announce a groundbreaking new feature-length documentary, AMELIA. Directed by Academy Award® nominees Julie Cohen and Betsy West (CNN Films’ RBG and Gabby Giffords: Won’t Back Down), the film is produced in association with Icon International and Sandbox Films. This definitive portrait of legendary aviatrix Amelia Earhart marks the latest collaboration from the Oscar® nominated filmmaking duo and CNN Films, Imagine Entertainment, and Storyville Films.
“Nearly a century after her mysterious disappearance, we’re excited to tell the other unknown story about Amelia Earhart: who exactly was this iconic woman who continues to garner headlines and inspire millions,” said West and Cohen. “We can’t wait to bring to life this feminist, free-thinker and groundbreaking influencer, a global icon whose glamour, courage and chutzpah make her an obvious choice for a rollicking, adventurous film.”
Amelia Earhart was the first woman pilot to fly solo nonstop across the Atlantic, the first woman to fly solo and nonstop across the US, and the first person to fly solo and nonstop from Hawaii to the U.S. mainland. Between the time she first flew a plane in 1921 until she disappeared over the Pacific in 1937, Earhart became the biggest global celebrity of her day, fame that stretched long past her death. Despite the obsession with her disappearance, parts of her story have never gotten their due. A 2020s-era feminist a century ahead of her time, Amelia championed women in science and technical fields, as well as in the broader cultural and political sphere, fighting for the earliest versions of the Equal Rights Amendment and advocating for access to birth control. Even her marriage was radical: she kept her name, maintained financial independence, and advocated for an open relationship. Her vision of equality extended to everything she did, from her clothes and fashion line to her luggage and iconic hairstyle. Earhart set trends and inspired generations beyond the cockpit.
The film is an immersive journey anchored in Amelia’s own voice, drawing from an extraordinary archive of film and audio recordings, some previously unseen or unheard, alongside her books, journals, magazine columns, and intimate letters. Through colorized archival images of women’s air derbies and solo flights, and riveting point-of-view footage, AMELIA will give viewers a visceral sense of what it was like to be in the cockpit in the early days of aviation.
AMELIA will also trace 90 years of searching for the twin engine Lockheed Electra 10E Earhart was flying when her plane went down in the final stretch of her attempt to be the first woman pilot to circumnavigate the globe. The film will follow Nauticos, a leader in deep sea exploration and historical research, on its fourth expedition to find Earhart’s Electra, guided by newly acquired proprietary data revealing a possible location of the plane.
“Imagine’s thrilled to reunite with CNN Films and our partners, Julie Cohen and Betsy West on AMELIA,” said Sara Bernstein, President of Imagine Documentaries. “This has been a long runway and the mystery around Amelia Earhart’s courageous iconic life endures. We’re so excited to reintroduce her story to a new generation.”
“Betsy West and Julie Cohen once again bring extraordinary vision to a singular American icon,” said Amy Entelis, executive vice president of talent, CNN Originals and creative development for CNN Worldwide. “Through our partnership with Imagine Documentaries, AMELIA exemplifies CNN Films’ dedication to bold storytelling that reframes the trailblazing women who have shaped our world and deepens our understanding of their legacy.”
The film is produced by Sara Bernstein, Meredith Kaulfers, Julie Cohen, Betsy West and Justin Wilkes. Executive producers are Brian Grazer, Ron Howard, Amy Entelis, Roxanna Sherwood, Marc Gilbar, Oren Jacoby, Aaron Tabas, Reid Steinberg, Pierce Filippelli, Jessica Harrop and Caitlin Mae Burke for Sandbox Films. Co-executive producer is Amanda Farrand. The deal with CNN was brokered by CAA Media Finance and Imagine. CAA Media and Entertainment brokered the partnership between Icon Studios and Imagine.
Julie Cohen and Betsy West are Academy Award® nominated, Emmy® Award-winning filmmakers who directed and produced the theatrical documentaries RBG, which was nominated for an Oscar®; My Name is Pauli Murray, winner of the Peabody and duPont Columbia Awards; and JULIA, shortlisted for an Oscar®. They were creative executive producers of last year’s Oscar® shortlisted film FRIDA. Recently, Julie directed the documentaries Everybody and The Path Forward, and Betsy directed Once Upon a Time in Ukraine, also shortlisted for an Oscar® and produced Oren Jacoby’s This Is Not a Drill, which premiered in 2025 at Telluride.
Before they began their filmmaking partnership in 2015, Betsy and Julie both had careers in broadcast journalism and independent documentaries. Julie was a producer at Court TV and Dateline NBC and directed The Sturgeon Queens (Berlinale 2015) and I Live to Sing (PBS; New York Emmy® for Best Arts Program) among others. Betsy was a network television news producer and executive, first at ABC where she won 21 Emmy® Awards, and then at CBS where she was the executive in charge of 60 Minutes.
The duo is repped by CAA and Alexis Galfas at Cinetic Media.
ABOUT IMAGINE DOCUMENTARIES
Imagine’s documentary division, spearheaded by EMMY and Peabody Award-winning producer Sara Bernstein, has established itself as a powerhouse in the documentary landscape since its inception in 2018. Founded by Imagine Entertainment Co-Chairmen Brian Grazer and Ron Howard, alongside Imagine President Justin Wilkes, the division has redefined the industry with its unwavering commitment to producing impactful, socially conscious, and thought-provoking content. Its critically acclaimed and award-winning documentaries have resonated with audiences worldwide, solidifying Imagine as a driving force in the art of storytelling.
By embracing distinct perspectives in their storytelling, Imagine has expanded its footprint in the documentary genre, exploring a wide array of topics, from the EMMY Award-winning Best Documentary Jim Henson Idea Man (Disney+), and Critics Choice Documentary Award winner Music by John Williams (Disney+), the Peabody Award-winning Judy Blume Forever (Prime Video), Stormy, the critically acclaimed portrait of Stormy Daniels (Peacock), 2025 Oscars Shortlisted Frida (Prime Video), The Super Models (Apple TV+), the EMMY-nominated projects We Feed People (Disney+), Lucy and Desi (Prime Video), Downfall: The Case Against Boeing (Netflix); The Volcano: Rescue from Whakaari (Netflix), to the hit docuseries The Dynasty: New England Patriots (Apple TV+), Choir (Disney+), Harlem Ice (Disney+), Crime Scene: The Times Square Killer (Netflix), I Am Not a Monster (MAX), The Lost Children (Netflix), and Churchill at War (Netflix).
In 2025, Imagine Documentaries produced Sephora Faces of Music (January, Hulu), Harlem Ice (February, Disney+), David Blaine Do Not Attempt (March, NatGeo), Fight For Glory: 2024 World Series (March, AppleTV+), Pets (April, Disney+), Light & Magic Season 2 (April, Disney+), Earnhardt (May, Prime Video) and Barbara Walters Tell Me Everything (June, Hulu). With an unmatched slate and an ever-expanding roster of visionary filmmakers, Imagine Documentaries continues to redefine nonfiction storytelling at an unparalleled pace.
ABOUT CNN ORIGINALS
The CNN Originals group develops, produces and acquires original, long-form unscripted programming for CNN Worldwide. Amy Entelis, executive vice president of talent, CNN Originals and creative development, oversees the award-winning CNN Originals portfolio that includes the following premium content brands: CNN Original Series, CNN Films, CNN FlashDocs, and CNN Studios, an internal production studio which creates long-form programming for CNN’s global platforms. Since 2012, the team has overseen and executive produced more than 50 multi-part documentary series and 70 feature-length documentary films, earning more than 120 awards and 450 nominations for the cable network, including CNN Films’ first Academy Award® for Navalny.
Acclaimed titles include the Peabody Award winning and 13-time Emmy® Award-winning Anthony Bourdain Parts Unknown; five time Emmy® nominee, Apollo 11, directed by Todd Douglas Miller; Eva Longoria: Searching for Spain and Emmy® nominated Eva Longoria: Searching for Mexico; the Emmy® Award-nominated “Decades Series”: The Sixties, The Seventies, The Eighties, The Nineties, The 2000s, and The 2010s, executive produced by Tom Hanks and Gary Goetzman; I’m Chevy Chase and You’re Not directed by Emmy® winner Marina Zenovich; The Last Movie Stars, directed by Ethan Hawke about the lives and careers of actors and humanitarians Joanne Woodward and Paul Newman; Grammy® Award nominee Little Richard: I Am Everything, directed by Lisa Cortés; the Oscar®, BAFTA, PGA, and duPont-Columbia Award-winning, Navalny directed by Daniel Roher; The Many Lives of Martha Stewart; This is Life with Lisa Ling; Primetime Emmy® and duPont-Columbia Award-winning, RBG, directed by Betsy West and Julie Cohen; See It Loud: The History of Black Television, executive produced by LeBron James and Maverick Carter; Space Shuttle Columbia: The Final Flight in partnership with the BBC; the Producers Guild Award and three-time Emmy® Award-winning Stanley Tucci: Searching for Italy; BAFTA nominee and Directors Guild Award winner, Three Identical Strangers, directed by Tim Wardle; and the five-time Emmy® Award-winning United Shades of America with W. Kamau Bell; and the five-time Emmy® Award-winning The Whole Story with Anderson Cooper.
CNN Originals can be seen on CNN, to stream via a CNN All Access subscription, on the CNN Original Hub on HBO Max and discovery+, on the CNN Originals FAST channel, and with a pay TV subscription via CNN.com, CNN apps and cable operator platforms.
ABOUT STORYVILLE FILMS
Storyville Films was founded by Academy Award®-nominee Oren Jacoby to produce documentaries and series driven by strong personal narratives of conscience, courage and innovation. Jacoby and fellow Academy Award®-nominees Julie Cohen and Betsy West serve as Storyville’s directors. Among our production and distribution partners are Amazon, CNN Films, HBO, Imagine Entertainment, Kino Lorber, Magnolia Pictures, Netflix, Participant Media, PBS, Sony Pictures Classics and Time Studios.
Films by the Storyville partners include West and Cohen’s Oscar® nominated RBG, Julia, and My Name is Pauli Murray; Jacoby’s On Broadway, Shadowman, My Italian Secret, Constantine’s Sword and Sister Rose’s Passion, which was nominated for an Oscar® for Best Documentary (Short Subject); Cohen’s Every Body, released theatrically by Focus Features; West’s Once Upon a Time in Ukraine, and Jacoby and West’s environmental feature documentary that premiered at Telluride this fall, This Is Not a Drill.
ABOUT ICON INTERNATIONAL
ICON International is a leading media company and specialty financing firm that places nearly $2 billion in advertising annually. In 2024, ICON launched their entertainment division to solve a variety of industry challenges across funding, distribution and monetization of film and television IP. ICON leverages principal media investment strategies to accelerate the green light process and maximize ROI for creators, brands and distributors.
ABOUT SANDBOX FILMS
Sandbox Films is an award-winning documentary studio that illuminates the art and beauty of scientific inquiry. Sandbox Films provides creative and financial support for artist-driven documentary projects that explore the world (and beyond) with curiosity, creativity and humanity. As a mission-focused, artist-first nonprofit, Sandbox Films is redefining the documentary genre.
Founded in 2020, Sandbox Films’ slate of critically acclaimed films includes Oscar-nominated FIRE OF LOVE; Sundance Jury Prize winners ALL LIGHT, EVERYWHERE and NOCTURNES; Werner Herzog’s FIREBALL, Penny Lane’s CONFESSIONS OF A GOOD SAMARITAN and Emmy-winning FATHOM; and most recently, ANDRÉ IS AN IDIOT, winner of the 2025 US Documentary Audience Award and Jonathan Oppenheim Editing Award at Sundance. Sandbox Films’ documentaries have found extensive audiences via top streaming and distribution partners including Apple TV+, Hulu, National Geographic Documentary Films, NEON and Netflix, and in movie theaters internationally. Based in New York City, Sandbox collaborates with visionary filmmakers, scientists and production partners globally to celebrate a culture of questioning that invites nuance and imagination.
For more information visit: www.sandboxfilms.org