Hello! I’m David Tillman, a Peabody and Emmy Award-winning editor, producer, writer and director who has been making films for more than 20 years.
I have had the opportunity to help tell the stories of some of the most iconic figures and historical events of the last 100 years, including Martin Luther King Jr. assassination, Bombing of Pearl Harbor, Apollo Moon landing, Challenger Disaster, 9/11, LA Riots, O.J. Simpson trial, January 6th Insurrection, Robert Durst trial, the lives of Fidel Castro, Malcolm X and Princess Diana, and the origins of Bitcoin.
The films and television series I’ve produced and edited have been critically acclaimed by publications such as The New York Times, Los Angeles Times, The New Yorker, Variety, Wall Street Journal, Boston Globe, Indiewire, The Daily Beast, The Atlantic and more. Reviews have described the storytelling style as “visceral,” “poignant,” “chilling,” “gripping,” and “sizzling.”
Many of my projects have been recognized with awards. Highlights include:
2012 | MLK: The Assassination Tapes | George Foster Peabody Award
2012 | MLK: The Assassination Tapes | Realscreen Award - Best Editing Winner
2013 | Sky Soldier | Lumiere Award Winner
2015 | The Fidel Castro Tapes | News and Documentary Emmy Nominee
2017 | Challenger Disaster: Lost Tapes | News and Documentary Emmy Winner
2018 | Diana: In Her Own Words | Grand Award - New York Festivals TV & Film Awards
2020 | Apollo: Missions to the Moon | Producer’s Guild Award Winner
2020 | Apollo: Missions to the Moon | Cinema Eye Honors - Broadcast Editing Winner
2021 | Q: Into the Storm | Primetime Emmy Nominee - Picture Editing for Non Fiction
2021 | The Real Right Stuff | Critics Choice Nominee - Best Archival Documentary
2024 | The Jinx: Part Two | Primetime Emmy Nominee - Picture Editing for Non Fiction
As a teenager, I made short films and documentaries for my high school television station, serving as a news director and representing the state of New Jersey in a high school film competition. I then studied filmmaking at The University of Texas at Austin where my student documentary Bikes Across Borders was featured at the South by Southwest Film Festival.
In 2006, I moved to Los Angeles to work on feature films, documentaries, television series and commercials. Since, I have worked on more than 200 hours of broadcast and streaming television as a producer, editor, writer, segment director and Vice President of Creative Content for networks and streamers such as Netflix, HBO, Disney+, National Geographic, Peacock, Discovery Channel, PBS, A&E, MSNBC, Oxygen, Travel Channel, Lifetime, Ovation, Smithsonian Channel and more.
I have also had the opportunity to contribute insights about documentary filmmaking, editing and my expertise using archival footage on panels at the Westdoc Documentary and Reality Conference, as the Keynote Speaker at the 2017 FCPX Creative Summit, and as a guest lecturer and Member of the Film Advisory Board at Cerritos College's Film School.