Gabe Polsky

Last updated
Gabe Polsky
Gabe Polsky.JPG
Gabe Polsky speaking at the premiere of Red Army at the 2014 AFI Film Festival
Born (1979-05-03) May 3, 1979 (age 46)
NationalityAmerican
Occupations
  • Film director
  • writer
  • producer
Website gabepolskyproductions.com

Gabe Polsky (born May 3, 1979) is an American film director, producer, and writer best known for the documentaries Red Army (2014) and In Search of Greatness (2018). His work has premiered at major international festivals including the Cannes Film Festival, the Toronto International Film Festival (TIFF), the Telluride Film Festival, and the New York Film Festival.

Contents

Early life

Gabe Polsky was born on May 3, 1979, to Ukrainian immigrants in Illinois, and he was primarily raised in the Chicago area. He attended the Hotchkiss School. [1] After graduating, he attended Yale University, where he played NCAA hockey. [2] He competed on Team USA in hockey at the 1997 Maccabiah Games in Israel, winning a silver medal. [3] [4]

Career

In 2009, Polsky was among the producers on the Werner Herzog film Bad Lieutenant: Port of Call New Orleans . [5] In 2011, he and his brother Alan Polsky were among the producers of Little Birds , an indie/drama film loosely based on the 1979 short story collection Little Birds by Anaïs Nin. [6] Later that year, Polsky produced His Way , a documentary about film producer Jerry Weintraub that was released on HBO. [7]

Polsky and his brother Alan co-directed and produced The Motel Life (2012), based on the 2007 novel The Motel Life by Willy Vlautin. [8] Polsky then wrote, directed, and produced Red Army (2014), a documentary about the Soviet Union men's national ice hockey team, which premiered at the Cannes Film Festival. [9]

Polsky and his brother Alan acquired the rights to the Einstein estate and the book Einstein: His Life and Universe by Walter Isaacson, and they were among the executive producers of the Genius series on National Geographic in 2017. [10] Polsky wrote, directed, and produced the sports documentaries In Search of Greatness (2018), [11] [12] Red Penguins (2019), [13] and the episode "Red Penguins: Murder, Money and Ice Hockey" in season 24 of Storyville .[ citation needed ]

With Liam Satre Meloy, Polsky directed Butcher's Crossing (2022), an adaptation of the John Williams novel, Butcher's Crossing , starring Nicolas Cage alongside Fred Hechinger. The film premiered at the Toronto International Film Festival. [14]

Polsky directed, wrote, and produced the documentary The Man Who Saves the World? in 2025. [15]

Filmography

YearTitleRole(s)Notes
2009 Bad Lieutenant: Port of Call New Orleans ProducerProducer credit confirmed in trade databases. [5]
2011 Little Birds ProducerSundance title; producers include Jamie Patricof, Alan Polsky, Gabe Polsky. [6]
2011 His Way (TV documentary)ProducerHBO documentary about Jerry Weintraub; producer credit includes Gabe Polsky [7]
2012 The Motel Life Co-director, producerFeature co-directed by Alan and Gabe Polsky. [16]
2014 Red Army Writer, director, producerPremiered in Cannes Special Screenings; won audience awards at AFI Fest, Chicago, and Middleburg. [17] [18] [19] [20]
2017 Genius (TV series)Executive producerSeries received 10 Primetime Emmy nominations (season 1). [21]
2018 In Search of Greatness Writer, director, producerNominated for WGA Documentary Screenplay. [22]
2019 Red Penguins Writer, director, producerWorld premiere at TIFF 2019; U.S. release via Universal (2020). [23] [24]
2022 Butcher's Crossing DirectorWorld premiere at TIFF 2022; U.S. theatrical release October 20, 2023 (Saban Films). [25] [26]
2025The Man Who Saves the World?Director, writer, producerLimited U.S. theatrical release scheduled for October 17, 2025 (Area 23a). [15]

References

  1. ↑ Patrick Z. McGavin (November 10, 2014). "CIFF 2014 Interview: Gabe Polsky on 'Red Army'". Roger Ebert . Retrieved December 29, 2017.
  2. ↑ Mike Rubin (December 5, 2014). "A Look Behind Hockey's Iron Curtain". Rolling Stone . Retrieved December 29, 2017.
  3. ↑ "Jewish Post 8 January 1997". newspapers.library.in.gov.
  4. ↑ "July 31, 1997 — Jewish Historical Society of New Jersey Archives". New Jersey Jewish News.[ permanent dead link ]
  5. 1 2 "Bad Lieutenant: Port of Call New Orleans (2009) – Credits". Box Office Mojo. Retrieved August 20, 2025.
  6. 1 2 "Millennium Entertainment swoops on Sundance entry 'Little Birds'". Screen Daily. May 11, 2011. Retrieved August 20, 2025.
  7. 1 2 Dinsmore, Jef (April 2, 2011). "HBO Documentary "His Way" Premieres April 4". HBO Watch. Retrieved August 20, 2025.
  8. ↑ Merry, Stephanie (November 7, 2013). "'The Motel Life' movie review: Emile Hirsch and Stephen Dorff star as brothers in a bittersweet tale". The Washington Post . Retrieved December 29, 2017.
  9. ↑ "RED ARMY - Festival de Cannes". www.festival-cannes.com. May 16, 2014.
  10. ↑ Fleming, Michael (May 16, 2008). "Odd Lot boards Einstein film". Variety . Retrieved December 29, 2017.
  11. ↑ "Oscars: 'In Search of Greatness,' Early Doc Contender, Releases First Trailer (Exclusive)". The Hollywood Reporter . April 4, 2018. Retrieved March 9, 2021.
  12. ↑ "WGA Awards: Full List of Nominations". The Hollywood Reporter . December 6, 2018. Retrieved March 9, 2021.
  13. ↑ West, Jenna. "Trailer: 'Red Penguins' Examines a Wild Era of Russian Hockey". Sports Illustrated . Retrieved September 27, 2020.
  14. ↑ "Butcher's Crossing". TIFF. Retrieved April 11, 2023.[ permanent dead link ]
  15. 1 2 "The Man Who Saves the World?". Rotten Tomatoes. July 30, 2025. Retrieved August 20, 2025.
  16. ↑ Ebert, Roger (November 7, 2013). "The Motel Life". RogerEbert.com. Retrieved August 20, 2025.
  17. ↑ "Red Army – Festival de Cannes". Festival de Cannes. May 16, 2014. Retrieved August 20, 2025.
  18. ↑ "AFI FEST 2014 Award Winners Announced". AFI. November 13, 2014. Retrieved August 20, 2025.
  19. ↑ "50th Chicago International Film Festival Announces the Audience Choice Awards". Chicago International Film Festival. October 27, 2014. Retrieved August 20, 2025.
  20. ↑ "The Imitation Game, Dior and I, Red Army Take Top Prizes at Middleburg Film Festival" (PDF). Middleburg Film Festival. November 3, 2014. Retrieved August 20, 2025.
  21. ↑ "Genius: Einstein". Imagine Entertainment. July 13, 2017. Retrieved August 20, 2025.
  22. ↑ "2019 Writers Guild Awards – Screenplay Nominations". Writers Guild of America. January 7, 2019. Retrieved August 20, 2025.
  23. ↑ "Red Penguins". TIFF. 2019. Retrieved August 20, 2025.
  24. ↑ "Red Penguins". Universal Pictures Home Entertainment. August 4, 2020. Retrieved August 20, 2025.
  25. ↑ "Butcher's Crossing". TIFF. 2022. Retrieved August 20, 2025.
  26. ↑ Collis, Clark (September 18, 2023). "Nicolas Cage is hunting buffalo and losing his mind in Butcher's Crossing trailer". Entertainment Weekly. Retrieved August 20, 2025.
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