Gabriela Cowperthwaite

About Gabriela Cowperthwaite

Gabriela is a filmmaker, a Brazilian singer, and a soccer player & a mom of twins. Her strength lies in truthful storytelling, creating a place where character and authenticity reign over vapid hype and boring spectacle.

Gabriela Cowperthwaite has been directing both documentaries and narrative films for over 20 years, rising to prominence with the 2013 release of BLACKFISH, which examined the plight of orcas and their trainers at SeaWorld. BLACKFISH quickly became one of the highest grossing documentaries of all time whilst giving rise to the expression the “Blackfish effect”, a label which described the film’s ability to permanently change SeaWorld’s practices, disrupt it’s business model, while changing captivity laws worldwide. BLACKFISH was shortlisted for an Academy Award, nominated for a BAFTA, a Broadcast Critics’ Awards, an International Documentary Association Award, and won the Satellite Award for Best Feature.

In early 2023, Gabriela’s space station thriller I.S.S., starring Chris Messina and Academy Award winner Arianna DeBose premiered worldwide. Her critically acclaimed film OUR FRIEND, starring Casey Affleck, Dakota Johnson, and Jason Segel, opened TIFF and was released in 2020. Based on a true life story, OUR FRIEND told the story of a couple struggling through a diagnosis alongside their best friend. Gabriela’s first critically acclaimed narrative feature film MEGAN LEAVEY, which premiered in 2017, is based on the true life story of a Marine corporal (Kate Mara), whose unique bond with her military combat dog saved many lives during their deployment in Iraq.

In 2023 Gabriela helmed CHILDREN OF THE UNDERGROUND, a FX/Hulu series highlighting Faye Yager, a woman who started a dark underground network that has been hiding children from their abusers for decades. The series was nominated in 2023 for an Independent Spirit Award for best documentary series. Gabriela’s latest documentary THE GRAB, a geo-political thriller, follows a shadowy world of powerful entities who are grabbing up the world's most precious resources while we all look the other way. THE GRAB, hailed as the "holy sh*t documentary of the year" opened TIFF in 2022 and was nominated for 4 Emmys including Best Documentary in 2025, winning an Emmy win for Best Research Documentary. The film, released theatrically in June 2024, is currently available on demand and streaming.

Gabriela Cowperthwaite – REEL

  • New York Life – "The Assist" with Matt Turner
  • New York Life – "The Assist" with Tyler Adams
  • Pepsi – Best Seat In The House
  • Apple – Developers
  • Alger – Conversations with Tomorrow
  • Our Friend – Feature Trailer
  • Blackfish – Documentary Trailer
  • Megan Leavey – Feature Trailer
  • The Grab – Documentary Trailer