John Scheinfeld

From pop culture to politics, sports and religion, ABC, PBS and Netflix to the Telluride, Toronto and Venice film festivals, Emmy®, Grammy® and two-time Writers Guild Award nominee John Scheinfeld is a critically acclaimed documentary filmmaker with a broad range of subjects and productions to his credit.

Scheinfeld is currently in production on two feature documentaries: What The Hell Happened To Blood, Sweat & Tears?, a compelling tale of music, politics and social commentary and Baseball As A Road To God, produced in association with Major League Baseball. The latter is a fresh and unique view of baseball and spirituality that takes the audience on an entertaining and inspiring journey toward hope, happiness, and overcoming life’s challenges.

Scheinfeld directed, wrote and produced The Happy Days of Garry Marshall, a documentary that aired on ABC prime-time in May 2020. This heartfelt tribute to a Hollywood legend featured 25 of the biggest stars in film and television and generated second place ratings for the night.

Also in Spring 2020, Scheinfeld completed work as director, writer and producer of Herb Alpert Is…, a passionate and inspiring theatrical documentary exploring the personal and creative journey of the music icon and renaissance man for which he was nominated for the prestigious Writers Guild Award. Originally booked for a nationwide theatrical release, the film’s preeminent global theatrical and rights management partner Abramorama pivoted to a global virtual theatrical roll-out plan due to the COVID pandemic, with 125 theatres participating and subsequent availability on TVOD platforms worldwide.

Scheinfeld’s feature documentary about the remarkable life of world music artist Sergio Mendes, Sergio Mendes: In The Key of Joy, had its World Premiere to a standing ovation at the Santa Barbara International Film Festival in January 2020. A planned theatrical release was canceled due to the COVID pandemic. HBO premiered the film in Latin and South America in May 2021, PBS brought it to US audiences in June and the film is currently streaming on TVOD platforms.

Chasing Trane: The John Coltrane Documentary, with Academy Award winner Denzel Washington speaking the words of the iconic musician, was an official selection of the Telluride Film Festival and the Toronto International Film Festival before playing on theater screens worldwide during Spring 2017. Directed, written and produced by Scheinfeld, the feature was originally licensed by Netflix and began airing on Hulu in 2021.

This Is Bob Hope, directed, written and produced by Scheinfeld with Billy Crystal speaking the words of Bob Hope, premiered on the prestigious, award-winning PBS series, American Masters in December 2017.

Scheinfeld is best known for two widely acclaimed feature documentaries: The U.S. vs. John Lennon, which tells the true story of the US government’s attempt to silence the beloved musician and iconic advocate for peace and Who Is Harry Nilsson (And Why Is Everybody Talkin’ About Him)?, a riveting yet wildly entertaining documentary about one of the most talented and uncompromising singer-songwriters in pop music history.

The U.S. vs. John Lennon was an official selection of the Venice, Telluride, London and Toronto International film festivals in 2006 and was released theatrically worldwide by Lionsgate. Born out of his love for the music of the Beatles and a keen interest in freedom of speech and personal courage in the face of significant obstacles, Scheinfeld earned the trust of Yoko Ono and was given access to her extensive archive.

For Who Is Harry Nilsson…?, Scheinfeld was nominated for the prestigious Writers Guild Award and USA Today named him one of the Top 100 People of 2010 in their pop culture poll. In Entertainment Weekly, best-selling novelist Stephen King lauded the film as “close to genius.”

That same year saw the theatrical release of We Believe, an exuberant celebration of hope, loyalty, faith and the extraordinary love affair between a great city, Chicago, and its baseball team, the Cubs. Scheinfeld established a close working relationship with Major League Baseball, the Major League Baseball Players Association and the Chicago Cubs throughout production.

On the heels of a Grammy® nomination for producing Beautiful Dreamer: Brian Wilson and the Story of SMiLE, Scheinfeld wrote, produced and directed Electric Youth: Teen Stars in the Music Business, a 2-hour special for A&E which garnered him an Emmy® nomination as writer.

During his career Scheinfeld has also written, produced and/or directed projects about pop culture legends including the Bee Gees, Nat ‘King’ Cole, Bing Crosby, Dean Martin, the Marx Brothers, Ricky Nelson, Norman Lear, Peter Sellers, Frank Sinatra and Jonathan Winters.

Scheinfeld received a B.A. in Communications and Sociology from Oberlin College and holds an M.F.A. in Radio/Television/Film from Northwestern University.