HWS News
26 September 2024 • Alums Schwartz '12 Produces WNBA Documentary By Annabel Ramsay '25
Emma Schwartz ’12 is a producer of the WNBA documentary, “Power of the Dream.”
Emma Schwartz ’12 served as a producer on the Amazon Studios documentary, “Power of the Dream,” which offers “a candid look into the off-court activism of WNBAers during the COVID-ravaged 2020 season” (NPR).
“Power of the Dream” chronicles the uphill battle of the formation of the WNBA and the league’s “journey from underestimation to activism, fighting for equal rights, fair compensation, and social justice” (IMDB).
“This story was a joy to tell and it’s been so fun to see the continued growth of the WNBA,” says Schwartz, noting the timeliness of “releas[ing] a film about the power of social justice and political organizing in this moment!”
Featuring interviews with WBNA stars, politicians and journalists — including Sue Bird, Nneka Ogwumike, Sen. Raphael Warnock, Jemele Hill and Holly Rowe, among others — “Power of the Dream” not only tracks the American embrace of women’s sports, but also highlights the leadership of WNBA players in LGBTQIA+ activism and the #BlackLivesMatter and #SayHerName movements.
Schwartz is a documentary film producer and director based in Brooklyn. After graduating from HWS with her degree in Media and Society, she earned a master’s in journalism from the UC Berkeley Graduate School of Journalism, specializing in long form documentary storytelling with a focus on human rights and investigative journalism.
In addition to “Power of the Drea,” her recent projects include “The Grab” (2024, Magnolia + Participant) and Blindsided (2023, CNN + MAX). In 2019, she received an International Documentary Association (IDA) award for “Brewed in Palestine,” which she directed and produced. In recent years, she’s worked on projects with MAX, CNN, Amazon Studios, Magnolia Pictures, Frontline, Netflix, GQ Magazine, Time Magazine, PBS, The Washington Post and The Center for Investigative Reporting.
Outside of the United States, she has produced work in Zambia, India, Argentina, Singapore, China, Dominican Republic, Palestine, Israel, Jordan, Kenya, Mexico, Ukraine and Nicaragua.
“Power of the Dream” was released in June and can now be viewed on Amazon Prime.
HWS Votes hosted a screening of the film on campus on National Voter Registration Day.
