Fertigová Films, a New York-based production company founded in 2005 by Ruth Fertig, makes documentaries about everyday people with extraordinary stories.

Ruth Fertig is a producer and director whose work has screened at film festivals and community events around the world, aired on cable and public television, and won numerous awards.

In 2010, “Yizkor,” her short documentary about her grandmother’s experience during the Holocaust, won the Student Academy Award for documentary as well as a CINE Golden Eagle Award and several film festival honors. It screened at the National Archives in Washington, D.C. as well as at the Big Sky Documentary Film Festival, Hot Springs Documentary Film Festival, and Jihlava Documentary Film Festival, among others.

Her previous film, “Two Spirits,” is a portrait of Native American gay rights activist Joey Criddle. It aired on PBS stations and Free Speech TV and is distributed by Frameline, the United States’ leading distributor of LGBT films.

In 2010 her first film, “The Cockroach Project,” premiered on the Documentary Channel. This short documentary explores her own phobia and others’ passion for the bug.

In addition to independent projects, Ruth has also produced, directed, shot and edited films for non-profits including American Gateways (formerly the Political Asylum Project of Austin) and the National Dating Abuse Helpline.

Before directing her own non-fiction films, Ruth was an associate producer and researcher of documentaries for film and television. She has worked with Cabin Creek Films, Actual Reality Pictures, Propeller Films and Braverman Productions, among others, on programs for ABC, NBC, the History Channel, A&E, Discovery, Animal Planet and the Disney Channel.

Ruth has an MFA in Film Production from the University of Texas at Austin, where she was a Hutchison Endowed Fellow, and a B.A. in History from Columbia University. Her honors include awards and grants from the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, CINE, University Film and Video Association, the Texas Cable and Telecommunications Association, and the Lone Star EMMY Chapter of the National Academy of Television Arts and Sciences.