Rory Elizabeth Katherine Kennedy (born December 12, 1968) is an American documentary filmmaker. Kennedy has made documentary films that center on social issues such as addiction, nuclear radiation, the treatment of prisoners-of-war, and the politics of the Mexican border fence. Her films have been featured on many television networks. She is the youngest child of U.S. Senator Robert F. Kennedy and Ethel Skakel.
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Biography from TMDB.
- December 12, 1968 (57)
- Washington, D.C., USA
- Director and producer, also actor
- 19 on MovieCove · 36 credits in all
Known for
What are Rory Kennedy's films like?
Across their 18 MovieCove titles with a thematic analysis, their films lean Morality and Power.
Themes
What they feel like to watch
Ironic 0 · Wry 0 · Earnest 16
A split, not a type: Light 4 · Serious 3 · Dark 9
Grounded 15 · Stylized 1 · Heightened 0
Gentle 4 · Charged 7 · Intense 5
Steady 10 · Shifting 6 · Whiplash 0
Straight-faced 15 · Some laughs 1 · Funny 0
Slow burn 11 · Even-paced 5 · Relentless 0
Casual 3 · Engaged 10 · Full focus 3
A split, not a type: Easy watch 6 · Affecting 4 · Heavy 6
Resolved 12 · Open-ended 3 · Ambiguous 1
Moods and endings
- Happy2
- Bittersweet8
- Tragic1
- Ambiguous7
AI-generated from each title's plot synopsis and cast list, with extra plot summaries, reviews and Parents Guide notes for titles the model may not know, and the model's own knowledge of the ones it recognizes. Only analyzed titles count, so this covers part of the filmography; the feel axes count films only for now.
Where can I watch Rory Kennedy's films?
As of October 24, 2026, 14 of their 19 MovieCove titles stream on a subscription or free service, most on HBO Max (6).
Subscription and free streaming for Rory Kennedy's titles on MovieCove; rent and buy are not counted. Titles are listed by Midcredits score, highest first, at most 12 per service; a dashed chip is a producer credit or a minor one, such as a thanks. A service opens the browse page, which counts movies only, so its number can differ.
Filmography
36 credits, 19 with a MovieCove page; 2 appearances as themselves are hidden until asked for.
Midcredits score: 89th percentile of all films
Queen of Chess(2026)
Midcredits score: 95th percentile of all films
Midcredits score: 49th percentile of all films (provisional, few ratings)
The Synanon Fix(2024)
Midcredits score: 39th percentile of all showsAdrift (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2023)
Midcredits score: 93rd percentile of all films
Midcredits score: 93rd percentile of all films
Midcredits score: 94th percentile of all films
Without a Net: The Digital Divide in America (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2017)
Midcredits score: 87th percentile of all films
Last Days in Vietnam(2014)
Midcredits score: 96th percentile of all films
Ethel(2012)
Midcredits score: 94th percentile of all films
Fambul Tok (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2011)
Bobby Fischer Against the World (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2011)
The Fence (La Barda) (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2010)
Midcredits score: 75th percentile of all films
Midcredits score: 69th percentile of all films
Ghosts of Abu Ghraib(2007)
Midcredits score: 89th percentile of all films
Coma(2007)
Midcredits score: 87th percentile of all films
Midcredits score: 23rd percentile of all shows (provisional, few ratings)
Xiara's Song (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2005)
Street Fight(2005)
Midcredits score: 96th percentile of all films
Midcredits score: 32nd percentile of all films
Girlhood (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2003)
Together: Stop Violence Against Women (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2003)
Con Man(2003)
Midcredits score: 39th percentile of all films
A Boy's Life (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2003)
Pandemic: Facing AIDS (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2003)
Schooling Jewel (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2002)
The Execution of Wanda Jean (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2002)
The Changing Face of Beauty (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2000)
Different Moms (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1999)
Epidemic Africa (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1999)
American Hollow (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1999)
Women of Substance (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1994)
American Experience(1988)
Midcredits score: 85th percentile of all shows
Career shape
A full career of 33 titles from 1988 to 2026.
Biggest box office
Last Days in Vietnam (2014)
Highest rated
Last Days in Vietnam (2014)
Most popular right now
Freefall: A Reckoning for Boeing (2026)
Counts from TMDB across their full career, self appearances out; a title counts in every role they held on it. The ring is the typical Midcredits score (the median percentile) of the role's titles that are on MovieCove, shown from 5 scored.
Awards
a Primetime Emmy from 11 major nominations, 1999–2015.
- Oscar, nominated · Best Documentary, Feature
- Primetime Emmy, nominated · Outstanding Directing for Nonfiction Programming
- Primetime Emmy, nominated · Outstanding Documentary or Nonfiction Special
- Primetime Emmy, nominated · Outstanding Nonfiction Special
- Sundance award, nominated · National
- Primetime Emmy, won · Outstanding Nonfiction Special
- Primetime Emmy, nominated · Outstanding Directing for Nonfiction Programming
+1 other major body · 1 nomination
- Sundance award, nominated · Documentary
- Primetime Emmy, nominated · Outstanding Non-Fiction Special
+1 other major body · 1 nomination
- Independent Spirit Award, nominated
- Sundance award, nominated · Documentary
Major bodies only: the Oscars, Primetime Emmys, Golden Globes, BAFTAs and Screen Actors Guild Awards are named; Cannes, Venice, the Berlinale, Sundance, the directors', writers' and producers' guilds, the Grammys, Critics Choice and the Independent Spirit Awards count as other major bodies. Festival and regional prizes are not counted. Source: IMDb.
How do Rory Kennedy's films land?
Their typical MovieCove film has a Midcredits score in the 89th percentile, the median of all 16; across their 16 films with reception data, the typical film sits in the 85th percentile for acclaim.
- 75th and up13
- 50th to 74th1
- 25th to 49th4
- Below 25th1
Shape of the crowd
7 of their 19 titles are Universally Loved.
- Universally Loved7
- Divisive1
- Cult Classic1
- Crowd Pleaser6
- Mixed4
Reviewers score the atmosphere 66/100 and the pacing 54/100 in their films, across 10 reviewed titles. The element that speaks to their work as a director.
Percentiles are each film's standing among all films on MovieCove; the typical film is the median, so one outlier cannot drag it. Percentiles and reviewer scores count the films IMDb credits them on, for now; the Midcredits score bands, the shape of the crowd and the two cards count their MovieCove titles, shows included (a show ranked among shows), appearances as themselves left out. A descriptor is the shape of a title's IMDb rating distribution against the catalog; "most divisive" needs a spread wider than half of all titles, and a card names only a principal credit: a craft role, and on a show a crew role or a run of episodes, never a courtesy credit or a one-off guest spot.
Who does Rory Kennedy work with?
People who share at least 2 of Rory Kennedy's MovieCove titles, grouped by what they did on them; Mark Bailey shares the most, 12.
Directors
- Liz GarbusShared titles: Shouting Fire: Stories from the Edge of Free Speech (2009), Coma (2007), Ghosts of Abu Ghraib (2007), Street Fight (2005), Indian Point: Imagining the Unimaginable (2004), Con Man (2003)See all 6 shared titles with Liz Garbus
Writers
- Mark BaileyShared titles: Freefall: A Reckoning for Boeing (2026), Queen of Chess (2026), The Trial of Alec Baldwin (2025), The Synanon Fix (2024), Downfall: The Case Against Boeing (2022), The Volcano: Rescue from Whakaari (2022), Above and Beyond: NASA's Journey to Tomorrow (2018), Take Every Wave: The Life of Laird Hamilton (2017), Last Days in Vietnam (2014), Ethel (2012), Thank You, Mr. President: Helen Thomas at the White House (2008), Ghosts of Abu Ghraib (2007)See all 12 shared titles with Mark Bailey
- Keven McAlesterShared titles: Queen of Chess (2026), The Synanon Fix (2024), Downfall: The Case Against Boeing (2022), Last Days in Vietnam (2014)See all 4 shared titles with Keven McAlester
- Jack YoungelsonShared titles: Take Every Wave: The Life of Laird Hamilton (2017), Ethel (2012), Thank You, Mr. President: Helen Thomas at the White House (2008), Ghosts of Abu Ghraib (2007), Indian Point: Imagining the Unimaginable (2004)See all 5 shared titles with Jack Youngelson
Actors
- George W. BushShared titles: Thank You, Mr. President: Helen Thomas at the White House (2008), Ghosts of Abu Ghraib (2007)See all 2 shared titles with George W. Bush
Composers, cinematographers and editors
- Tom HurwitzShared titles: Above and Beyond: NASA's Journey to Tomorrow (2018), Shouting Fire: Stories from the Edge of Free Speech (2009), Thank You, Mr. President: Helen Thomas at the White House (2008), Coma (2007), Ghosts of Abu Ghraib (2007)See all 5 shared titles with Tom Hurwitz
- Gary LionelliShared titles: The Trial of Alec Baldwin (2025), Downfall: The Case Against Boeing (2022), Above and Beyond: NASA's Journey to Tomorrow (2018), Last Days in Vietnam (2014)See all 4 shared titles with Gary Lionelli
- Miriam CutlerShared titles: Ethel (2012), Shouting Fire: Stories from the Edge of Free Speech (2009), Thank You, Mr. President: Helen Thomas at the White House (2008), Ghosts of Abu Ghraib (2007)See all 4 shared titles with Miriam Cutler
- Azin SamariShared titles: Queen of Chess (2026), Take Every Wave: The Life of Laird Hamilton (2017), Ethel (2012)See all 3 shared titles with Azin Samari
Producers
- Amelia Green-DoveShared titles: Queen of Chess (2026), The Trial of Alec Baldwin (2025), The Synanon Fix (2024), Downfall: The Case Against Boeing (2022), Above and Beyond: NASA's Journey to Tomorrow (2018), Take Every Wave: The Life of Laird Hamilton (2017)See all 6 shared titles with Amelia Green-Dove
- Nancy AbrahamShared titles: The Synanon Fix (2024), Ethel (2012), Shouting Fire: Stories from the Edge of Free Speech (2009), Coma (2007), Ghosts of Abu Ghraib (2007), Indian Point: Imagining the Unimaginable (2004)See all 6 shared titles with Nancy Abraham
- Sheila NevinsShared titles: Ethel (2012), Shouting Fire: Stories from the Edge of Free Speech (2009), Coma (2007), Ghosts of Abu Ghraib (2007), Indian Point: Imagining the Unimaginable (2004)See all 5 shared titles with Sheila Nevins
- Alexandra KorbaShared titles: Queen of Chess (2026), The Trial of Alec Baldwin (2025), The Synanon Fix (2024), Downfall: The Case Against Boeing (2022)See all 4 shared titles with Alexandra Korba
