Bill Megalos is a filmmaker, director, cinematographer and teacher who has made over 30 full-length documentaries for PBS, the BBC and Channel 4 (UK). His documentaries including Aretha, Paris is Burning, the Emmy Award-winning W. Eugene Smith with Peter Riegert for American Masters, A Night in Havana-Dizzy Gillespie in Cuba, the PBS series “Quest for the Killers” and “Legendary Trails,” as well as the Academy Award-winning Down and Out in America. His biography of Jack Benny for HBO was awarded the Cine Golden Eagle Award. His series of family planning mini-dramas won the World Health Organization’s Global Award for Media Excellence in Beijing in 1985.
For the past decade, Megalos has concentrated on social documentaries, focusing on poverty reduction and the developing world. He has filmed in 50 countries.
Studying with Margaret Mead, Megalos earned his B.A. in anthropology and comparative literature from Columbia University where he also assisted folklorist Alan Lomax. He was awarded an M.F.A. in film from Columbia as well and taught theater there at the graduate school of the arts. He has taught in USC’s film school for the past six years.