Block is an Oscar & multi-Emmy Award winning & nominated executive & creative producer, writer, & consults about project development, financing, marketing & distributing features, documentaries, shorts & animated films. Experienced (on both the buy & sell side) of producing, placing works into distribution & evaluating & finding funding for projects & marketing globally.
Mitchell Block holds the first Jon Anderson Chair, Professor of Documentary Studies and Production in the School of Journalism and Communications at the University of Oregon. He taught producing at USC's School of Cinematic Arts from 1978 to 2017. In Nov, 2017 he was a visiting professor at the Inst of Cultural & Creative Industry-Jiao Tong U & USC in Shanghai & 2019 taught in Beijing and Nanjing. He has lectured at Kede College, CUC and Yanching Institute of Technology (Beijing) as well as at Zhujiang College (Guangzhou).
His doc WOMEN OF THE GULAG (2018) & THE TESTIMONY (2016) were short listed for an Oscar. (2016) VESSEL which he produced, won SXSW both the jury & audience awards. It received the audience award at Hot Docs & the Wintonick Award at Sheffield.
Block was Nominated for an Oscar for POSTER GIRL. The IDA selected it as "Best" Doc Short 2011. It was nominated for 2 Emmys - Best Info Program & Best Doc Editing. Aired on HBO.
He is exec producer of the Emmy-winning 10 hour PBS series CARRIER - which he conceived & co-created Funded by Mel Gibson. Block is the CEO of THE CARRIER PROJECT. See: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PL5FCD6DFFBD43415C
Block received a BFA & MFA from NYU's, Tisch School a MBA from Columbia Grad School of Business. Block was a producing fellow at the American Film Institute. He's a member of Academy of Motion Picture Arts & Sciences, the Television Academy, the PGA, a founding member of BAFTA-LA, a life member of the U Film & Video Assoc & the Int'l Doc Assoc.
Block worked as an acquisitions consultant for HBO (docs) and with Sheila Nevins was an executive producer of the Academy Award-winning documentary BIG MAMA.
He produced-directed NO LIES named in 2008 to the Library of Congress' National Register of Films. 600 American films produced since 1895 are included. Selected by IndieWire 2016 as one the 8 best Short Films of All Time.