The Elon alumnus served as an editor for “The Fourth Estate,” a recently released docu-series about New York Times journalists chronicling the first year of the Trump administration.
A month after serving as the closing-night selection of the 2018 Tribeca Film Festival, “The Fourth Estate,” a documentary edited by Elon alumnus Daniel Koehler ’12, is now airing on Showtime and available to stream.
The four-part docu-series directed by Oscar-nominated filmmaker Liz Garbus provides an unprecedented look into the newsroom of The New York Times as reporters chronicle the first year of Donald Trump’s presidency. The series captures some of the biggest stories of the year, ranging from Michael Flynn’s resignation as national security adviser to the firing of James Comey as FBI director.
Through extraordinary access and exclusive interviews, “The Fourth Estate” illuminates how The New York Times, long considered the “newspaper of record,” attempts to accurately and honestly cover the 45th president of the United States.
A trailer of “The Fourth Estate” is available here.
In late April, Variety published an extensive review of the new docu-series. More recently, other media outlets such as Rolling Stone, Hollywood Reporter, The Ringer and even The New York Times itself have examined the series.
A renowned documentary filmmaker, Garbus has produced Academy Award-nominated films “The Farm: Angola, USA” and “What Happened, Miss Simone?” The latter opened the 2015 Sundance Film Festival and later received a Primetime Emmy for Outstanding Documentary or Nonfiction Special.
Koehler, who completed a post-grad National Geographic Digital Storytelling Fellowship, is one of five credited editors on the new docu-series. His own short documentary, “A House Without Snakes,” hosted its world premiere at the 2016 Full Frame Documentary Film Festival in Durham.
His recent works include co-editing the BAFTA-nominated documentary “City of Ghosts,” which premiered at the Sundance Film Festival. He also edited “The Trade,” a doc-series that premiered at Sundance before airing on Showtime.
Following his Elon graduation, Koehler was part of the production team for “Point and Shoot,” a 88-minute documentary film that won best documentary at the 2014 Tribeca Film Festival.
As an undergraduate student, Koehler directed, shoot and edited the award-winning short documentary “The Tobacco King,” which follows white Zimbabwean farmer George Botha’s efforts to cultivate a new life in Zambia after losing his home in Zimbabwe. Additionally, he was a member of elondocs, the university’s documentary production program.