T. J. Martin

In 2007 in Los Angeles, Martin met future directing partner Daniel Lindsay, when they collaborated on the feature documentary Last Cup: Road to the World Series of Beer Pong, directed by Lindsay and edited by Martin. The film was distributed by Morgan Spurlock's company Warrior Poets.

As co-directors, Martin and Lindsay next made the feature documentary Undefeated, which chronicles the football team of Manassas High School in Memphis, Tennessee. The film focuses on the lives of several of the players and their coach, Bill Courtney, over the course of a single season.

Undefeated premiered at the 2011 SXSW Film Festival and was purchased by The Weinstein Company for North American distribution just hours after the first screening.[3] Released to near universal acclaim, the film went on to win the Academy Award for Best Feature Documentary in 2012. Undefeated holds a 96% rating on the review aggregator site Rotten Tomatoes.[4]

In November, 2012 Martin was listed on Ebony Magazine’s Power 100 list.[5] That same year he received the award for “Outstanding Achievement in Directing” from the Seattle International Film Festival.[6]

On April 28, 2015, Martin gave a talk at TEDx on Orcas Island, Washington, titled “Reimagining America’s Culture Narrative”, in which he discussed race and diversity in the film and television industry and mass media more broadly.[7]

In 2017, Martin and co-director/co-editor Lindsay, made the documentary feature LA 92. Composed entirely of archival footage, the film explores the days of civil unrest that followed the acquittal of four LAPD officers captured on video beating motorist Rodney King—the events commonly referred to as the 1992 Los Angeles riots. LA 92 premiered at the 2017 Tribeca Film Festival and made its broadcast premiere shortly thereafter on the National Geographic Channel. The film was named by several publications, including Rolling Stone and The Playlist, as one of the best documentaries of 2017.[8][9] In June 2017, LA 92 won the Primetime Emmy Award for Exceptional Merit in Documentary Filmmaking.[10] The film was shortlisted for Best Documentary Feature for the 90th Academy Awards and holds a 97% rating on the review aggregator site Rotten Tomatoes.[11]

2015 saw the television premiere of the feature documentary I Am Dying, co-directed by Martin and produced by Joaquin Phoenix, Casey Affleck and Mary Lisio of Scott Free for the National Geographic Channel.[12][13] The film chronicles Renee and Rita Heidtman as Renee loses her life to terminal breast cancer while her sister Rita cares for her.

Working officially as the directing duo Martin + Lindsay, Martin and Lindsay have continued their work across various platforms including short films, television, and commercial work. Their short film My Favorite Picture of You (2014) screened at numerous film festivals, was featured on The Atlantic and Vice, chosen as a Vimeo Staff Pick, and nominated for a Webby Award.[14][15][16][17]

In the commercial space, Martin and Lindsay have co-directed television commercials for clients that include Starbucks, Comcast, Gatorade, Facebook, Toyota, Prudential Financial, Hallmark Cards, the United Negro College Fund, and Honey Maid. The “This Is Wholesome” campaign, directed for Honey Maid, garnered both controversy and praise for its portrayal of parents and their children that include a single father, an interracial couple, and a gay couple.[18][19]