Kristian R. Hill

Kristian R. Hill

Picture Editor, Director, Producer and Author

Kristian R. Hill, an award-winning documentary filmmaker, has over 25 years of experience in film, television, and entertainment media. Born in Detroit, the city and its history defines much of his work. Thanks to the encouragement of his parents, Kristian found an early affinity with computers and love of video editing, which served as an entryway to television. As an editor, he earned television credits, such as “Icons Among Us: Jazz in the Present Tense” and other projects with the NFL Network, HBO and Apple. Driven by a thirst to tell authentic stories, Kristian eventually began focusing on producing and directing in addition to editing.

In 2014, Kristian garnered an NAACP Image Award Nomination for Best Children's Television Program for “Postcards: Mandela.” Later that year, his short film, "Electric Roots: The Detroit Sound Project," was selected to screen at the Court Mértage of the Cannes Short Film Corner. He directed, shot, and edited both projects.

Kristian made his feature-film directing debut in 2022 with “God Said Give ‘em Drum Machines - the Story of Detroit Techno” at the world-renown Tribeca Film Festival. Through the making and rollout of the film, he has earned speaking engagements at the School of Cinematic Arts at DePaul University, Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) Documentary Lab, British Film Institute at the London Film Festival, and

the Smithsonian’s Hirshhorn Museum to name a few.

Kristian is currently living and working in Los Angeles where he is in-demand as an editor and growing his reputation as a director and executive producer. Still closely engaged with his hometown, he was recently the recipient of the Detroit Diaspora - Cultural Titan Award. His next project, “Welcome to Rap City,'' is a three-part docu-series presented by BET and Mass Appeal premiering on the BET Network in October 2023.