Nancy M Ruff

Currently working as a freelance writer, award-winning producer Nancy M. Ruff began her film career as a production assistant and grip. Her work on several non-fiction series for acclaimed documentary house, Churchill Films, led to further production jobs in both fiction and non-fiction genres including documentaries, cable, live theatre & sporting events.

Nancy has produced numerous short films, including the award-winning Algorithms and Wrinkle. She was a founder and executive director of the Los Angeles Short Film Festival. For the Noho Arts Festival, she produced a series of one-act plays, directing one, Baiting

In 1990, Nancy established Lonsdale Productions and produced several award winning films, including the feature How to Kill Your Neighbor’s Dog, starring Kenneth Branagh, Robin Wright and Lynn Redgrave. The critically lauded and financially successful film, executive produced by Robert Redford, was the prestigious closing night gala at the Toronto Film Festival and won many international and domestic awards.

During her time running Lonsdale, the company developed and sold over 30 scripts to most of the major studios. Projects included works for Keanu Reeves, Will Smith, Billy Crystal and Danny DeVito.

Projects in development include the short film Retale; the feature The New Girl; and a documentary on the Shona sculptures of Zimbabwe. She is also writing a novel inspired by her rollicking romp through the Los Angeles County family court system.

Nancy has had a lifelong passion for world cultures – people and what they create - and, in addition to her film work, she was the owner of a fair trade gallery which showcased art and craft from around the world. She is the artistic director of Eighth Day Arts, a modern day salon, where she strives to bring diverse ideas, cultures and individuals to an understanding and appreciation of each other through artistic expression and experimentation, with an emphasis on the fun of it all.

Nancy is a member of Women in Film, AFI, Independent Filmmaker Project (IFP) and the International Documentary Association (IDA). A South Jersey native, she resides in Los Angeles, California.