The Grand Slam of Garrett Bradley ’07

At first glance, director Garrett Bradley ’07’s two most recent projects could not be more dissimilar.

Time, a 2021 Academy Award nominee for best documentary feature, follows a Louisiana woman’s 20-year quest to secure her husband’s release from prison.

Naomi Osaka, on the other hand, is a Netflix-financed docuseries about the tennis superstar of the same name.

And yet, the fact that both documentaries incorporate footage shot by the subjects themselves makes for a powerful connection. As Bradley told Variety, “Something that I know to be true as a filmmaker [and] as a Black woman … is that the narrative will be set up for you if you don’t create your own narrative.”

TIME
Garrett Bradley ’07
Amazon Studios, 2020

NAOMI OSAKA
Garrett Bradley ’07
Netflix, July 2021

This story appears as part of the Smithies Create column in the Fall 2021 issue of the Smith Alumnae Quarterly.

Garretty Bradley ’07 by BLVXMTH