A documentary filmmaker, journalist and independent scholar, Amanda Rubin works at the intersection of cultural history, music, the arts, and science.
Credits include: 21st Century Mythologies (which unpacks the 1957 book “Mythologies” by French philosopher Roland Barthes), and Danceworks for BBC Four, Cutting Edge films Nurses and A-is-for-Accident for Channel 4, The Late Show for BBC 2, Bros: The Documentary for Sky TV, The New Russia for Channel 4, The Unexplained for The History Channel.
Whilst researching a film about journalist Charlotte Beradt and her unique dream collection The Third Reich of Dreams, Amanda discovered the lost English rights to the book. She was the force behind its republication in English in April 2025 with Princeton University Press to excellent reviews. She is currently making a radio documentary for BBC Radio 4 about the role of Psychotherapy under the Nazis. She lives and works in London.
Recent Events include:
The Freud Museum - In conversation with Lisa Appignanesi (June 2025)
The Weiner Holocaust Library - Totalitarian Dreams and Real Nightmares with Hannah Arendt historian Lyndsey Stonebridge (June 2025)
Upcoming Events include:
University of Illinois - 35th Annual Mortenson Distinguished Lecture (September 2025)
Leo Baeck Institute (New York) - Psychoanalysis and Jewish History Series (November 2025)
Oxford University, Centre for Life Writing (November 2025)
Association of Psychotherapists Aotearoa New Zealand Conference 2026 in Wellington, New Zealand (January 2026), on the theme, What We Do In the Shadows.
BBC Radio Four Documentary for Holocaust Memorial Day (Jan 2026)
Oxford Literary Festival (March 2026)
JW3 London - Responses to Charlotte Beradt (three free-standing discussions, book reading, and film evening) (Spring 2026)
British Psychoanalytic Society (May 2026)
Reviews (TV):
"... Makes the kind of intellectually stimulating TV that gives BBC Four its identity" (The Guardian)
"Barthes' complex ideas about myth and signs are neatly explained .. it's fascinating". (The Times)
"These marvellous programmes provide a thought-provoking insight .. they are brilliant to watch" (Time Educational Supplement)
"yet another brilliant Cutting Edge ... Rubin has taken in drama's mix of tone and content (and) her film works with great success" (The Observer)
References:
“Amanda is a wonderful colleague and is a fantastic addition to any team. She has strong storytelling skills and sense of character - she developed the most richly layered stories in ClearStory's Danceworks series with Sadler's Wells. And she directed our biopic of the French philosopher Roland Barthes with visual flair and wit, a passion for archive and the ability to communicate Barthes' ideas (no easy task) with clarity and power.” Exec Producer, Clearstory
“Amanda is one of the best directors I ever worked with. She's really smart, she gets the subject quickly and deeply, she's great with people, she's very talented visually and she's utterly reliable and competent. So you get a beautiful, intelligent film, delivered on time, on budget and with no drama!” Exec Producer, Wall to Wall TV