PATTI OBROW WHITE
Producer • Director • Writer
Patti O. White is an award-winning documentary filmmaker and television producer. Cutting her teeth at CBS News in New York, White produced
for CBS Reports and 60 Minutes, earning three national Emmy awards,
three Emmy nominations, and a George Foster Peabody Award. White’s credits have appeared on CBS, ABC, Lifetime, Discovery, Turner and others, producing everything from hard-hitting documentaries to wildlife films to docu-reality series.
White’s work earned her three Cine Golden Eagles and a Cable Ace Award nomination as well. As one of ABC’s EXTREME MAKEOVER’s producers, White was promoted to Senior Producer in the final season. She was also the Producer and Senior Producer on a LIFETIME reality TV pilot, THE BIG SECRET in 2010.
FILMSTERS, LLC, in which White is a principal, is a production and development company for documentaries, docu-reality TV, and digital content for the web. Filmsters also create concepts for scripted TV and true stories to film. FILMSTERS production company credits include the 2013 indie feature, JAMESY BOY, starring James Woods, Mary Louise Parker and Ving Rhames. Some of FILMSTERS corporate clients for FILMSTERS include Google, Synergics, Pfizer and AT&T.
White has overseen the creative for a government campaign for the United States Patent & Trademark Office. FILMSTERS has created and runs the multi-pronged, TV, Radio, OOH, social media, and gaming ad buys for the entire media campaign for the National Crime Prevention Council. They are spearheading an anti-counterfeit campaign designed to warn kids about the dangers of counterfeit goods and products. They are currently working to reintroduce McGruff the Crime Dog to a new generation of kids in 3D and just completed a live-action/3D shoot at the Jim Henson Studios in Los Angeles.
White directed and produced the short doc, DON'T HOLD YOUR BREATH in 2022 about a shallow water blackout event that took place in North Carolina. When newly married 26-year-old Chandler Watson vacations with his family on a tiny, remote island off North Carolina’s coast, he experiences a near-tragic event. This competitive, athletic young man, who sees himself as invincible, meets his match on a perfectly sunny day, quietly enjoying himself at a pool resort with his family. This cinematic and hybrid documentary short takes you through the families’ experiences and personal descriptions when it all comes crashing down. The gusto, the grief, and the guilt surface as we learn for the first time about a random, but dangerous and little-known incident that can happen to anyone. She is currently in production on a feature documentary film, Learning To Fly about the journey of the Black actor in America.
She was an Executive Producer of the 2016 feature-length documentary, REVOLVING DOORS, which explores the cycles of incarceration and re-offending for non-violent convicted felons. White’s other notable credits include writing, producing, and directing the award-winning feature-length documentary, IF I COULD, narrated by Sally Field. The production follows an at-risk teen featured in White's "CBS Reports" film, THE WAGON TRAIN TRIAL, twenty years later. White wrote and produced the award-winning doc, AMERICA AT RISK: SEEDS OF HOPE for Turner Broadcasting and the Tribune Co., focusing on an abandoned generation of youth, drug and alcohol abuse, and the breakdown of the American family. White has earned a reputation for dealing thoughtfully with current event-driven issues concerning the human predicament.
In 2002, White created and co-founded FILMSTERS Academy, a hands-on
experiential summer program for youth between the ages of 11-18 that
teaches the art of filmmaking.
In 2013, she co-founded the Annapolis Film Festival in Annapolis, MD.
She is currently, along with her producing partner, Lee Anderson, one of the Festival Directors and a member of Board of Directors, Emeritus.