The McAuley Tucker Show · Episode 66 · Film & Television
How Performing “Twinkle Twinkle” for Fred Rogers at Age 6 Led to Mabel┃Nicholas Ma Interview
Director
About This Episode
About the Guest
Nicholas Ma is an award-winning filmmaker and producer whose work explores the power of connection in an increasingly divided world. He is perhaps best known for producing the critically acclaimed documentary Won’t You Be My Neighbor?, which examined the life of Fred Rogers and became the highest-grossing biographical documentary of all time. Most recently, Ma directed Leap of Faith, a film that follows twelve diverse Christian leaders as they navigate complex cultural friction to find a sense of mutual belonging.
A graduate of Harvard College and the NYU Tisch School of the Arts, Ma’s career is defined by a unique blend of creative and strategic leadership. Before his transition into filmmaking, he led global economic policy for the Senate Foreign Relations Committee and worked as a consultant at McKinsey & Company in New York and Shanghai.
This multidisciplinary background informs his storytelling, which often bridges the gap between individual human experience and broader social issues.His feature directorial debut, Mabel, was awarded the prestigious Sloan Prize, and his documentary short, Suite No. 1, Prelude, premiered at the New York Film Festival. Based in Brooklyn, Ma is also the founder of Ernest Lyford, a boutique consulting firm that integrates creative storytelling with strategic vision. Whether through his work on the WNBA documentary Unfinished Business or his collaborations with Tremolo Productions, Ma remains committed to projects that foster radical empathy and communal healing.
