Michael Schwarz
Directing
Known For

PBS' premier science series helps viewers of all ages explore the science behind the headlines. Along the way, NOVA demystifies science and technology, and highlights the people involved in scientific pursuits.
NOVA

Featuring Michael Pollan and based on his best-selling book, this special takes viewers on an exploration of the human relationship with the plant world — seen from the plants' point of view. Narrated by Frances McDormand, the program shows how four familiar species — the apple, the tulip, marijuana and the potato — evolved to satisfy our yearnings for sweetness, beauty, intoxication.
The Botany of Desire

Industry leaders including Eric Schmidt and Steve Wozniak are interviewed in this remarkable look at how Silicon Valley has produced an unrivaled stream of innovations.
Silicon Valley: The Untold Story

Filmed in Cordoba, Granada, Seville, and Toledo, this documentary retraces the 800-year period in medieval Spain when Muslims, Christians, and Jews forged a common cultural identity that frequently transcended their religious differences, revealing what made this rare and fruitful collaboration possible, and what ultimately tore it apart.
The Ornament of the World
It seems like two disparate realms. One occupied by some of the most acclaimed dancers in the world, people who move for a living. The other occupied by people who often struggle to move, people who have Parkinson's disease. This is the story of what happens when those worlds intersect. We followed individuals with Parkinson's as they prepared to stage a first ever dance performance, under the tutelage of two long time dancers at the Mark Morris Dance Group. It's a story about determination, adversity, contending with doubt, the transformative power of art and the strength of the human spirit. This is the story of a remarkable community of dancers who have come together to rediscover the meaning of grace.
Capturing Grace

In Defense of Food tackles a question more and more people around the world have been asking: What should I eat to be healthy? Based on award-winning journalist Michael Pollan's best-selling book, the program explores how the modern diet has been making us sick and what we can do to change it.
In Defense of Food

Tells the story of the seventh century prophet who changed world history in 23 years, and continues to shapes the lives of more than 1.2 billion people. The film takes viewers not only to ancient Middle Eastern sites where Muhammad's story unfolds, but into the homes, mosques and workplaces of some of America's estimated seven million Muslim to discover the many ways in which they follow Muhammad's example.
Muhammad: Legacy of a Prophet

This documentary follows a band of idealistic young Californians who, using a radical new design approach, make life-changing products for the world's poor.