Chris Temple

Chris Temple (born May 20, 1989) is an American documentary filmmaker. In 2012, he co-founded the non-profit production company Optimist with Zach Ingrasci.

Career
Temple's first documentary was Living on One Dollar in 2012. The film focuses on life in extreme poverty in the rural Guatemalan town of Pena Blanca. It was co-created with Zach Ingrasci, Sean Leonard, and Ryan Christoffersen. The film released on Netflix in 2015.

In 2015, Temple co-directed his second documentary Salam Neighbor. The film documents life inside of the Za'atari refugee camp and was a co-production with 1001 Media. The film premiered at AFI Docs film festival in 2015 and released on Netflix in 2016. The film was awarded the 2016 Muslim Public Affairs Council Annual Media Awards.

Temple's filmography also includes co-directing The Undocumented Lawyer (HBO 2020), Five Years North (PBS, 2020), Free to Care (2022), This Is Not Financial Advice (Tribeca, 2023), and The Untitled Ethereum Film (2024). He produced Rosa - These Storms (The Atlantic, 2016) and Paperboy Love Prince Runs for Mayor (2022). Temple is also a frequent keynote speaker and contributor to the Huffington Post.

His most recent documentary, This Is Not Financial Advice, premiered at the Tribeca Film Festival in June 2023. According to Investopedia, it "shows the human side of crypto, meme craze, and influencers." As the Verge put it, "unlike other efforts to document the boom of retail investing, This Is Not Financial Advice isn't a cheap content grab. This beautifully shot and scored documentary from Chris Temple and Zach Ingrasci is a genuine, if slightly naive, piece of art."

Awards

 * 2015 Top 100 Visionary Leaders by Real Leaders Magazine
 * 2017 Daily Point of Light Award
 * 2020 DuPont-Columbia Award Finalist for outstanding journalism
 * 2022 Imagen Award Finalist
 * 2022 40 Under 40 by HBO and DOC NYC