Sarah Kernochan (born December 30, 1947) is an American filmmaker, screenwriter, director, and songwriter. She is a two-time Academy Award nominee and one-time winner, recognized for her contributions to both documentary and narrative filmmaking, as well as music.
Early Life and Education Kernochan attended Yale University, where she began her creative career.
Career Kernochan's career began in the early 1970s with significant achievements in both film and music. In 1971, she co-wrote the lyrics for "The Summer Knows," the main theme from the film Summer of '42, which earned her an Academy Award nomination for Best Original Song.
The following year, Kernochan made her mark in documentary filmmaking as a co-director, writer, and producer of Marjoe (1972). The film explored the life of Marjoe Gortner, a child evangelist who later confessed his ministry was fraudulent. Marjoe received widespread critical acclaim and won the Academy Award for Best Documentary Feature.
Throughout her career, Kernochan has demonstrated versatility across various film genres and roles. She wrote the screenplay for the acclaimed romantic drama Sommersby (1993), starring Jodie Foster and Richard Gere.
As a director, her narrative feature credits include Nine 1/2 Ninjas! (1991) and All I Wanna Do (also known as Strike!) (1998), a coming-of-age comedy. She also directed the documentary The Last Cowboy (2003).
Kernochan is also recognized for her work as a screenwriter on the independent romantic comedy Kissing Jessica Stein (2001), for which she received an Independent Spirit Award nomination for Best Screenplay. Her later screenwriting credits include the romantic comedy-drama Learning to Drive (2014).
Selected Filmography
- Summer of '42 (1971) – Songwriter ("The Summer Knows")
- Marjoe (1972) – Co-Director, Writer, Producer (Documentary)
- Nine 1/2 Ninjas! (1991) – Director, Writer
- Sommersby (1993) – Screenwriter
- All I Wanna Do (a.k.a. Strike!) (1998) – Director, Writer
- Kissing Jessica Stein (2001) – Screenwriter
- The Last Cowboy (2003) – Director (Documentary)
- Learning to Drive (2014) – Screenwriter
Awards and Nominations
- Academy Award for Best Documentary Feature:
- Marjoe (1972) – Won
- Academy Award for Best Original Song:
- "The Summer Knows" from Summer of '42 (1971) – Nominated
- Independent Spirit Award for Best Screenplay:
- Kissing Jessica Stein (2001) – Nominated