Karin Hayes is the recipient of the duPont-Columbia University Award for excellence
in broadcast journalism for her first film, The Kidnapping of Ingrid Betancourt (HBO/Cinemax, 2003), co-produced with Victoria Bruce. Hayes also co-produced and directed Held Hostage in Colombia. The documentary was excerpted on CBS
60 Minutes II and broadcast on The History Channel and the Sundance Channel. Hayes's and Bruce's documentary Pip & Zastrow: An American Friendship was broadcast on PBS/Maryland Public Television. Hayes co-authored the book Hostage Nation (Knopf 2010) with Bruce.
Hayes associate produced the film American Hardcore: the history of American
punk rock from 1980-1986, and has worked on documentaries for PBS, National Geographic Channel, the Travel Channel, the Discovery Channel, and with The Cronkite Ward Company for TLC. Prior to filmmaking, she attended the University of Guadalajara in Mexico, lived in Costa Rica for a year to attend the Universidad de Costa Rica, and worked at the Smithsonian Center for Folklife and Cultural Heritage. She graduated
from UCLA with a degree in World Arts and Cultures.
Courtesy of Urcunina Films