Double Hope Films
Vanessa Hope is an award-winning director, writer, and producer whose internationally minded films span the U.S., China, Afghanistan, and Taiwan. Her most recent documentary, Invisible Nation, follows Taiwan’s first female president, Tsai Ing-wen, across two terms through 2024, capturing the island’s democratic transformation under the shadow of Chinese aggression and the resilience of its people. After a groundbreaking “NonDē” U.S. release and acclaimed festival and broadcast run internationally, Invisible Nation opened theatrically in Taiwan in June 2025 and became the third highest-grossing documentary in the nation’s history.
Hope’s producing credits include Wang Quanan’s The Story of Ermei (Berlinale); Chantal Akerman’s Tombee de Nuit sur Shanghai from the omnibus The State of the World (Cannes); Zeina Durra’s The Imperialists Are Still Alive! (Sundance); Sarah & Emily Kunstler’s Academy Award–shortlisted William Kunstler: Disturbing the Universe (Sundance); their SXSW award-winner Who We Are: A Chronicle of Racism in America; and Paula James-Martinez’s Born Free (EP).
As a director, she debuted with All Eyes and Ears, a Tribeca-premiering feature on U.S.–China relations, and her short China in Three Words screened at DOC NYC. She also co-wrote and co-hosted the 10-episode podcast Love Is a Crime with Karina Longworth, starring Jon Hamm as Walter Wanger and Zooey Deschanel as Joan Bennett.
With her husband, producer Ted Hope, she runs Double Hope Films. A former Council on Foreign Relations staffer, Vanessa holds a B.A. from the University of Chicago, completed doctoral coursework at Columbia, is fluent in Mandarin and French, and writes the Substack newsletter Dream of a Better World.
