Nathan Willis is a documentary filmmaker drawn to intimate stories rooted in people, place, and perseverance. He works almost exclusively as a one-person crew serving as director, cinematographer, and sound recordist. His work explores themes of community, faith, disability, justice, adoption, and creativity.

His debut feature, Rap Squad, follows high school students using music to fight for education equity. The film won a Mid-America Emmy for Best Cultural Documentary and aired nationally on PBS through the Reel South series. His follow-up, 7 Days: The Opioid Crisis in Arkansas, took a vérité approach to the human toll of opioid addiction across the state and surpassed one million views on YouTube within six months of release.

Unveiled: Daisy Bates and Johnny Cash, chronicles the creation of two statues bound for Statuary Hall in the U.S. Capitol, examining legacy, memory, and which stories a nation chooses to tell about itself. The film earned Nathan a Mid-America Emmy for Best Director.

Nathan has also served as episode director and cinematographer for the PBS national series Southern Storytellers.

Embracing Instability, an autobiographical short about living with Parkinson's disease, won Best Documentary Short at the Sonoma International Film Festival and a Special Jury Prize at the New Orleans Film Festival.

His most recent short, Between Here and Home, documents sisters Liz and Anna Sargent as they make their scripted feature film, Take Me Home, a film centered on a lead actress with a cognitive disability that won the AT&T Untold Stories Grant in 2025. Between Here and Home premiered at the Tribeca Film Festival and is currently part of Take Me Home's impact campaign.

His work has appeared on NBC News, VICE, and PBS. His films have screened at the Tribeca Film Festival, DOC NYC, Slamdance, Big Sky Documentary Film Festival, New Orleans Film Festival, and Hot Springs Documentary Film Festival.