---
name: "Sarah Kernochan"
canonical: "https://film.one/person/sarah-kernochan"
fi1m_id: "sarah-kernochan"
imdb_id: "nm0449576"
tmdb_id: 15149
wikidata_id: "Q2224404"
roles: ["Writer"]
born: "30 December 1947"
reviewed_on_fi1m: 2
average_fi1m_score: 63
average_as: "writer"
average_over: 2
updated: "2026-10-05T01:56:40.991965+00:00"
licence: "© Fi1m Ltd. Written by AI under a human editor; checked against sources before publication. Quote with attribution and a link to the canonical URL."
---

# Sarah Kernochan

## Identity

Sarah Kernochan

- **Canonical:** https://film.one/person/sarah-kernochan
- **Type:** Person
- **Fi1m ID:** sarah-kernochan
- **IMDb ID:** nm0449576
- **TMDB ID:** 15149
- **Wikidata ID:** Q2224404
- **Same entity:** https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sarah_Kernochan, https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q2224404, https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0449576/, https://www.themoviedb.org/person/15149

Writer. Born 30 December 1947 in New York City, New York, USA.

## Details

- **Work:** Writer
- **Born:** 30 December 1947, New York City, New York, USA
- **Active:** 1993–2000
- **Academy Awards:** 1 Oscar (1 won)
- **Average Fi1m score:** 63, as writer, over 2 titles
- **Fi1m score by decade:** 1990s 63 (1), 2000s 63 (1)
- **Elsewhere:** https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sarah_Kernochan, https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q2224404, https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0449576/, https://www.themoviedb.org/person/15149

## Streaming the US now

- **Amazon Prime Video:** [*Sommersby*](https://film.one/film/sommersby.md) (63)

For United States; add `?region=XX` for another country.

## Biography

Sarah Kernochan is an American screenwriter, director, documentarian and novelist. Born in New York City on 30 December 1947, she was educated at Rosemary Hall and Sarah Lawrence College. She first gained prominence as co-director and co-producer of the documentary *Marjoe* (1972), which won the Academy Award for Best Documentary Feature.

Kernochan has written screenplays for films including *9½ Weeks* (1986), *Impromptu* (1991), *Sommersby* (1993) and *Learning to Drive* (2014). She received a story credit on *What Lies Beneath* (2000). She also wrote and directed *All I Wanna Do* (1998) and the documentary short *Thoth* (2002), for which she won a second Academy Award.

Her husband is the director and playwright James Lapine.

*Sources: en.wikipedia.org, imdb.com.*

## On Fi1m (2)

- *What Lies Beneath* (2000), Fi1m 63, Story — [page](https://film.one/film/what-lies-beneath.md)
- *Sommersby* (1993), Fi1m 63, Screenplay — [page](https://film.one/film/sommersby.md)

## Complete filmography (10)

Every credit, newest first. Titles without a page can be requested for review on the HTML page.

- *Learning to Drive* (2014), Screenplay
- *The Perfect Silence* (2013), Producer
- *Thoth* (2002), Director, Producer
- *What Lies Beneath* (2000), Story — Fi1m 63, [page](https://film.one/film/what-lies-beneath.md)
- *Strike!* (1998), Director, Writer
- *Sommersby* (1993), Screenplay — Fi1m 63, [page](https://film.one/film/sommersby.md)
- *Impromptu* (1991), Writer
- *Dancers* (1987), Writer
- *Nine 1/2 Weeks* (1986), as Gallery Guest · Screenplay
- *Marjoe* (1972), Director, Producer

## Awards

### Academy Awards — 1 won

- 2002: Best Documentary (Short Subject) (won), for *Thoth*

### Other awards — 0 won, 1 nominated

- Golden Raspberry Award for Worst Screenplay 1987: Golden Raspberry Award for Worst Screenplay (nominated), for *9½ Weeks*

*From Wikidata, which records wins more completely than nominations.*

---
© Fi1m Ltd. Written by AI under a human editor; checked against sources before publication. Quote with attribution and a link to the canonical URL. Canonical: https://film.one/person/sarah-kernochan