[2] She has made biographical documentaries about a number of historical figures including Bobby Kennedy, Vernon Jordan, and John Lewis and has collaborated with Oprah and Prince Harry.

[15] The army is named after Clarence Earl Gideon, who was arrested in 1961 for stealing soda and a few dollars from a pool hall in Panama City, Fla.

While in prison, he appealed his case to the U.S. Supreme Court, resulting in the landmark 1963 decision Gideon v. Wainwright holding that a criminal defendant who cannot afford to hire a lawyer must be provided one at no cost.

[15] Gideon's Army examines two cases of armed robbery, for which conviction in Georgia carries a minimum sentence of 10 years without parole and a maximum of life imprisonment.

Holden notes that "in both cases, the movie doesn’t try to assess innocence or guilt but to show its lawyers mounting the best defenses possible with minimal resources.

It is 53-minute documentary shot in black and white about Mississippi State Sovereignty Commission (MSSC) efforts to preserve segregation during the 1950s and 1960s, including the use of an extensive spy network and violent cover-ups.

[18] In 2015, Porter directed and produced Rise: The Promise of My Brother’s Keeper, a film for The Discovery Channel chronicling President Obama’s program to help young men of color succeed.

[22] Due to the film's potent subject matter on abortion, police were hired to stand guard outside screenings, and to check for weapons at the door.

[30][31][32] In a review of the film for Variety, Lisa Kennedy wrote: "Among Porter’s skills is her ability to ask questions of institutions while hewing to the human subjects driving her narratives.

"[33] In 2021, she directed and produced The Me You Can’t See: A Path Forward, a town hall style "companion piece" to the original Apple + documentary The Me You Can't See, in which Oprah and Prince Harry discuss mental health.

[34] In 2022, Porter partnered with Nicole Newnham on a four-part docu-series 37 Words, for ESPN, which premiered on June 21, 2022, celebrating the 50th anniversary of Title IX.

[35] That same year, she returned to Sundance as executive producer of Paula Eiselt and Tonya Lewis Lee’s Hulu documentary Aftershock, which delves into the crisis of Black maternal mortality in the United States.

It relied on 123 hours of personal and revealing audio diaries that Lady Bird recorded during her the presidency of her husband, Lyndon Baines Johnson.