NYC
Jess Epstein
Affiliations
BAVC Media
Impact Campaigns & Crowdfunding
Links to Work
Bio
Jess Epstein is an independent documentary producer who has been working in documentary film and unscripted television for over 10 years. She has worked in the U.S. and abroad, producing both long and short-format content, including feature-length documentaries, LOS ÚLTIMOS FRIKIS and CANDACE PARKER: UNAPOLOGETIC (ESPN / FILM-45), both of which premiered at DOC NYC. Her most recent project, REMAINING NATIVE, directed by Paige Bethmann, which premiered at SXSW in 2025 and received both the Special Jury and Audience awards. She is currently producing the feature documentary, DADDY, directed by Hannah Myers. She is a PGA Create Documentary Fellow, CNN Points North American Stories Documentary Fellow, and a Sundance Institute Documentary Film Program Grantee for this project. She is also an impact strategist, recently working with Loren Waters on her short documentary film, ᏗᏂᏠᎯ ᎤᏪᏯ (MEET ME AT THE CREEK) (BSDFF 2024) and TIGER (Sundance 2024). She holds a BA from NYU Gallatin and MA from BARUCH Cuny. In addition to producing, Jessica is the Associate Director of Strategic Partnerships at BAVC Media.
Projects
Remaining Native
Remaining Native is a coming-of-age documentary told from the perspective of Kutoven (Ku) Stevens, a 17-year-old Native American runner, struggling to navigate his dream of becoming a collegiate athlete as the memory of his great-grandfather's escape from an Indian boarding school begins to connect past, present, and future.
DADDY
Facing her father's late-in-life coming out and her mother's broken heart, a young filmmaker embarks on a poignant journey documenting her family's struggle with identity, grief, and acceptance in the American South. As the years pass, the film becomes an unexpected exploration of intergenerational queerness, revealing a universal story of family, forgiveness, and the enduring search for belonging.
