Jessica Edwards uses her broad background in the film industry as a director, producer and publicist to create and support storytelling. Her award-winning debut short Seltzer Works premiered at SxSW and was broadcast on the PBS series POV in 2010. Her other documentary shorts, including Tugs (2011), The Landfill (2012) and Slowerblack (2017), have screened at film festivals around the world including Sundance, SxSW, Hot Docs, Full Frame, IDFA and dozens of others.
Edwards’ debut feature-length documentary, Mavis!, about soul music legend Mavis Staples and her family group The Staple Singers, premiered on HBO in 2016 and was released in over a dozen countries worldwide. She was awarded a Peabody for distinguished achievement in documentary filmmaking in 2017.
Her current film Skate Dreams, about the rise of women’s skateboarding premiered at SxSW and has screened at festivals including DocNYC, Woodstock, Nantucket, Full Frame and others. It will be available to stream world-wide in 2023.
Edwards holds a MA in Media Studies from The New School in New York City and a BA in Cinema Studies from Montréal’s Concordia University in her native Canada. She lives and works in the Hudson Valley, NY with her partner and daughter.
(Photo Credit: Ebru Yildiz)
