Sesame Workshop unveils its first documentary series Through Our Eyes. Through Our Eyes, described by the Workshop as spotlighting “the perspectives of children as they experience some of the most challenging issues facing families today – homelessness, parental incarceration, military caregiving, and climate displacement,” debuts Thursday, July 22 on HBO Max.
Produced by Sesame Workshop in association with Shine Global and Catalyst Films, Kristi Jacobson directed HOMEFRONT in this series, which follows three children of veteran families as they cope with the emotional impact of having a wounded parent, navigate the unique challenges of visible and invisible injuries sustained during military service, and together journey toward collective healing.
Check out the Deadline article to learn more!
When Satana Deberry took the oath of office as district attorney of Durham County, North Carolina, in January 2019, it was a momentous occasion—for the city of Durham, and for her, as a Black woman elected to an office historically held by white men, whose “tough on crime” policies have devastated communities of color for decades. She ran her campaign being vocal about the over-policing of Black and Brown folks, promising sweeping reform. Now, more than a year into office, she faces the complicated realities of seeking to reform a deeply flawed criminal justice system and support a community ravaged by gun violence. She’s learning that implementing change will be harder than she could have anticipated. Deberry stars in a new short film, "I Am Not Going to Change 400 Years in Four", directed by Angela Tucker and Kristi Jacobson.
Mother Jones reporter Jamilah King interview Satana Deberry as part of a broader examination of progressive prosecutors and how the office has become a focal point in the Republican-led culture war over criminal justice reform, on a recent episode of the Mother Jones Podcast.
Produced by Netsanet Negussie and Chicken & Egg Pictures, “I Am Not Going to Change 400 Years in Four,” premieres August 26, 2020 on Mother Jones.
On New York's Governor's Island, an unprecedented program has an ambitious goal: to restore once-bountiful oysters and the environmental benefits they bring to New York Harbor. What's more, the foot soldiers of this environmental movement are an unlikely group--high school students at a remarkable public school that teaches stewardship of the waterways alongside math and English. TAKE BACK THE HARBOR highlights the stories and work of these extraordinary students and their inspiring teachers as they persevere to turn the tide on decades of neglect and bring back the health of New York City waterways.
Directed by Emmy winner Kristi Jacobson and Oscar and Emmy winner Roger Ross Williams and produced by Jacobson and the team at Motto Pictures including Christopher Clements, Julie Goldman, and Carolyn Hepburn, TAKE BACK THE HARBOR premieres Tuesday December 18 at 8pm ET/PT on Discovery.
Co-Director Kristi Jacobson and New York Harbor School graduate Bryan Campbell join CBS This Morning: Saturday to discuss the film TAKE BACK THE HARBOR, which premieres Tuesday, December 18, 2018 at 8pm ET/PT on Discovery.
Emmy Award-winning Directors Kristi Jacobson and Roger Ross Williams sit down with WNYC’s All Of It host Allison Stewart to talk about the documentary, TAKE BACK THE HARBOR.
THR “Awards Chatter” Podcast host Scott Feinberg discusses TAKE BACK THE HARBOR documentary with directors Kristi Jacobson and Roger Ross Williams.
Take Back the Harbor had its World Premiere at DOC NYC on Sunday, November 11, 2018.
The film, directed by award-winning duo Kristi Jacobson and Roger Ross Williams, highlights dedicated young students on an ambitious mission to restore one billion oysters in New York Harbor through the Billion Oyster Project (BOP).
Following the premiere, Jacobson and Williams talked about the film and its central themes, including climate change, the power of youth change-makers and storytelling in a panel discussion with students Jesse and Bryan, founder Murray Fisher and executive director Pete Malinowski of BOP.
Many thanks to the film team including producers Christopher Clements, Julie Goldman and Carolyn Hepburn; executive producers John Hoffman and Jon Bardin; editors Jean Tsien and John Fisher; directors of photography Nelson Hume and Tom Bergmann; and composer T. Griffin.
SOLITARY: INSIDE RED ONION STATE PRISON won an Emmy Award for Outstanding Investigative Documentary at the 39th Annual News & Documentary Emmy Awards. Congratulations to the team in making this timely and poignant film, and gratitude to those who courageously shared their truth!
SOLITARY was nominated for TWO Emmys! One for Outstanding Investigative Documentary and one for Outstanding Editing: Documentary by the one-and-only Ben Gold!
Located on an Appalachian mountaintop in Wise County, Va., Red Onion State Prison is a “supermax” facility built to house individual inmates in 8’x10’ solitary-confinement cells, 23 hours a day, for months, years and sometimes decades. Directed and produced by Kristi Jacobson, SOLITARY: Inside Red Onion State Prison explores life on both sides of the bars, raising provocative questions about punishment in America today.
The film was produced by executive producer, David Menschel; producers, Julie Goldman, Katie Mitchell; editor, Ben Gold; director of photography, Nelson Hume; original music, T. Griffin. For HBO: Senior Producer, Nancy Abraham; Executive Producer, Sheila Nevins.
WATCH SOLITARY NOW STREAMING ON HBO TODAY!
WATCH TRAILER HERE.
Learn more about solitary confinement and join the fight with the ACLU of Virginia and Interfaith Action for Human Rights.
Kristi Jacobson’s latest directorial effort premieres on Netflix, January 26, 2018!
Kristi directed an episode of the Netflix Original series DIRTY MONEY, a thrilling investigative series that provides an up-close and personal view into untold stories of scandal and corruption in the world of business. Jacobson directed “Cartel Bank” which tells the riveting story of how HSBC, one of the world’s largest banks, laundered hundreds of millions of dollars for Mexican drug cartels for decades. The film features Senator Elizabeth Warren, awe-inspiring journalists, prosecutors and a former HSBC employee-turned whistleblower fighting to bring HSBC to justice for laundering money for one of the most notorious criminal organizations in the world.
WATCH CARTEL BANK, AND THE ENTIRE DIRTY MONEY SERIES ON NETFLIX NOW!
WATCH TRAILER HERE.
SOLITARY Reviews
“The penetrating “Solitary” is a sobering account of life (without parole) inside the Red Onion”
–LA Times
“Refusing to shy away from harsh truths...SOLITARY offers a complicated portrait of 21st-century crime and punishment.”
–Variety
“An act of wide-ranging compassion.”
–Hollywood Reporter
“Intelligent, thoughtful, and tough documentary filmmaking.”
— Flavorwire
For more SOLITARY press click here!
TOOTS
“A first-rate portrait…a rare exception… Cheers to Ms. Jacobson for keeping alive the memory of New York nightlife’s golden era, and a man who embodied it.”
—New York Times
“You see Toots, and you wish you had been there…A FASCINATING DOCUMENTARY.”
—Chicago Sun Times, Roger Ebert
APATT
“As important and eye-opening a documentary as you’ll see this year.”
— NY Daily News
“A Place At the Table … is not only one of the most gripping non-fiction films to debut in some time, it’s also one of the most important.”
— Indiewire
“An incredibly important film. I want this seen in the broadest way possible.”
— Jon Stewart, The Daily Show
AMERICAN STANDOFF
“A STIRRING LABOR CHRONICLE”
—Anthony Kaufman, Village Voice
“A remarkable tale of resilience and passion.” – Film Threat
“…packs an emotional wallop, dwelling effectively on the pain and confusion of strike organizers as they run out of options… an amazingly coherent report.”
—Variety
COLONIAL HOUSE
“In many ways, Colonial House is THE BEST REALITY SERIES YET IN THE PBS-LINE. The program, filmed last year on the Maine coast, looks gorgeous and should boost tourism. The narration supplies fascinating nuggets about the past as a counterpoint to what’s unfolding on the screen.”
—Sentinel Communications
“PAINSTAKINGLY RESEARCHED, BEAUTIFULLY PHOTOGRAPHED, and it effectively debunks myths about the colonists as a bunch of dour, buckle-shoed squares.”