Jen Gerber Biography

A native of Arkansas, Jen Gerber built her film career in Chicago before completing an MFA in writing and directing from Columbia University in New York. Her debut feature, THE REVIVAL received a theatrical run in Los Angeles as well as digital distribution on all the major platforms. The film received a jury special mention at NewFest for “outstanding performances” and The Hollywood Reporter called the film “riveting”. Jen freelanced for over a decade as a writer, director and first assistant director for a variety of commercial production companies in New York, Los Angeles and Chicago. As a first assistant director, Jen worked with James Franco on THE SOUND AND THE FURY and BIRTH OF A POET starring Whoopi Goldberg, Olivia Wilde and Chloe Sevigny. For six years, Jen served as the Executive Director of the Hot Springs Documentary Film Festival. Jen now works full time for Low Key Arts as the Film Program Director where she runs their year-round filmmaking program INCEPTION TO PROJECTION and leads the annual film festival ARKANSAS SHORTS. Jen taught film at the university level for many years at Columbia College Chicago and spent four years as a tenured track professor at the University of Central Arkansas. In addition to university teaching, she was the Creative Director at The School of Creative and Performing Arts in Los Angeles & New York for six years and has been a mentor for the Sundance Film Festival Native Lab.

Her films have played all over the world from Paris, Melbourne, London, Moscow, Boston, New York, Los Angeles, Palm Springs, Austin and Little Rock. Her directing awards include Regional Finalist for Student Academy Awards, Princess Grace Award, 2 Telly awards, VGIK Best Film, Tropfest 2013 Finalist as well as receiving the “Indie Soul” award at the Boston International Film Festival and jury special mention at NewFest 2017.

Jen and her writing partner Samuel Brett Williams have two screenplays in development and their script HAS BEEN BEAUTY QUEEN won “Best Comedy Feature” at the Shore Script screenplay competition and they were finalists at the Nashville Screenplay Competition and a semifinalists with the Austin Film Festival and Atlanta Film Festival Screenplay Competition. This script was also selected to participate in the Toronto International Film Festival Financing Forum in 2020. Their screenplay, TRASHED, was selected as one of the top 50 best scripts of the Nichols Competition.

Jennifer is currently in development with her next directing projects including HAS BEEN BEAUTY QUEEN, a semi-autobiographical story set in Arkansas, and SHELTER, starring Academy Award Winner Melissa Leo, Zazie Beetz (Joker, Deadpool 2), and David Rysdahl.