Congratulations to Jessica (Jess) Epstein ’08, producer of the documentary film Remaining Native, which premieres later this week on March 7 at SXSW festival in Austin, Texas. 

Remaining Native, directed by Paige Bethmann, is a coming-of-age documentary told from the perspective of 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. 

With over a decade of experience in documentary film and unscripted television, Jess has worked on impactful projects both in the US and abroad, including the two-part PBS special La Frontera with Pati Jinich, which explores life at the US-Mexico border. She took some time out of her busy, pre-SXSW festival schedule to share some of her story with the us in the Wheeler community!

Tell us a little about yourself—when did you graduate? Where do you live?

I went to Wheeler from nursery through 12th grade, graduating in 2008. And I live in Brooklyn now.

Describe your current job—what does it involve? 

Right now I work as an independent producer mainly on documentary films. I'm also the Associate Director of strategic partnerships at the Bay Area Video Coalition, which is a nonprofit based in San Francisco. 

My current role as a producer on an independent feature film means that I wear a lot of hats. I am in close collaboration with the director on the project and I have been overseeing the production of a feature-length documentary, Remaining Native, from development through release. I’ll be staying on the project through our impact campaign as well, taking the film out into the world and bringing it to different audiences with accompanying educational materials. We have really robust plans for the impact for the film, which includes the development of an educational curriculum, a Rez Tour for the film, and an Exhibition that will include a VR version of the Remembrance Run (an event featured in the film). 

The most important thing for us on this project is ensuring that Native people and Native audiences are at the forefront of the work. So in my role, as producer, I work to support the director and her vision for the release of the film. 

In what ways has Wheeler influenced you on your path?

Wheeler's pedagogy speaks to inquiry and questioning, deep thoughtfulness and rigorous interrogation of intention. 

I think that that's helped me a lot on this project.  It’s given me skills to show up for my team in ways that matter, especially when dealing with a very heavy history.

What are one or two of your proudest professional or personal accomplishments? 

Working on Remaining Native is the biggest and most exciting project that I've had the opportunity and privilege to be part of. I feel really grateful to be on this film. I've also had a lot of other experiences in unscripted television—educational or travel programming, food, and lifestyle stuff before this. In 2021 I did a show on PBS called La Frontera with Pati Jinich. She is a Mexican American chef and has a really long-running show on PBS. She did this special for PBS that's now in its third season about the US-Mexico border, and so we traveled from El Paso and Juarez all the way to Matamoros and Brownsville. 

I'm looking forward to what's coming next. I just signed on to produce another feature-length documentary called Daddy, directed by Hannah Myers, so I'm excited for what's to come!

Why this story? What resonated with you?

First of all, my friend and the director of this film, Paige Bethmann, is incredibly talented, we’d worked together on a production for Vox Media in 2020, so I knew her very well at that point. I wanted to be able to assist her however I could in telling this story. She came to me in 2021, sharing the idea for this film and I offered to help her, however I could.  This is a story about many things, but something that really resonates with me is how we hold on to our past and our families and how our stories can help us understand where we want to go in the future. And that both things can be true—you can have a dream for yourself as an individual and still have your community support you and be alongside you. It doesn't have to be one or the other. This is also  an intergenerational story, one  of one hope and perseverance. I've worked on a lot of projects where you're just kind of rushing against a timeline, and I think that we were able to take time and care for this story in ways that it deserves.

Where will we be able to see the film?

The film is going to premiere at SXSW on Friday March 7th and then we have two subsequent screenings, one on the 8th and then one on the 11th. After that, we're going to be on the festival circuit. The best way to learn about where we're headed is to subscribe to our newsletter by going to our website or to follow us on Instagram.

What is your favorite memory from your time at Wheeler?

I was at Wheeler for so long—my whole life basically—so it's really hard to choose a favorite memory.  So, this pretty corny, but honestly, my best friends are from Wheeler, so I'm in touch with them every day and see them a lot. The relationships that I have out of Wheeler are my fondest memories.

Any last comments or words of advice for fellow alumni or current Wheeler students?

I think this is actually probably more something that I got from my mom (Hamilton Institute and Polaris Director Jeanette Epstein P’03, P’08), which is “You never know unless you ask.” She recently reminded me, "This Wheeler Network is really rich in so many ways. Many folks have come through here."

There's an incredible network that comes out of Wheeler, and you never know if you don't ask. So I did reach out to some folks who have Wheeler connections when I first started—including Betsy West (director and producer of the award-winning 2018 film RGB, Wheeler class of 1969) for advice early on and she graciously accepted my inquiry to talk. My mom has encouraged me to get in touch with them, no matter what! Ask! Ask and you never know what's going to come out of it, especially if you're going to be in a creative field. My sister (Lindsey Epstein ’03) is an artist and a lot of her support also comes from folks who've been part of the Wheeler community. So I guess that’s the takeaway—lean on those around you, even if you never got the chance to meet at Wheeler directly. 

Thank you, Jess, for spending some time and wise words with Wheeler before heading off to SXSW! Congratulations on your film, we wish you every success on Remaining Native and on future projects.