Jessica Vitkin is a filmmaker with a focus on left-of-center ideas, systemic issues & creative nonfiction storytelling. A former social worker with a background in improv comedy and intercultural communication, she’s a rolling stone who’s gathered much moss, having lived and worked in Latin America, East Asia, Southeast Asia and the Middle East.  

Transitioning into the creative realm after serving as communications manager for a small NGO in Myanmar, during the nation’s historic 2015 democratic elections, upon returning stateside she completed her MS in Storytelling & Digital Media at Loyola University Chicago with the intention of going into non-profit communication.  However, a left turn into film occurred after becoming a member of the first all-female intern cohort at Kartemquin Films, where she honed her production skills assisting with documentaries such as REPRESENT, FINDING YINGYING, FOR THE LEFT HAND & THE DILEMMA OF DESIRE.

Jessica is currently an MFA candidate and graduate teaching instructor in the Film Studies Department at University of North Carolina Wilmington. She enjoys useless trivia, watching too much tv, drawing, walking in the woods and all things pickled & fermented.