kourtney jackson
making films and figuring it out!about films early works
Kourtney Jackson is a Toronto-based writer and filmmaker interested in hybridized, experimental forms of storytelling. As a self-taught filmmaker, she wrote, directed, and shot her first short film 1 vers[us] 1 in the spring of 2018. The film had its World Premiere at the Regent Park Film Festival where she won the Emerging Directors Spotlight Pitch Competition to fund and create her second film, Wash Day—an award-winning short documentary that indicted her as one of ten 2020 Sundance Ignite Fellows. She also served as a Story Editor in the second season development room of CBC Gem’s Next Stop, as well as the Story Coordinator/Writer for the second season development room of KindaTV’s Gay Mean Girls.
Outside of filmmaking, Kourtney continues her videography practice in theatre, integrating documentary media and community outreach to ideate accessible storytelling in the performance arts, particularly through Theatre Passe Muraille’s Accessibility Lab series.
Through film and other lens-based media, Kourtney continues to explore the nuances in her ethnic, cultural, and spiritual identity.
say hello ~ ︎
subscribe to my newsletter ~ ︎
Education
2016-18 Concordia University, BA Communication Studies
Films
Wash Day (2020)
Festivals:
2021 Kassel Documentary Film and Video Festival, Kassel, DE
2021 RIDM (Montreal International Documentary Film Festival), Montreal, QC
2021 CineFAM Film Festival, Toronto, ON
2021 Enguage Experimental Film Festival, Seattle, USA
2021 Queer City Cinema, Regina, SK
2021 Future of Film Showcase, Toronto, ON
2021 Columbus Black International Film Festival, Columbus, USA
2021 Fairytales Queer Film Festival, Calgary, AB
2021 International Short Film Festival Oberhausen, Oberhausen, DE
2021 Black Film Festival Zurich, Zurich, CH
2021 Experiments in Cinema, Albuquerque, USA
2021 Dawson City International Short Film Festival, Dawson City, YT
2021 CineYouth Festival, Chicago, USA
2021 Reelout Queer Film Festival, Kingston, ON
2020 National Film Festival for Talented Youth (NFFTY), Seattle, USA
2020 Black Femme Supremacy Film Festival, Baltimore, USA
2020 BlackStar Film Festival, Philadelphia, USA
2020 Breakthroughs Film Festival, Toronto, ON
2020 AfroPrairie Film Festival, Winnipeg, MB
2020 TIFF Next Wave, Young Creators Showcase, Toronto, ON
Screenings:
2021 TIFF Digital - Black Futures on Film, Black Canadian Shorts (VOD)
2021 Ignite x Adobe Shorts Screening, Sundance Film Festival, Park City, USA
2021 FEMTASTIC Film Club, Mentoring Artists for Women’s Art (MAWA), Winnipeg, MB
2021 Hairstory Short Film Drive-In, African American Museum, Dallas, USA
2020 SKIN DEEP, Pleasure Dome, Toronto, ON
2020 Manifesto Festival, Toronto, ON
2020 Black History Month Programme, Civic Theatre, Nelson, BC
2020 All Things Hair, Plump! Sessions, London, ON
2019 what if media looked like us? london edition, sisterhood media, London, ON
1 vers[us] 1 (2018)
Festivals:
2019 Insomniac Film Festival, Toronto, ON
2019 Breakthroughs Film Festival, Toronto, ON
2019 AfroPrairie Film Festival, Winnipeg, MB
2018 Regent Park Film Festival, Toronto, ON
Screenings:
2021 Bring it Black: Films by Black Artists in Canada (VOD), Cinema Politica, Montreal, QC
2019 DON’T @ ME, Black Artists Union, Art Gallery of Ontario, Toronto, ON
2019 what if media looked like us? scarborough edition, sisterhood media, Scarborough, ON
Awards
2021 Best Cinematography, Wash Day, Future of Film Showcase, Toronto, ON
2021 Best Short Documentary, Wash Day, Columbus Black International Film Festival, Columbus, USA
2021 Best Experimental 2020 Award, Wash Day, CineYouth Festival, Chicago, USA
2020 Best Canadian Film, Wash Day, Breakthroughs Film Festival, Toronto, ON
2020 Audience Choice Award, Wash Day, Breakthroughs Film Festival, Toronto, ON
2018 Emerging Directors Spotlight Award, Regent Park Film Festival, Toronto, ON
Credits
Next Stop: Season 2 - Story Editor
Gay Mean Girls: Season 2 - Story Coordinator, Writer
IPHIGENIA AND THE FURIES (ON TAURIAN LAND), Saga Collectif and lemonTree Creations - Associate Producer
Residencies & Fellowships
2022 Silence Awareness Existence, Arteles Creative Center, Tampere, FI
2020-21 Fellow, Sundance Ignite x Adobe Fellowship, Park City, USA
2019 Resident, Black Women Film! Canada Leadership Program, Toronto, ON
Grants
2020 Sundance Ignite x Adobe Artist Grant, Sundance Institute, Park City, USA
2019 CUE Artist Grant, CUE Toronto, Toronto, ON
Exhibitions
2019 Stick It To The Man, Margin of Eras Gallery, Toronto, ON
Artist Talks & Panels
2021 Sundance Ignite x Adobe Shorts Screening, Q&A, Park City, USA
2021 Cartography and Hybridism of the Female Body, Art Without Borders - Black Brazil Art, Brazil
2020 Short Film Distribution Panel, sisterhood media at Bend Film Festival, Bend, USA
2020 What A Time To Be Black Artist Panel, Our Women’s Voices X Black Women With Wings, Toronto, ON
Professional Activities
2021 - Pleasure Dome - Board Director
2021 - FEM Script Lab - Creative Producer
2020-21 Charles Street Video - Assistant Equipment and Programming Coordinator
2020-21 Youth In Focus, Ryerson Image Centre - Workshop Facilitator
2019-21 Accessibility Labs, Theatre Passe Muraille - Videographer
2016-18 Concordia University, BA Communication Studies
Films
Wash Day (2020)
Festivals:
2021 Kassel Documentary Film and Video Festival, Kassel, DE
2021 RIDM (Montreal International Documentary Film Festival), Montreal, QC
2021 CineFAM Film Festival, Toronto, ON
2021 Enguage Experimental Film Festival, Seattle, USA
2021 Queer City Cinema, Regina, SK
2021 Future of Film Showcase, Toronto, ON
2021 Columbus Black International Film Festival, Columbus, USA
2021 Fairytales Queer Film Festival, Calgary, AB
2021 International Short Film Festival Oberhausen, Oberhausen, DE
2021 Black Film Festival Zurich, Zurich, CH
2021 Experiments in Cinema, Albuquerque, USA
2021 Dawson City International Short Film Festival, Dawson City, YT
2021 CineYouth Festival, Chicago, USA
2021 Reelout Queer Film Festival, Kingston, ON
2020 National Film Festival for Talented Youth (NFFTY), Seattle, USA
2020 Black Femme Supremacy Film Festival, Baltimore, USA
2020 BlackStar Film Festival, Philadelphia, USA
2020 Breakthroughs Film Festival, Toronto, ON
2020 AfroPrairie Film Festival, Winnipeg, MB
2020 TIFF Next Wave, Young Creators Showcase, Toronto, ON
Screenings:
2021 TIFF Digital - Black Futures on Film, Black Canadian Shorts (VOD)
2021 Ignite x Adobe Shorts Screening, Sundance Film Festival, Park City, USA
2021 FEMTASTIC Film Club, Mentoring Artists for Women’s Art (MAWA), Winnipeg, MB
2021 Hairstory Short Film Drive-In, African American Museum, Dallas, USA
2020 SKIN DEEP, Pleasure Dome, Toronto, ON
2020 Manifesto Festival, Toronto, ON
2020 Black History Month Programme, Civic Theatre, Nelson, BC
2020 All Things Hair, Plump! Sessions, London, ON
2019 what if media looked like us? london edition, sisterhood media, London, ON
1 vers[us] 1 (2018)
Festivals:
2019 Insomniac Film Festival, Toronto, ON
2019 Breakthroughs Film Festival, Toronto, ON
2019 AfroPrairie Film Festival, Winnipeg, MB
2018 Regent Park Film Festival, Toronto, ON
Screenings:
2021 Bring it Black: Films by Black Artists in Canada (VOD), Cinema Politica, Montreal, QC
2019 DON’T @ ME, Black Artists Union, Art Gallery of Ontario, Toronto, ON
2019 what if media looked like us? scarborough edition, sisterhood media, Scarborough, ON
Awards
2021 Best Cinematography, Wash Day, Future of Film Showcase, Toronto, ON
2021 Best Short Documentary, Wash Day, Columbus Black International Film Festival, Columbus, USA
2021 Best Experimental 2020 Award, Wash Day, CineYouth Festival, Chicago, USA
2020 Best Canadian Film, Wash Day, Breakthroughs Film Festival, Toronto, ON
2020 Audience Choice Award, Wash Day, Breakthroughs Film Festival, Toronto, ON
2018 Emerging Directors Spotlight Award, Regent Park Film Festival, Toronto, ON
Credits
Next Stop: Season 2 - Story Editor
Gay Mean Girls: Season 2 - Story Coordinator, Writer
IPHIGENIA AND THE FURIES (ON TAURIAN LAND), Saga Collectif and lemonTree Creations - Associate Producer
Residencies & Fellowships
2022 Silence Awareness Existence, Arteles Creative Center, Tampere, FI
2020-21 Fellow, Sundance Ignite x Adobe Fellowship, Park City, USA
2019 Resident, Black Women Film! Canada Leadership Program, Toronto, ON
Grants
2020 Sundance Ignite x Adobe Artist Grant, Sundance Institute, Park City, USA
2019 CUE Artist Grant, CUE Toronto, Toronto, ON
Exhibitions
2019 Stick It To The Man, Margin of Eras Gallery, Toronto, ON
Artist Talks & Panels
2021 Sundance Ignite x Adobe Shorts Screening, Q&A, Park City, USA
2021 Cartography and Hybridism of the Female Body, Art Without Borders - Black Brazil Art, Brazil
2020 Short Film Distribution Panel, sisterhood media at Bend Film Festival, Bend, USA
2020 What A Time To Be Black Artist Panel, Our Women’s Voices X Black Women With Wings, Toronto, ON
Professional Activities
2021 - Pleasure Dome - Board Director
2021 - FEM Script Lab - Creative Producer
2020-21 Charles Street Video - Assistant Equipment and Programming Coordinator
2020-21 Youth In Focus, Ryerson Image Centre - Workshop Facilitator
2019-21 Accessibility Labs, Theatre Passe Muraille - Videographer