Jennifer Steinman Sternin is an award-winning filmmaker with over 20 years of experience in television and filmmaking. She has established herself professionally as a creative storyteller, with a keen sense of pace and timing and the ability to tap into the heart and emotion of a story. Jennifer directs, produces and edits her own projects, and also does commissioned work for various television and corporate clients and fellow independent filmmakers.
Jennifer’s feature film work includes:
TIME FOR ILHAN, 2018, Producer: Time for Ilhan had its World Premiere at the Tribeca Film Festival in April of 2018 and has since garnered multiple awards including a 2019 Emmy Award and a NAACP Image Award Nomination. An inspiring look at the origin story of a political newcomer, The Hollywood Reporter called the film, “The sort of feel-good story we desperately need right now." Time for Ilhan is currently screening on Amazon Prime and at festivals and other venues worldwide.
DESERT RUNNERS, 2013, Director, Producer & Editor: Desert Runners was named by the Huffington Post as one of "The Top 10 Documentaries of 2013." The film screened to sold-out audiences at IDFA and was selected "Best of the Fest" at the Edinburgh Film Festival. It won the Audience Award for Best Documentary at both the Vancouver International and The Hamptons International Film Festivals, and Best Cinematography at the Woods Hole Film Festival.
MOTHERLAND, 2009, Director, Producer & Editor: Jennifer's feature directorial debut had its world premiere at the South by Southwest (SXSW) Film Festival, winning the prestigious Emerging Visions Audience Award. The film went on to win several other best-of-festival awards and was voted by fans to return to SXSW in 2012 for an Encore Screening.
Jennifer began her career as a staff Editor at CBS, both in New York and San Francisco. Her work has aired nationally on ABC, PBS, Discovery, National Geographic, Sundance Channel and many other television networks. Her corporate clients include Blue Cross, Adobe and Kaiser Permanente. Her films have been accepted into many major film festivals including Tribeca, Rotterdam, and Sundance. She won a Telly Award and has been nominated for an Emmy® Award for Outstanding Achievement in Editing. Jennifer is the co-founder of SMUSH FILMS. She currently has three documentaries, two feature film scripts and several short films in development, and does speaking engagements around the world. You can watch her recent TEDx TALK here.