Jaclyn Bethany

A native of Jackson, Mississippi, Jaclyn Bethany is an Emmy award-winning filmmaker, writer, actor and scholar. Called "fast-rising" and "one to watch" by Variety Magazine, she attended the American Film Institute Conservatory and holds an M.F.A. in Directing. In addition, she holds an M.A. in Screenwriting from the London Film School and B.A. in Theater Performance from Fordham University. She has written, produced, and directed numerous short and feature films, which have played festivals and received theatrical and streaming distribution worldwide. These include her AFI thesis The Delta Girl (starring Isabelle Furhmann, World Premiere HollyShorts, 10+ festivals), the feature films Indigo Valley (Giant Pictures, 2020), Highway One (2021 Santa Barbara International Film Festival Critics’ Pick, 10+ festivals, Indican US/Bohemia UK), the Emmy award-winning digital series The Rehearsal (2020), The Falling World (Cinequest Film Festival), and several upcoming films to be released in the next year - in collaboration with UK/France sales company ALIEF - genre hybrid Before the World Set on Fire, queer gothic fairy tale The Invisible Girl (recently acquired by Bohemia UK), and UK/US/Italian co-production Tell that to the Winter Sea co-written with Greta Bellamacina to be released in the UK in cinemas and beyond by Kaleidoscope UK. As an actor, she has appeared in feature films Under the Lantern Lit Sky (which she also wrote), Good Grief (also directed), Venice at Dawn, Miles (opposite Molly Shannon and Paul Reiser), David Fincher’s Mank, The Devil’s Dolls(IFC Midnight), Trumbo, among others. Ms. Bethany's artistic and academic interest in Tennessee Williams on stage and screen has led her to several roles as a performer and scholar. She recently appeared as Laura in The Glass Menagerie at New Stage Theater and with the Tennessee Williams Theatre Company of New Orleans/The Historic New Orleans Collection immersive project The Six Blanches. She also spoke at the 2023 Tennessee Williams Scholars Conference in New Orleans, focusing on Rose Williams. In cinema and filmmaking, her research and practice focus on underrepresented voices, complex female-identifying protagonists, and stories from the female-identifying queer gaze. Additionally, she aims to explore film and performance as an immersive and visceral experience through a feminist lens. She has collaborated with film and theatre companies such as Neon Heart Productions, Valmora Productions, Sulk Youth, Maua Media, Invulnerable Nothings, The Arcola Theatre, Berkshire Theatre Festival, NY Stage and Film in residence at Vassar College, among others. Her work has been described as "unique female-driven tales recalling the ensemble films of Robert Altman with a hint of the social critique evident in Whit Stillman's work." She also directs branded content and music videos. Ms. Bethany has taught Screenwriting and Filmmaking at the London Film School, been on the admissions committee at the American Film Institute and is represented by Buchwald in New York and Los Angeles.