Jessica Kingdon is a Chinese American director and producer.[1] She was nominated for the 2022 Academy Award for Best Documentary Feature for directing the documentary Ascension.[2][3]
Jessica Kingdon | |
|---|---|
| Education | Columbia University (BA) The New School (MA) |
| Occupation(s) | documentary filmmaker, producer |
| Spouse | Nathan Truesdell |
| Parents |
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Career
Kingdon received her BA from Columbia University in 2009 and her MA in media studies from The New School in 2014.[4][5][6]
She directed the 2017 documentary Commodity City, which focuses on the lives of Chinese wholesalers in Yiwu International Trade City, the world's largest wholesale market.[5] The documentary won Best Documentary Short in the 2018 Ashland Independent Film Festival.[7]
Her documentary, Ascension, looks at China's growing economic progress and increasing economic divide against the backdrop of the pursuit of the Chinese Dream.[8][9][10] The film had its world premiere at the Tribeca Film Festival on June 12, 2021, and received critical acclaim.[11][12] The film was nominated for an Academy Award, a Gotham Award,[13] five Cinema Eye Honors,[14] a Directors Guild of America Award,[15] a Producers Guild of America Award,[16] and six Critics' Choice Documentary Awards.[17] The Chinese title of the documentary was inspired by a 1912 poem written by her great-great-grandfather, a member of the South Society who participated in the 1911 Revolution.[18]
Kingdon was named one of the "25 new faces of independent film" by Filmmaker magazine.[19] She was also named to the 2020 "40 under 40" list by Doc NYC.[20]
Personal life
Kingdon is the daughter of hedge fund manager Mark E. Kingdon and financier Anla Cheng, who is a member of the Committee of 100.[21][22] Her father is Jewish and her mother is Chinese.[23]
Kingdon is married to filmmaker Nathan Truesdell.[24]