BRYAN JACKSON is a director, writer, and educator based in Los Angeles.  His films take a unique approach to narrative storytelling and draw upon his work in LGBTQ activism and background in theater and experimental film. He is currently in post production on CREAM, based on a story by Rikki Ducornet. He has directed a series of films including HAIRCUT featuring James Kyson, SOFTLY, LITTLE TAIKO BOY that have screened extensively at festivals around the world. He directed PRIVATE TUTOR featuring Chen Tang, Hiep Thi Le, and Viet Hoang. He produced films and video installations with the artist Bruce Yonemoto, including THE WORLD ASUNDER and THE BIRTHDAY PARTY for LACMA’S LACMA Lab and FAR EAST OF EDEN featuring performance artist Karen Finley which premiered at MoMA: Doc Fortnight. Jackson earned an MFA in Directing from UCLA.

Jackson is co-founder and faculty of DigiFilm at University of California, Irvine. DigiFilm is a filmmaking program whose majority is comprised of BIPOC, Women, and LGBTQ students. At UCI he created the International Documentary Program, which sends undergraduate filmmakers to film documentaries at community sites focused on environmental and social justice, women’s empowerment, and new models of education. Students have traveled to locations in Cape Town, South Africa, the mountains of Nepal, and rural Paraguay. Jackson has also taught filmmaking and digital storytelling at the Southern California Institute of Architecture (SCI-Arc), San Francisco Art Institute, and UCLA.

Originally from Kansas, Jackson was a company member of ProPride, a queer cabaret theater collective focused on community building and HIV/AIDS education. He earned his BFA in Theater from Emporia State University, where he studied photography, founded a LGBTQ+ student organization, and shifted his focus from design to directing. After graduation he worked professionally in regional theater and opera companies, including the Long Wharf Theater, Glimmerglass Opera, and Opera Theater of St. Louis.