49. Jess Engel: Diversify, Pivot, Innovate: New Strategies for Filmmaking

Jess Engel is an award-winning, multidisciplinary producer focused on blending storytelling with art and technology. As founder at Crimes of Curiosity, her recent mixed-reality projects include BREATHE, PERSUASION MACHINES and the groundbreaking SPHERES (2018). Produced by Darren Aronofsky, SPHERES not only won the Gran Prix in VR at the Venice Film Festival in 2018 but also achieved the then highest sale price for a VR project to date, at its Sundance premiere. In this episode, I talk with Jess about the VR space (including how this is being impacted by Covid) and explore her strategies as a storyteller which include brand funded work, documentaries, interactive projects and feature films. This episode is going to be particularly relevant if you are a creator, producer or filmmaker as Jess shares so much valuable insight into how to structure your business in the new media landscape. Jess reveals the different approaches and models that are proving effective, as well as her advice for storytellers and thoughts on the future of film. More about Jess Engel Jess is an award-winning, multidisciplinary producer focused on blending storytelling with art and technology. As founder at Crimes of Curiosity, her recent mixed-reality projects include BREATHE (Sundance 2020), PERSUASION MACHINES (Sundance 2020), and the groundbreaking SPHERES (2018), which won the Gran Prix in VR at the Venice Film Festival in 2018. Her work has been shown around the world at major festivals and institutions, including Sundance, SXSW, Tribeca, Cannes, Venice, Telluride, NYFF, MIT, and Art Basel. Jess is a 2018 Emmy Awards Finalist. She is a participating producer of the Sundance Institute's inaugural "Future of Culture" Initiative and is a member of the Guild of Future Architects. She has been a Sundance New Frontier fellow and advisor.