Jeffrey F Jackson
Jeffrey F. Jackson, Writer/Producer/Director/Executive Producer is the owner of Taos Land & Film Co. which produces feature films through the development of land in Taos, New Mexico. As a filmmaker Jackson's projects cover a gamut of genres and issues. He considers himself lucky to have escaped the grasp of Hollywood's soul-sucking demons and found a means of creating films which are both upsetting and untainted by the crass commercial world.
His first mentors in the movie business were Stanley Kramer who he worked with at the end of his career through an American Film Institute (AFI) Internship on Kramer's The Trial of Julius and Ethel Rosenberg. Robert Wise then assisted Jackson as his executive producer on his adaptation of Flannery O'Connor's short story, GOOD COUNTRY PEOPLE, which was funded through an AFI Independent Filmmaker's Grant. David Jauss of the Vermont College of Fine Arts had this to say about GOOD COUNTRY PEOPLE, "I think it's terrific-one of the best adaptations of a short story I've seen. it leads to some interesting conversations about storytelling in film vs. prose."
Jackson then went on to spend a decade or so of hedonistic living in Venice Beach, California in an effort to gain some material for his life as an artist. "I think you have to have some decadence and hardships in your life to discover some purpose in your work as an artist" states Jackson.
He finally clawed his way out of his "Life Experiences" phase through working as public relations director for author John Gray ("Men Are From Mars. Women Are From Venus") where he plunged John into places like San Quentin Prison to hone the depth of his processes with murders and rapists and other various rejects of American society.
At that point Jackson decided it was time to get sober and get back to his filmmaking career and he spent the next five years working as a freelance journalist for Larry Flynt researching and writing exposes about the corruption within the federal government. This led to his feature length documentary, DEATH & TAXES, the story of North Dakota farmer Gordon Kahl and his life and death struggle with the IRS.
As the fertile land in Taos, New Mexico was funding Jackson's film efforts, he decided it was time to give back some of this good fortune to other filmmakers and he started the Taos Land Grant Award with Taos Talking Picture Festival (RIP) which involved his donating five acres of land in Taos each year to the most innovative film director with a feature film entered in that festival.
Next up was his narrative dark comedy delving into the emerging psychosis of POSTAL WORKER. HBO liked it enough to run it for eighteen months while Jackson discovered there were real life postal workers out there just like the ones he portrayed in his film.
Then came a late in life "Domestic Bliss" era where Jackson spawned a family and settled down to raise two children and become trained in the spiritual arts by his guru i.e. wife.
And, that brings us up to CALLERS. This movie has a very long complicated and controversial story behind it and if you're interested in hearing about it, come on out to it's World Premiere at the Santa Fe Film Festival at 8:30pm Friday Oct. 21st at the Cultural Center for the Arts where he'll be answering questions before and after the screening.
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