Katja Esson standing in profile to the camera. She is looking off camera to her right and is wearing a coat. Background is out of focus. Black and white portrait.
Katja Esson
Photo courtesy Katja Esson
Director

Katja Esson (she/her) is an Academy Award® nominated filmmaker based in Miami. Known for her intimate character-driven documentaries tackling race, class, and gender, her credits include HBO short documentary Ferry Tales which turns the unlikely setting of the Staten Island Ferry Powder Room into a celebration of sisterhood (2004). In 2007, Hole in the Sky - The Scars of 9/11 received the Gold Award at the World Media Festival. Her 2011 film Skydancer, about two Mohawk ironworkers torn between the Akwesasne reservation and New York City, received nominations for Best Film, Best Director, and Best Cinematography at the Shanghai Film Festival and premiered on PBS and ARTE in 2011. Katja’s Poetry of Resilience was nominated for the Cinema for Peace Award in 2012. Her five-part documentary series Backroads USA (2014) and American Rivers (2016) premiered on ARTE and PBS in 2018. A Simons-Public Humanities Fellow at Kansas University, her films have screened at the Museum of Modern Art, American Museum of Natural History, and the Smithsonian. Katja’s work has been supported by the National Endowment for the Arts, the Knight Foundation, ITVS, IDA Enterprise, NYSCA, the Redford Center, Sundance and the Ford Foundation.

more Critical Issues Fund 2022 winners
Eliza Licht looking directly at camera. She is wearing earrings and is in front of an out focus background.
Eliza Licht
Photo courtesy Eliza Licht
Geeta Gandbhir has medium-length dark wavy hair, wears a scarf, and smiles at the camera.
Geeta Gandbhir
Photo courtesy Geeta Gandbhir
Emily Cohen Ibañez looking directly at the camera. She has short grey and dark brown hair and is wearing gold earrings, lipstick, and a striped T-shirt.
Emily Cohen Ibañez
Photo courtesy Emily Cohen Ibañez
Meena Nanji looks off to the right of the camera. Portrait in black and white.
Meena Nanji
Photo courtesy Meena Nanji
Zippy Kimundu looks directly at the camera. Portrait in black and white.
Zippy Kimundu
Photo courtesy Zippy Kimundu
Headshot of Olivia Sophie van Leeuwen in black and white
Olivia Sophie van Leeuwen
Photo courtesy Olivia Sophie van Leeuwen
Headshot of Erik Winker in black and white
Erik Winker
Photo courtesy Erik Winker
Headshot of Daniela Dieterich in black and white
Daniela Dieterich
Photo courtesy Daniela Dieterich
Headshot of Viv Li in black and white
Viv Li
Photo courtesy Viv Li
Producer David Goldblum headshot.
David Goldblum
Photo courtesy David Goldblum
Mary Racine looks at the camera. Black and white portrait.
Mary Recine
Photo courtesy Mary Racine
Holly Meehl Chapman looking to the right side of the camera. She is wearing earrings and has shoulder length hair.
Holly Meehl Chapman
Photo courtesy Holly Meehl Chapman
Débora Souza Silva looking directly at the camera. She has braided black hair and golden highlights.
Débora Souza Silva
Photo courtesy Débora Souza Silva
Iryna Tsilyk looking directly at the camera. Black and white portrait.
Iryna Tsilyk
Photo courtesy Iryna Tsilyk
Ronald Baez looking directly at the camera. He is sitting on a bench and is leaning forward. He has a full beard and is wearing a hooded jacket. A figure can be seen seated in the out of focus background. Black and white portrait.
Ronald Baez
Photo courtesy Ronald Baez
Corinna Sager looking directly at the camera. She has shoulder-length light brown hair and is wearing a scarf. Black and white portrait.
Corinna Sager
Photo courtesy Corinna Sager
Ann Bennett looking directly at the camera. She is wearing a necklace and earrings and is placing her hand against her face. Black and white portrait.
Ann Bennett
Photo courtesy Ann Bennett
Tracy Droz Tragos with shoulder length brown hair smiles and looks directly ahead.
Tracy Droz Tragos
Photo courtesy Tracy Droz Tragos
Rocío Barba Fuentes looking directly at camera. She is standing in front of a wooden paneled wall. She has hazelnut eyes, dark, medium length brown hair, a nose ring, silver earrings and is wearing a blue sweater with black dots. Black and white portrait.
Rocío B. Fuentes
Photo courtesy Rocío Barba Fuentes
Giacomo Nudi looking directly at camera and smiling. He is wearing a white, collared shirt and a light grey vest with black lining.
Giacomo Nudi
Photo courtesy Giacomo Nudi
Oksana Karpovych looking directly at the camera. She has short brown hair and has her hand close to her face. Black and white portrait.
Oksana Karpovych
Photo courtesy Oksana Karpovych
Mike Attie looking directly at camera. He is wearing eyeglasses and has a festival lanyard around his neck.
Mike Attie
Photo courtesy Mike Attie
Janet Goldwater looking directly at camera. She is wearing eyeglasses and earrings. The background of bookcases is out of focus. Black and white portrait.
Janet Goldwater
Photo courtesy Janet Goldwater
Barbara Attie looking directly at camera. She is wearing eyeglasses and a gold necklace. The background of bookcases is out of focus. Black and white portrait.
Barbara Attie
Photo courtesy Barbara Attie
Valeryi Kalmykov looking directly at camera. He is wearing a black t-shirt and is sitting in front of bamboo shades. Black and white portrait.
Valery Kalmykov
Photo courtesy Valeryi Kalmykov
Monica Hellström looking directly at camera. Black and white portrait.
Monica Hellström
Photo courtesy Monica Hellström
Kasia Kuczyńska looking directly at camera and is smiling. She has long, dark hair and is wearing a crew neck shirt. Black and white portrait.
Katarzyna Kuczynska
Photo courtesy Kasia Kuczyńska
Darya Bassel looking directly at camera. She has shoulder length, wavy hair. Black and white portrait.
Darya Bassel
Photo courtesy Darya Bassel
Olha Zhurba looking directly at the camera. She is standing in a field and is surrounded by tall crops. Black and white portrait.
Olha Zhurba
Photo: Viktor Zalevsky
Diane Quon looking directly at camera and is smiling. She has mid-length hair and is wearing a turtleneck, gold hoop earrings and black rimmed glasses.
Diane Quon
Photo courtesy Diane Quon
Princess Hairston looking off camera to her right. She has dark curly hair parted in the middle. She is wearing a black turtleneck blouse and large hoop earrings and is sitting in front of an out of focus brick wall.
Princess A. Hairston
Photo courtesy Princess Hairston
Heather Courtney looking away from the camera to her left. She has long, wavy hair and is wearing a jean shirt. She is holding a mug and sitting on a wooden porch. Black and white portrait.
Heather Courtney
Photo courtesy Heather Courtney
Chelsea Hernandez looking left of the camera in a side profile. She has long dark hair and is wearing red lipstick with an embroidered blouse. Black and white portrait.
Chelsea Hernandez
Photo courtesy Chelsea Hernandez
Amber Fares looking directly at the camera. Background out of focus. Black and white portrait.
Amber Fares
Photo courtesy Amber Fares
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