Jennifer Redfearn

Photo credit: Tim Metzger

In residence: April - May 2026

Jennifer Redfearn is a professor and documentary filmmaker whose work explores the ties between people, place, and the natural world. Her films are immersive and often character-driven, guided by deep listening, empathetic observation, and a cinematic approach to storytelling. She is drawn to work that invites audiences to sit with complexity and continue the conversation after the film ends.

Her films have received Oscar and Emmy nominations, and she has made work for PBS, HBO, and National Geographic, alongside dozens of short documentaries. As Head of the Documentary Program at the University of California, Berkeley, she has also supervised the production of more than 40 short films, many of which have been published by The New York Times, the Los Angeles Times, The New Yorker, and PBS/POV.

Jennifer is joined in residence by her husband and long-time collaborator, Tim Metzger, an Emmy Award–winning cinematographer. Their first film together, Sun Come Up, which follows a small island community facing displacement due to rising sea levels, was nominated for an Academy Award.

During their time on Svalbard, Jennifer and Tim are developing a documentary, rooted in cinéma vérité observation. The project will focus on how the environment, geopolitics, and rapid change shape life in the archipelago.

The residency period will involve continued relationship-building, conversations with residents, and early filming with people and environments connected to the project, while the broader story remains in development. The intention is to listen, deepen understanding through time spent in the community, and begin gathering images and sounds that will inform the film’s stylistic approach and direction.