Jeff Rowles is a multi-talented individual known for his work in the film industry, particularly in independent cinema. Born in Central Pennsylvania, he received his Master's degree in Sociology from Indiana University of Pennsylvania and later relocated to the Pacific Northwest in the early 2000s to work in the nonprofit sector, supporting environmental and public-interest groups.
It was during this time that he became fascinated with the emerging accessibility to digital technology and the collective of artists and activists who were teaching themselves and others filmmaking, documenting their work, and sharing resources and knowledge freely. Inspired by this community and the independent cinema movement, Jeff began studying filmmaking, collaborating with like-minded artists to write and produce various genre exercises, including short narratives, sketch comedies, documentaries, commercials, music videos, and scripts.
Jeff's first feature film, Suit of Lights, was a crowdfunded project that was shot in 15 days with a cast of both trained and untrained actors and relied partially on improvisation and a fluid script. The film premiered at The Oaxaca Film Festival in Oaxaca, Mexico, and won several awards, including the Golden Palm Award at the Mexico International Film Festival and Best Director and Best Actor awards at the Oregon Independent Film Festival.
Jeff's early experience in the film industry was as a production and post-production assistant on Kelly Reichardt's Night Moves (2013),where he also had a minor speaking role. He has remained a frequent collaborator of Reichardt and her producers at filmscience, serving as executive assistant on films Certain Women (2016) and Showing Up (2022).
He was an Associate Producer on Macon Blair's I Don't Feel at Home In this World Anymore (2017),which won the Grand Jury Prize at the 2017 Sundance Film Festival, as well as Co-Producer on Ritesh Batra's film Photograph (2019),which premiered at The Sundance Film Festival and The Berlin International Film Festival.
Jeff has also directed numerous music videos for various bands, including The Thermals, Scout Niblett, Street Nights, 1939 Ensemble, Darren Hanlon, and others.
