Jessica McGaugh

Photo by Kelly Spencer

Jessica McGaugh is an independent filmmaker whose artistic practice explores stigma, silence, and taboo through intimate, emotionally charged storytelling. Her films are designed to disrupt silence and open conversation, often using humor to approach experiences shaped by discomfort, vulnerability, and shame. Her award-winning work ranges from comedies about menstruation to documentaries about multicultural dancers, and have screened across the globe including San Diego Film Festival, Vancouver Film Festival, Mumbai International Film Festival, Denver Film Festival, NDTV, and Rocky Mountain PBS. Jessica’s feature films Red Pearl and Three Worlds, One Stage are available through AppleTV, Amazon, Roku, Vudu, and Walmart. Jessica is a hybrid filmmaker-educator and a professor of film and television production at San Diego State University.

Jessica received an MFA in Film from Syracuse University with a Certificate of Advanced Study in Women’s Studies.