Jessica Sanders is Director of Kraken Studios, South Puget Sound Community College’s Corporate and Continuing Education community media program, where she provides community members with access to film equipment, studio space, and skill-building opportunities that would otherwise be out of reach. She is also Board President of the Dark and Stormy Nights Film Festival, an international horror short film festival built around removing economic barriers to entry for emerging filmmakers and expanding access to the industry for creators.
Sanders’ production background includes work as Associate Producer and Production Coordinator on the feature films The Girl in the Backseat and Again, Again, and the feature documentary Cirque du Soleil: Without a Net. She has also produced multiple independent short films, including Catalyst Film Collective’s Script to Screen winner At Skyview Enterprise and the community-backed The Mermaid Museum. An advocate for filming in rural areas, she informally serves as a liaison for productions in Grays Harbor, connecting filmmakers with location scouting, crewing, lodging, and local businesses and city officials.
Sanders is co-owner of Dark and Stormy Nights LLC, the production company behind the festival, which she runs with her husband, Jacob Miller. Her decade-plus of work expanding access to skills, training, and opportunity in the workforce informs her approach to building access-focused spaces and opportunities in the film industry.