Jody Stillwater 周青海, a filmmaker and artist in the San Francisco Bay Area, is renowned for his expertise in dynamic movement, semiotic language, time cycles, rhythm, and archetype synthesis. With over 30 films directed, his work often intricately explores the diverse Bay Area cultural ecology and the theme of growth following disruption.
An Emmy-nominated filmmaker and co-founder of Yanasa Creative Group, Jody has showcased his work at prestigious venues including the MoMA in NYC, Hammer Museum, de Young Museum, YBCA, Mutek, Gray Area, Honolulu Museum of Art, Transfer Gallery, and ISEA. He has also been a finalist for the SFFILM Kenneth Rainin Screenwriting grant and has been commissioned by notable companies such as Google, Meta/Facebook, Knotel, and Bentley Mills. Additionally, Jody has been a featured guest on NBC’s Asian Pacific America with Robert Handa, and been on the jury for the San Francisco Dance Film Festival and the Creative Youth Awards. With a cultural background that is Chinese/Norwegian/Cherokee-American, he identifies as mixed.
He is also an active photographer, cinematographer, new media artist and sound recordist, emphasizing frequency and sound as sculpture.
Films he has recorded sound on have screened at Sundance, Edinburgh Film Festival, SXSW, Chicago International, Tribeca and SFIFF. He has made films in the Netherlands, India, Jordan, Colombia, Austria, Chile, Mexico, Slovenia, Iceland, Switzerland, Portugal, Spain, France, Italy, Greece, Germany, Vietnam, Thailand, the UK, Hawai'i and across the United States.