JONATHAN PICKETT is a gray-haired, former child actor-turned-filmmaker.

He’s an Emmy-nominated producer and director whose documentary work captures intimate real-time stories with curiosity and playfulness. He loves the idea of filmmaking as a means of connection, where discovery is oftentimes more profound than invention.

His film “A New Inferno” (co-dir. Nita Blum-Reddick) world premiered at SXSW 2026, and will release this summer with The New York Times Op-Docs.

Previous work has been released through The New Yorker, GQ Magazine, Documentary+, Short of the Week; been supported by Mountainfilm, Stept Studios, NewFilmmakers LA, DOC NYC; and premiered at film festivals like Tribeca, Seattle, Palm Springs & HollyShorts — where his film "Deep in My Heart is a Song" won Best Shot on 16mm.

Jonathan's forthcoming documentary is supported by the Sundance Institute x Sandbox Fund, and won the 2024 BendFilm: Basecamp pitch. His movie about chickens won a jury prize at Big Sky Documentary Film Festival, after which it was acquired by The New Yorker & selected as a Vimeo Staff Pick.

A proud San Diegan, he loves analog photography, his cat Vivian, & way-too-drawn-out neighborhood walks.