Like most successful documentary makers, Chinese-American producer/director Jessica Kingdon makes bold choices with her projects. These have included sex doll manufacture in It’s Coming!, transgender surgery in Born to Be, and a study of China’s largest wholesale market in Commodity City.

Across her relatively short career, this work has collected a number of awards. She was named as one of the 25 New Faces of Independent Film by Filmmaker Magazine and made it into the 40 Under 40 list at the 2020 NYC film festival. Her latest documentary, Ascension, earned her a nomination for Best Documentary Feature at this year’s Oscars. Ascension examines the pursuit of “the Chinese Dream” and the realities involved in fulfilling the global supply chain.

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