Cassie Jaye
Marin County filmmaker, Cassie Jaye, started working in the film industry at 16 years old, acting in numerous independent films, TV shows, and commercials. At age 21, Jaye decided to go behind the camera to document social issues she was passionate about. In 2008, she founded Jaye Bird Productions with her family, Nena Jaye (mother), Jay Pugh (father), and Christina Clack (sister), to produce high-quality entertainment that expands the mind and encourages progressive thought and action.
Jaye Bird Productions first film, and Jaye’s directorial debut, “Daddy I Do” follows Abstinence-Only Programs in America and examines the choices people make based on the sexual education they had received. “Daddy I Do” had its World Premiere at the Idyllwild International Festival of Cinema in January 2010 and won the award for Best Documentary. It went on to the San Diego IndieFest in March 2010, and the Bare Bones Int’l Film Festival in April 2010 where it won the award for Best Docu-Drama. Recently, “Daddy I Do” screened at the Cannes Independent Film Festival on May 22nd, 2010, where it won the award for Best Documentary. Universities, women’s groups, and sex education activists have sought out “Daddy I Do” for sponsored screenings to help raise awareness and encourage discussion on the future of Sex Education in America.
Jaye then directed “Faces Overlooked”, an award-winning short documentary about Marin County’s hidden hunger crisis. This short won 2nd Prize in the ‘Faces of Hunger in America’ film contest hosted by the Palms for Life Fund, and was selected by YouTube’s Video Volunteers to be featured on the YouTube homepage on Thanksgiving Day 2009. “Faces Overlooked” premiered at the Tiburon International Film Festival in March 2010, and continues to be used as a vehicle online to help promote the hidden hunger crisis in the Bay Area.
Jaye Bird Productions is currently in post-production on their next feature documentary, “The Right to Love: An American Family”, which Jaye will co-direct with her sister, Christina Clack, and George Lucas’ post-production facility, Skywalker Ranch, will assist in all post-production. This film will examine the debate over marriage equality by profiling a legally married gay couple in Santa Rosa, California, and their two adopted children.
