Jessey Dearing is a Seattle-based documentary filmmaker, director of photography, and visual journalist whose work sits at the intersection of intimate human storytelling and the issues that shape our world — environmental justice, social equity, science, and the unexpected moments of everyday life.
With more than fifteen years behind the camera and in the edit suite, Jessey works across the full arc of production — directing, cinematography, producing, and editing — for editorial outlets, nonprofits, foundations, brands, and feature documentaries. He is drawn to stories that require patience and trust: the kind of access that only comes when subjects feel genuinely seen, and the kind of images that stay with you long after the screen goes dark.
His editorial work has appeared in The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, The Atlantic, TIME, National Geographic, Politico, NBC, MSNBC, CNN, Univision, Vice News on HBO, Education Week, and Cascade PBS, among others. He served as a director of photography for the relaunch of National Geographic’s flagship series Explorer, and his films have earned two National Emmy nominations.
On the nonprofit and foundation side, Jessey has collaborated with Human Rights Watch, Partners In Health, Open Society Foundations, the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, the Starbucks Foundation, the Climate Leadership Initiative, New Way of Life, and Minerva — bringing the rigor of documentary filmmaking to mission-driven storytelling.
For brands, he partners with organizations including Starbucks, Microsoft, Amazon, Home Depot, Blue Origin, the American Wind Energy Association, Red Hat, Blue Chalk, and Side x Side Studios to bring a documentary sensibility to their work — storytelling that feels earned rather than produced.
He was one of the lead creators of Upstanders, Starbucks’ original multi-season documentary series spotlighting Americans driving change in their communities. Jessey’s work has taken him across six continents and more than ten countries — Kenya, Indonesia, Kyrgyzstan, Nicaragua, Costa Rica, Ecuador, Mexico, Sierra Leone and throughout the United States.
As a cinematographer and camera operator, Jessey has contributed to a growing body of feature documentary work. His credits include POWER (2027), The Life We Leave (2026), Five Years North (2020), Since I Been Down (2020), Transmilitary (2018), and numerous short documentaries.
Please reach out if you would like to collaborate: jesseydearing@gmail.com
Clients
Editorial — The New York Times · The Wall Street Journal · The Atlantic · National Geographic · TIME · CNN · MSNBC · NBC · Univision · Politico · Vice News on HBO · Education Week · Cascade PBS
Nonprofit & Foundation — Partners In Health · Human Rights Watch · Open Society Foundations · Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation · Starbucks Foundation · Climate Leadership Initiative · New Way of Life · Minerva
Brand & Commercial — Starbucks · Microsoft · Amazon · Home Depot · Blue Origin · American Wind Energy Association · Red Hat · Blue Chalk · Side x Side Studios
