Registrations for the 2026 edition of the Directors’ Fortnight are now closed.

58th Edition May 13-23, 2026

Jacob Estes began writing and filmmaking while attending the University of California, Santa Cruz. Graduated in film directing at The American Film Institute, he has been selected twice at the Eugene O’Neill theatre Center’s National Playwrights Conference under the artistic direction of Lloyd Richards. He won the Nicholl Fellowship in screenwriting for the script of Mean Creek. He recently adapted the novel Nearing’s Grace for director Rick Rosenthal.