About
Dawn Jones Redstone (she/her) is a queer, Mexican American writer/director based in Portland, Oregon, known for her thoughtful and imaginative storytelling. Her feature film, Mother of Color, is now streaming on major platforms, continuing to resonate with audiences for its compelling narrative and emotional depth.
Prior to that she directed multiple short films including the acclaimed Sista in the Brotherhood, distributed by Collective Eye, tweeted about by the Governor of Oregon, and purchased by the US Dept of Labor.
Rooted in cinema as the ultimate empathy machine, her narratives often feature women of color exploring themes of resistance, emotional spirituality, and self actualization. She believes in participating in community and using her hiring decisions to help create an inclusive filmmaking environment that reflects and brings needed perspective to the world we live in.
In addition to running her own video production business, Hearts+Sparks, Dawn currently works part-time as a Creative Director/Director at B-Corp video production company Funnelbox, and as a freelance director at-large. Her upcoming project, Appliance of Science, was selected for the Stowe Story Feature Campus. She was also a recent mentor for the Women in Film Portland chapter's new Educate/Incubate program and spoke at Creative Mornings in Portland.
In 2017, she was selected to shadow Debra Granik on the set of Leave No Trace. She was named a Woman of Vision by the Daily Journal of Commerce and is the recipient of OMPA's Inspiration and Service Award for her work helping to bring equity to the state film incentives in the form of HB 3010. Additionally, Dawn was a nominee for the inaugural Lynn Shelton grant.
Grant awards include Regional Arts and Culture Council, Portland Art Museum, Seeding Justice, Oregon Futures Lab, Story Changes Culture, Prosper Portland and more.
Member of Film Fatales, Women in Film, OMPA, and the Catalyst Film Collective. She's on the board of Portland Panorama, and on the advisory council for Lesbian Culture Club.
She lives in Portland, Oregon with her wife, daughter, two cats and a dog.
