Jane Flannery Schoenbrun (; born February 5, 1987
) is an American filmmaker. They worked as a producer before making their directorial debut in 2018.
Early life
Jane Flannery Schoenbrun was born to Jewish parents in
Queens
Queens is the largest by area of the Boroughs of New York City, five boroughs of New York City, coextensive with Queens County, in the U.S. state of New York (state), New York. Located near the western end of Long Island, it is bordered by the ...
, New York, in 1987.
They were raised in
Ardsley, New York
Ardsley is a village in Westchester County, New York, United States. It is part of the town of Greenburgh. The village's population was 5,079 at the 2020 census. The mayor of Ardsley is Nancy Kaboolian.
The Ardsley post office serves the en ...
.
Growing up, they worked at a local movie theater.
They graduated from
Boston University
Boston University (BU) is a Private university, private research university in Boston, Massachusetts, United States. BU was founded in 1839 by a group of Boston Methodism, Methodists with its original campus in Newbury (town), Vermont, Newbur ...
's film program in 2009.
Career
While in college, Schoenbrun worked as a
production assistant
A production assistant, also known as a PA, is a member of the film crew and is a job title used in filmmaking and television for a person responsible for various aspects of a production. The job of a PA can vary greatly depending on the budget ...
on short films by the
Safdie brothers
Josh Safdie, Joshua Henry Safdie (born April 3, 1984) and Benny Safdie, Benjamin Safdie (born February 24, 1986) are independent American filmmakers and actors based in New York City, who frequently collaborate on their films. They are best know ...
.
After graduating, they moved back to New York and began working as a staffer for the
Independent Filmmaker Project
The Gotham Film & Media Institute (also simply the Gotham), formerly known as the Independent Filmmaker Project (IFP), is a membership-based, not-for-profit organization dedicated to independent film. It offers programs that assist independent fi ...
.
From 2011 to 2019, they wrote a significant number of articles for
''Filmmaker'' magazine. In 2014, they served as the lead of film partnerships at
Kickstarter
Kickstarter, PBC is an American Benefit corporation, public benefit corporation based in Brooklyn, New York City, that maintains a global crowdfunding platform focused on creativity. The company's stated mission is to "help bring creative project ...
.
Schoenbrun made their directorial debut in 2018 with the documentary ''A Self-Induced Hallucination''. The film centers the narrative of the fictional horror character and internet phenomenon
Slender Man
The Slender Man (also called Slenderman, Slender, or Slendy) is a fictional supernatural character (arts), character that originated as a creepypasta Internet meme created by Something Awful forum user Eric Knudsen (also known as "Victor Surge") ...
, as told through a
found footage compilation of existing
YouTube
YouTube is an American social media and online video sharing platform owned by Google. YouTube was founded on February 14, 2005, by Steve Chen, Chad Hurley, and Jawed Karim who were three former employees of PayPal. Headquartered in ...
videos. Schoenbrun has stated that they do not wish to profit from ''A Self-Induced Hallucination''.
Their film ''
We're All Going to the World's Fair
''We're All Going to the World's Fair'' is a 2021 American coming-of-age psychological horror film written, directed, and edited by Jane Schoenbrun in their narrative feature directorial debut. The film stars Michael J. Rogers and Anna Cobb i ...
'' premiered during the online 2021
Sundance Film Festival
The Sundance Film Festival is an annual film festival organized by the Sundance Institute. It is the largest independent film festival in the United States, with 423,234 combined in-person and online viewership in 2023.
The festival has acted ...
. The film follows the story of a teenage girl named Casey, portrayed by Anna Cobb, who joins an "
occult
The occult () is a category of esoteric or supernatural beliefs and practices which generally fall outside the scope of organized religion and science, encompassing phenomena involving a 'hidden' or 'secret' agency, such as magic and mysti ...
online game". The film was inspired and informed by
creepypasta
A creepypasta is a horror-related legend which has been shared around the Internet. The term ''creepypasta'' has since become a catch-all term for any horror content posted onto the Internet.
These entries are often brief, user-generated, par ...
aesthetics and
trans
Trans- is a Latin prefix meaning "across", "beyond", or "on the other side of".
Used alone, trans may refer to:
Sociology
* Trans, a sociological term which may refer to:
** Transgender, people who identify themselves with a gender that di ...
perspectives. Critics noted that it paid homage to
low-budget
A low-budget film or low-budget movie is a motion picture shot with little to no funding from a major film studio or private investor.
Many independent films are made on low budgets, but films made on the mainstream circuit with inexperienced o ...
horror films such as ''
Paranormal Activity
Paranormal events are purported phenomena described in popular culture, folk, and other non-scientific bodies of knowledge, whose existence within these contexts is described as being beyond the scope of normal scientific understanding. Not ...
''. The majority of ''We're All Going to the World's Fair'' consists of original footage, with the exception of some online videos posted by
content creators
Content creation or content creative is the act of producing and sharing information or media content for specific audiences, particularly in digital contexts. According to '' Dictionary.com'', content refers to "something that is to be expresse ...
previously unrelated to the film.
On October 7, 2021, ''
Deadline
Deadline(s) or The Deadline(s) may refer to:
* Time limit, a narrow field of time by which an objective must be accomplished
Arts, entertainment, and media Comics
* Deadline (DC Comics), a fictional villain
* ''Deadline'' (magazine), a Britis ...
'' reported that Schoenbrun's next feature, ''
I Saw the TV Glow
''I Saw the TV Glow'' is a 2024 American psychological horror drama film written and directed by Jane Schoenbrun. It stars Justice Smith and Jack Haven as two troubled high school students whose connection to their favorite television show dri ...
'', was in development. The film would be co-produced by
Fruit Tree
A fruit tree is a tree which bears fruit that is consumed or used by animals and humans. All trees that are flowering plants produce fruit, which are the ripened ovaries of flowers containing one or more seeds. In horticultural usage, the te ...
, the production banner of actress
Emma Stone
Emily Jean "Emma" Stone (born November 6, 1988) is an American actress and film producer. Her accolades include two Academy Awards, two British Academy Film Awards, and two Golden Globe Awards. In 2017, she was the world's highest-paid actr ...
, as well as
A24
A24 Films LLC, commonly referred to as A24, is an American Privately held company, independent entertainment company that specializes in film and television production, as well as film distribution. The studio is based in Manhattan.
The company ...
, which would also distribute the film.
Starring
Justice Smith
Justice Elio Smith (born August 9, 1995) is an American actor. He is best known for his roles in '' Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom'' (2018), '' Detective Pikachu'' (2019), '' All the Bright Places'' (2020), '' Dungeons & Dragons: Honor Among Th ...
and
Jack Haven
Jack Haven (formerly Brigette Lundy-Paine; born August 10, 1994) is an American actor. They are known for playing Casey Gardner in the Netflix comedy-drama ''Atypical'' (2017–2021) and Maddy Wilson in the 2024 film '' I Saw the TV Glow''.
Ea ...
, ''I Saw the TV Glow'' follows two teenage outcasts who bond over their shared love for a paranormal television series, only for them to lose touch with reality upon the show's cancellation. They began writing the script for this film while they were about two months into hormone replacement therapy. They have stated that they view Justice Smith and Jack Haven's characters as being different sides of themself during the transition process. The film premiered at the
2024 Sundance Film Festival
The 2024 Sundance Film Festival took place from January 18 to 28, 2024. The first lineup of competition films was announced on December 6, 2023.
Among the highlighted events included the premiere of a documentary about the 1980s rock band Dev ...
before screening at the
Berlin International Film Festival
The Berlin International Film Festival (), usually called the Berlinale (), is an annual film festival held in Berlin, Germany. Founded in 1951 and originally run in June, the festival has been held every February since 1978 and is one of Europ ...
and the
South by Southwest Film Festival
South by Southwest (SXSW) is an annual conglomeration of parallel film, interactive media, and music festivals and conferences organized jointly that take place in mid-March in Austin, Texas. It began in 1987 and has continued growing in both s ...
. ''I Saw the TV Glow'' was released in select theaters on May 3, 2024, before a wide release on May 17. The film was "hailed as an acutely intense psychodrama of self discovery".
In January 2023, ''The Film Stage'' announced that Schoenbrun was set to direct an adaptation of
Imogen Binnie
Imogen Binnie (born 1978 or 1979) is an American novelist and screenwriter. She is best known for her debut novel, ''Nevada'', which was published in 2013.
Early life
Binnie was born and raised in rural New Jersey. She attended Rutgers Universit ...
's 2013 novel ''
Nevada
Nevada ( ; ) is a landlocked state in the Western United States. It borders Oregon to the northwest, Idaho to the northeast, California to the west, Arizona to the southeast, and Utah to the east. Nevada is the seventh-most extensive, th ...
'', which is widely considered a
classic
A classic is an outstanding example of a particular style; something of Masterpiece, lasting worth or with a timeless quality; of the first or Literary merit, highest quality, class, or rank – something that Exemplification, exemplifies its ...
of
transgender literature
Transgender literature is a collective term used to designate the literary production that addresses, has been written by or portrays people of diverse gender identity.
History
Representations in literature of transgender people have existed ...
. However, Schoenbrun confirmed in a May 2024 interview with ''
The Cut'' that they had exited the project due to "creative differences with
cis people".
In a June 2024 profile that appeared in the ''
New Yorker
New Yorker may refer to:
* A resident of New York:
** A resident of New York City and its suburbs
*** List of people from New York City
** A resident of the New York (state), State of New York
*** Demographics of New York (state)
* ''The New Yor ...
'', Schoenbrun revealed that their next film would be a
slasher
Slasher may refer to:
* Slasher (basketball), a style of play in basketball
* Slasher film, a subgenre of the horror film
* Slasher (tool), a scrub-clearing implement
* ''Slasher'' (2004 film), a 2004 documentary film
* ''Slasher'' (2007 film), ...
called ''Teenage Sex and Death at Camp Miasma''. According to Schoenbrun, the film will follow a
queer
''Queer'' is an umbrella term for people who are non-heterosexual or non- cisgender. Originally meaning or , ''queer'' came to be used pejoratively against LGBTQ people in the late 19th century. From the late 1980s, queer activists began to ...
director who, while shooting a new installment of a popular
horror
Horror may refer to:
Arts, entertainment, and media
Genres
*Horror fiction, a genre of fiction
**Psychological horror, a subgenre of horror fiction
**Christmas horror, a subgenre of horror fiction
**Analog horror, a subgenre of horror fiction
* ...
franchise, becomes obsessed with the process of casting the movie's "
final girl
The final girl or survivor girl is a Trope (cinema), trope in horror films (particularly slasher films). It refers to the last girl(s) or woman alive to confront the killer, ostensibly the one left to tell the story. The final girl has been ob ...
" character.
Schoenbrun is also currently working on a trilogy of novels called ''Public Access Afterworld'', which will be published by
Penguin Random House
Penguin Random House Limited is a British-American multinational corporation, multinational conglomerate (company), conglomerate publishing company formed on July 1, 2013, with the merger of Penguin Books and Random House. Penguin Books was or ...
's imprint Hogarth Books. The novels are reportedly a combination of
fantasy
Fantasy is a genre of speculative fiction that involves supernatural or Magic (supernatural), magical elements, often including Fictional universe, imaginary places and Legendary creature, creatures.
The genre's roots lie in oral traditions, ...
,
science fiction
Science fiction (often shortened to sci-fi or abbreviated SF) is a genre of speculative fiction that deals with imaginative and futuristic concepts. These concepts may include information technology and robotics, biological manipulations, space ...
,
horror
Horror may refer to:
Arts, entertainment, and media
Genres
*Horror fiction, a genre of fiction
**Psychological horror, a subgenre of horror fiction
**Christmas horror, a subgenre of horror fiction
**Analog horror, a subgenre of horror fiction
* ...
, and
coming-of-age
Coming of age is a young person's transition from being a child to being an adult. The specific age at which this transition takes place varies between societies, as does the nature of the change. It can be a simple legal convention or can b ...
literature. According to Schoenbrun, ''Public Access Afterworld'' will serve as the conclusion to a
thematically-linked
trilogy
A trilogy is a set of three distinct works that are connected and can be seen either as a single work or as three individual works. They are commonly found in literature, film, and video games. Three-part works that are considered components of ...
of works that includes ''We're All Going to the World's Fair'' and ''I Saw the TV Glow''. Schoenbrun described the books as "my ''
Dune
A dune is a landform composed of wind- or water-driven sand. It typically takes the form of a mound, ridge, or hill. An area with dunes is called a dune system or a dune complex. A large dune complex is called a dune field, while broad, flat ...
''. It's my
epic
Epic commonly refers to:
* Epic poetry, a long narrative poem celebrating heroic deeds and events significant to a culture or nation
* Epic film, a genre of film defined by the spectacular presentation of human drama on a grandiose scale
Epic(s) ...
and me trying to do ''
Buffy'', ''
Lost'', or ''
Harry Potter
''Harry Potter'' is a series of seven Fantasy literature, fantasy novels written by British author J. K. Rowling. The novels chronicle the lives of a young Magician (fantasy), wizard, Harry Potter (character), Harry Potter, and his friends ...
''. I've created this huge mythology about a giant cast of characters with a story that spans centuries and sprawls across alternate universes. It's got a scope that a 90-minute film couldn't hold, and it's about transition, becoming, and truly closing that gap between self and screen until you feel like you're approximating some form of real life." The project was initially pitched as a television show.
On May 9, 2025, Schoenbrun's next film, ''
Teenage Sex and Death at Camp Miasma'', was announced. Schoenbrun has stated that it will be a
slasher film
A slasher film is a subgenre of horror films involving a killer or a group of killers stalking and murdering a group of people, usually by use of bladed or sharp tools. Although the term "slasher" may occasionally be used informally as a generic ...
and their "best attempt at the 'sleepover classic.'"
Hannah Einbinder and
Gillian Anderson
Gillian Leigh Anderson ( ; born August 9, 1968) is an American actress, writer, and activist. She is best known for her roles as FBI Special Agent Dana Scully in the sci-fi series ''The X-Files'' (1993–2002; 2016–2018), Lily Bart in the dr ...
are attached to star in the film.
Filmmaking
Gender identity
Gender identity is the personal sense of one's own gender. Gender identity can correlate with a person's assigned sex or can differ from it. In most individuals, the various biological determinants of sex are congruent and consistent with the in ...
and
dysphoria
Dysphoria (; ) is a profound state of unease or dissatisfaction. It is the semantic opposite of euphoria. In a psychiatric context, dysphoria may accompany depression, anxiety, or agitation.
In psychiatry
Intense states of distress and uneas ...
are prominent themes in Schoenbrun's work.
They have frequently described ''I Saw the TV Glow'' as a film about the "egg crack", a term for the moment in a trans person's life when they realize their identity does not correspond to their
assigned gender.
Additionally, Schoenbrun has described the presence of
screens
Screen or Screens may refer to:
Arts
* Screen printing or ''silkscreening'', a printing method
* Big screen, a nickname for motion pictures
* Split screen (filmmaking), showing two or more images side by side
* Stochastic screening and Halftone ...
, which are frequently featured in their work, as "a
metaphor
A metaphor is a figure of speech that, for rhetorical effect, directly refers to one thing by mentioning another. It may provide, or obscure, clarity or identify hidden similarities between two different ideas. Metaphors are usually meant to cr ...
for the ways in which we don't experience ourselves when we're going through dysphoria and coming to terms with transness".
Personal life
Schoenbrun is
transfeminine
A transgender (often shortened to trans) person has a gender identity different from that typically associated with the sex they were assigned at birth.
The opposite of ''transgender'' is ''cisgender'', which describes persons whose gende ...
and
non-binary
Non-binary or genderqueer Gender identity, gender identities are those that are outside the male/female gender binary. Non-binary identities often fall under the transgender umbrella since non-binary people typically identify with a gende ...
.
They said in a May 2024 ''
Vanity Fair'' interview, "I don't think my relationship to gender is something that I completely understand. It's actually quite comforting to embrace incoherence."
They discovered they were
trans
Trans- is a Latin prefix meaning "across", "beyond", or "on the other side of".
Used alone, trans may refer to:
Sociology
* Trans, a sociological term which may refer to:
** Transgender, people who identify themselves with a gender that di ...
while tripping on
mushrooms
A mushroom or toadstool is the fleshy, spore-bearing fruiting body of a fungus, typically produced above ground on soil or another food source. ''Toadstool'' generally refers to a poisonous mushroom.
The standard for the name "mushroom" is ...
in April 2019, during the process of writing ''We're All Going to the World's Fair''.
They subsequently
came out
Coming out of the closet, often shortened to coming out, is a metaphor used to describe LGBTQ people's self-disclosure of their sexual orientation, romantic orientation, or gender identity.
This is often framed and debated as a privacy issue, ...
after the project
wrapped in 2020; one of Schoenbrun's long-term partners, who was the first person to suggest they were trans, is thanked in the credits of the film.
Schoenbrun married Melissa Ader in 2014.
With the exception of their mother, they are
estranged from their immediate family.
They are
polyamorous
Polyamory () is the practice of, or the desire for, romantic relationships with more than one partner at the same time, with the informed consent of all partners involved. Some people who identify as polyamorous believe in consensual non-mono ...
,
with three partners,
and they also identify as an
anti-capitalist
Anti-capitalism is a political ideology and Political movement, movement encompassing a variety of attitudes and ideas that oppose capitalism. Anti-capitalists seek to combat the worst effects of capitalism and to eventually replace capitalism ...
.
, they maintain residences in
Brooklyn
Brooklyn is a Boroughs of New York City, borough of New York City located at the westernmost end of Long Island in the New York (state), State of New York. Formerly an independent city, the borough is coextensive with Kings County, one of twelv ...
and
Chatham, New York
Chatham is a Administrative divisions of New York#Town, town in Columbia County, New York, Columbia County, New York (state), New York, United States. The population was 4,104 at the 2020 census, down from the 2010 census.US Census Bureau, 2020 ...
.
Filmography
Feature film
Miscellaneous
Producer and/or writer only
Television
Music videos
Accolades
Notes
References
External links
*
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Schoenbrun, Jane
1987 births
Living people
21st-century American Jews
21st-century American LGBTQ people
21st-century American novelists
21st-century American screenwriters
American LGBTQ film directors
American film producers
American horror film directors
American non-binary writers
Boston University alumni
Film directors from New York (state)
Jewish American film people
Jews from New York (state)
LGBTQ film producers
LGBTQ people from New York (state)
Non-binary Jews
Non-binary artists
Non-binary directors
Polyamorous people