Inspired by dance, photography and politics throughout her youth, at eighteen Erica Jordan picked up her first 16mm film camera and never looked back. She gained early recognition with her first short film Dance for One, screening for enthusiastic audiences at many film festivals, including The Mill Valley Film Festival. She went on to receive the Best Emerging Filmmaker Award at Rivertown Film Festival for her feature film Walls of Sand, about the friendship between two women, an undocumented Iranian and an agoraphobic American, and their search for freedom. Walls of Sand won Honorable Mention at Slamdance Film Festival and gained international attention as the first feature film selected to stream over the Internet.
Film Threat selected Erica’s second feature film, In the Wake, as one of the best independent feature films of 2001 — “While anyone who saw ‘Walls of Sand’ could immediately recognize Ms. Jordan’s talent as a filmmaker, her new feature ‘In the Wake’ serves to confirm not only her skill and mastery of independent film production, but also herald her arrival as one of the major artists of the indie scene.”
Erica is now in post-production on a new documentary Bound to Freedom, to be released in 2017. In this searing exposé, Erica follows renowned photographer Lisa Kristine on an unforgettable journey onto the frontlines of modern-day slavery, witnessing intimate moments of human connection and devastation. Through these dark passageways, the film bears witness to the indomitable human spirit. (For more info, please visit boundtofreedom.com)
Painted Nails, a one-hour documentary co-produced and directed by Erica Jordan and Dianne Griffin, now screening at film festivals around the world. Painted Nails enters the lively world of a Vietnamese nail salon and explores not only its unique opportunities for immigrant women but also flamboyant nail art, pampered clients, and the serious health risks that lurk beneath the brightly painted surface. (for more info, please visit paintednailsmovie.com)
Erica’s scope encompasses writing, producing, directing and editing documentary and narrative features that entertain, as they expand into a deeper view of the world.