Rob Epstein

Executive Producer

Rob Epstein began his filmmaking career in 1975 as co-director of the landmark documentary feature Word is Out. In 1985, Epstein received his first Oscar for the non-fiction feature The Times of Harvey Milk which he conceived, directed, co-produced and co-edited. Other producer/director credits include the PBS series We The People, The Celluloid Closet, Paragraph 175, and Common Threats: Stories from the Quilt which earned him his second Oscar.

Rob and Jeff's latest film Howl—their first scripted dramatic narrative, featuring James Franco and a stellar cast—premiered in 2010 at the Sundance and Berlin Film Festivals, and was released in the US by Oscilloscope Laboratories. It received the Freedom of Expression Award from the National Board of Review, and was a project of the Sundance Institute Writer's Lab.

In addition to his filmmaking career, Rob is a professor at California College of the Arts, where he also serves as chair of the Film program. He has also been a visiting professor at the Graduate Film Program at Tisch School of the Arts/NYU. He currently serves on the board of the Yerba Buena Center of the Arts in San Francisco. Rob is a member of the Directors Guild of America, and of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, where he currently serves on the Board of Governors and is chair of the documentary branch.