Who we are
Joseph C. Stillman (Producer/Director/Cinematographer) is an Emmy-winning producer, director, cinematographer, writer, editor, and co-founder of Important Films Media. Born and raised in Corpus Christi, Texas, Stillman brings over four decades of filmmaking experience to create substantive documentary films, motion pictures, television programming, and other video and film projects for clients worldwide. His feature documentary works include the internationally acclaimed Citizen Clark... A Life of Principle, the story of former U.S. Attorney General and Human Rights activist Ramsey Clark, From Mills River to Babylon and Back... the Jimmy Massey Story, a film about a returning veteran from the 2003 Iraq war, the motion picture Bear (2023), which he wrote, produced, and directed, and his most recent documentary, Los Tejanos: A 500-year History. A consummate artist dedicated to human rights and social justice, Stillman's impactful works have been seen around the globe. He is a graduate of Brooks Institute of Photography in Santa Barbara, California, majoring in Motion Picture Production.
Jeri Wachter (Producer/Director/Cinematographer) is a filmmaker and former scientific publisher whose work reflects a longstanding dedication to social justice, public understanding, and institutional change. Raised between New York City and rural Georgia, she brings both perspectives to documentaries including Something in the Water, Rural Matters: Poverty in Other America, Twice Upon a Time in America, and Los Tejanos: A 500-Year History, which examine urgent social and political issues with rigor and clarity. Before founding Important Films Media, Wachter co-founded and chaired William Andrew Publishing, building it over two decades into a leading worldwide publisher of technical and scientific works and the Knovel platform. She later spearheaded the Workplace Equity Project, advancing research on workplace bias in scholarly publishing. Wachter holds a bachelor's degree in biology, with a minor in sociology, from Baruch College, CUNY.
