Stephanie Owens is a programmer for the Sundance Film Festival, where she focuses on documentary features and New Frontier. She has also programmed for Palm Springs ShortFest, Full Frame Documentary Film Festival, LA Film Festival, and IDA’s Getting Real Conference, and has served on numerous festival and funding juries. Owens watches an obscene number of films and loves moderating conversations with filmmakers about their creative process and ideas.

Previously, she served as Director of DocX at the Center for Documentary Studies at Duke University, where she launched the DocX Archive Lab, DocX Development Lab, and the DocX Residency— innovative programs designed to support interdisciplinary documentary artists. She’s especially drawn to voices that are distinct, emerging, and excited to experiment. Her work with DocX was grounded in a deep appreciation for process: in making space for exploration, questioning, and formal risk.

On the filmmaking side, Owens was an editor on the Academy Award®–winning short documentary The Queen of Basketball, as well as MINK! and Doc Albany, directed by Ben Proudfoot. Her editing credits also include the Nyma Tang short documentary, directed by Crystal Kayiza, for the #YouTubeBlack Flower series. Her own short documentary Downstage also screened at festivals including BlackStar, Big Sky, Hot Springs, and the Chicago International Children’s Film Festival. Owens is especially drawn to working on stories that explore the messy, tender complexity of people driven by something they care about deeply—what guides them, what sustains them, and what it costs.

She holds dual MFAs in Art and Film/Video from CalArts and her cat’s name is Tortellini.

Get in touch: sowenstapes@gmail.com