Faculty Member
Jenny Mackenzie, Ph.D. is an Emmy award-winning documentary filmmaker whose mission is to produce films that promote social change. Her films include KICK LIKE A GIRL, WHERE’S HERBIE? SUGAR BABIES, LEAD WITH LOVE & DYING IN VEIN, THE OPIATE GENERATION and the 2018 Sundance & Emmy award winning Film QUIET HEROES. Her films have aired on top broadcast and VOD channels such as HBO, HULU, PBS, and Amazon Prime, and have received praise in the New York Times, the Washington Post, and the Boston Globe.
Jenny’s films have received grant support from Chicken & Egg Films, The Sorenson Legacy Foundation, Fledgling Fund, Artemis Rising, The Larry H. Miller
Foundation & The Eccles Foundation. She has a BA from Brown University, a Master's degree from Simmon's College and a Ph.D. from the University of Utah. She has worked in collaboration with the Utah Film Center for over 14 years, under the leadership of her friend, mentor and producer Geralyn White Dreyfous.
Major: Social Work
Major: Social Work
Major: Psychology
Filmmaking I, Fall 2025
Filmmaking I, Fall 2025
Filmmaking I Lab, Fall 2025
Filmmaking I Lab, Fall 2025
Independent Study, Fall 2025
Non-Fiction Directing Workshop, Fall 2025
Non-Fiction Directing Workshop Lab, Fall 2025
Senior Capstone I, Fall 2025
Senior Capstone I Lab, Fall 2025
Documentary II, Spring 2025
Senior Capstone II, Spring 2025
Sundance Documentary Film, Spring 2025
I was honored to be awarded the UVU CET scholarship for 2025, for my work on documentary films The Right To Read and Why Religion, interdisciplinary grant work on The Van Buren Bridge grant, and the short film intervention work funded by the NIH in collaboration with Dr. David Huebner at George Washington University.
At a competitive Film Festival, The Right To Read won in competition, "best documentary film" out of the 64+ documentary films that were screened, and the award was voted on by a jury of my peers in the filmmaking industry.
In a prestigious NYC film festival, The Right To Read won the Audience Award based on audience votes from our two in person screenings, and two virtual screening.
I moderated a panel discussion afterwards at the festival for our film participants.
