Jerry’s first independent documentary as both Director and DP, he followed Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist Art Cullen and his family’s fight to unite and inform their Iowan farming community throughout their biweekly newspaper The Storm Lake Times – come hell or pandemic!

STORM LAKE is an elegiac heartland portrait…colored by the hope of endurance, both for the newspaper and the community it represents.

The Hollywood Reporter

Jerry Risius

Director/Cinematographer

Jerry Risius is a 3-time Emmy nominated Director/DP, with 2 nominations as a Director; Anthony Bourdain: No Reservations: Beirut (2007), also his independent breakout doc Storm Lake (2022), along with 1 nomination as Cinematographer, Parts Unknown: Anthony Bourdain: Lagos (2018).

Storm Lake was also nominated for a Peabody Award in 2022, along with screening at over 50 film festivals around the world.

Jerry was born and raised on a farm on the Iowa side of the Iowa / Minnesota border. He grew up working on the family farm, attended the University of Iowa, and joined the Peace Corps in the late 80s. In 1990, he moved to NYC to pursue a career in documentary filmmaking. He worked alongside many talented Directors, DPs, and many other crew members; he purchased a Super 16mm film camera and began shooting. He has a 25 year plus year career dedicated to documentaries.

His clients include: PBS (Independent Lens, POV, NOVA, Frontline, etc.) HBO, Netflix, Amazon, Showtime, among others.

He lives in Brooklyn, NY with his wife and dog.