Joe Brewster, M.D., a graduate of Stanford University and a Harvard Medical School trained psychiatrist, uses his training as a foundation for approaching the social issues he tackles as a producer and director.
Brewster wrote and directed THE KEEPER; which was an official selection in the dramatic narrative competition section of the 1996 Sundance Film. Brewster’s work has appeared on PBS, Showtime, MTV, and other broadcast, cable and digital outlets. He is a recipient of Sundance, Tribeca-All Access, Tribeca New Media and BAVC fellowships and numerous honors and awards for his direction and production, including an Independent Spirit Award nomination, the Sundance Special Jury Prize for Excellence in Filmmaking, the African American Film Critics' Association Award, the New York Film Festival Main Slate Selection, Grand Jury Prize for Best Documentary, ABFF; and the Diversity Award, at the SilverDocs International Documentary Film Festival.
His most recent film AMERICAN PROMISE made with his wife and directing and producing partner, Michele Stephenson, was nominated for three Emmy’s including Best Documentary, and won the U.S. Documentary Special Jury Award for Achievement in Filmmaking as well as the 2013 African-American Critics Association Award for Best Documentary. Their transmedia work has been supported by Kellogg, Open Society Institute and the Blank Foundation has received awards for outreach and audience engagement including a Henry Hampton Award for Excellence in Film and Digital Media and recent nominations for a 2014 Media Impact Award nomination and 2014 Revere Award by the American Publishers Association