About

I’m a documentary film director & producer, writer, and audio producer. 

I’m drawn to stories of belonging – ones that explore the ways in which people lose, search for, or recreate a sense of home or identity, especially within circumstances that threaten their ability to do so. This has led me to stories about native sovereignty, transgender rights, and faith in America.

I’ve directed/produced two feature documentaries, worked on docuseries for HBO Max/Magnolia Network, branded docs for clients like Google, Nike, and Pearson Education, and many documentary shorts for places like TIME Magazine, NBC, TED, and various nonprofits. I recently received my MFA in creative nonfiction writing from the University of Pittsburgh, and have spent the last three years reporting for and writing a book about the Chinook Indian Nation's fight for federal recognition.

I believe documenting and sharing the individual experience – of others and my own – makes the world feel small enough to relate to one another. I believe this down to my bones. Being welcomed into someone’s world to make a story is the biggest honor I’ve known. I’ve had that privilege on a whole lot of stories. Here are a few:

  • “Solving for Zero,” (Wondrium) a feature-length film about technological innovations fighting climate change

  • “Big Dreams in Umatilla," (Oregon Public Broadcasting) a feature-length film about a high school robotics team in a rural Oregon town

  • “Storefront Stories,” (HBO Max/Magnolia Network)

  • “Fighting For Racial Equality: A Conversation Between Generations,” (winner of the Best Short Documentary at the New York Short Film Festival)

  • “Tim’s New World,” (recipient of the Award of Excellence for the Communicator Awards and Cynopsis Social Good Awards).

  • My full-episode audio essay “That’s Just the Way the Ball Bounces” (Asian Americana) was a finalist for Best Documentary at Third Coast International Audio Festival. 

I’m a graduate of the University of Oregon’s School of Journalism (2014), and of the University of Pittsburgh’s Master of Fine Arts in creative nonfiction writing (2022). 

I am based in Portland, Oregon and am available for assignments worldwide. Please reach out for details, questions, or to say hello! 

email: j.sato.parker@gmail.com

phone: 503.702.9785