Jen McGowan received her BFA from NYU's Tisch School of the Arts. There, she studied film and trained as an actor at the Atlantic Theater Company with David Mamet, William H. Macy, and Sam Shepard. Upon graduation, McGowan began auditioning for acting roles however quickly discovered that her place was not in front of the camera, rather behind the lens. She began to dabble in filmmaking and shorts - creativity began flowing and she instantly became addicted to bringing stories to life from paper, to film. McGowan got her start working up the production ladder with some of New York's top companies such as RSA/Black Dog, A Band Apart, Killer Films, and propaganda. She was also fortunate to work on many independent feature film projects, including the Oscar-winning Boy's Don't Cry, while she wrote and directed her own award-winning short She Never.
The attention she received for her short She Never helped garner her a spot in the MFA program at USC. McGowan was honored with a grant from The Caucus Foundation for her work on her thesis film, Confessions of a Late Bloomer as well as a scholarship from Women in Film recognizing young female filmmakers. Confessions of a Late Bloomer began its festival run at the Tribeca Film Festival and the Cannes Short Film Corner where it was selected for a special screening in the Palais by film critic Michel Coulombe. The film continued on to over 60 festivals worldwide, earning awards and positive reviews from critics. It was purchased for distribution by Shorts International.
Following Confessions of a Late Bloomer, McGowan co-wrote and directed the award-winning commercial "Couch Therapy" for client Viesso. She then directed the short film Touch, starring Lily Knight [Secretary, A.I. "Boston Legal," "Big Love"]. The short won at the Oscar-qualifying Florida Film Festival and 23 awards at the 75 festivals it played in during its festival run. It was purchased by PBS, NBC Universal, NITV and Canal Plus.
In March 2014, McGowan premiered her feature film directorial debut, Kelly & Cal, starring Juliette Lewis, Jonny Weston, Cybill Shepherd, Margaret Colin, and Josh Hopkins at the SXSW Film Festival in Austin, Texas garnering McGowan the Gamechanger Emergent Woman Director Award. The film opened at SXSW to rave reviews from Variety, The Wrap and countless other sites and made best of the fest lists with Vogue and Variety.
McGowan was also a finalist for the prestigious Clint Eastwood Filmmakers Award.
