| Jacob Aaron Estes | |
| Birth Place: | Tulare County, California, U.S. |
| Occupation: | Screenwriter, film director |
| Known For: | Mean Creek |
| Spouse: | Gretchen Lieberum |
Jacob Aaron Estes (born September 6, 1972) is an American screenwriter and film director known for his films Mean Creek, The Details and Don't Let Go.
Estes was a theatre major at the University of California, Santa Cruz.[1] After that, he went to film school at AFI.[1] Estes also attended the National Playwrights Conference at the Eugene O'Neill Theater Center, which produced two of his plays, Free Lessons and Mean Creek.[1] [2] Estes turned Mean Creek into a screenplay, which became his feature film debut as writer and director in 2004.[3] In his first offering as writer-director, he gained critical acclaim, receiving nominations at various film festivals and winning the Independent Spirit John Cassavetes Award.[4] His second film as writer/director came with the 2011 film The Details,[5] which premiered at the 2011 Sundance Film Festival[6] and stars Tobey Maguire, Laura Linney, Ray Liotta, Dennis Haysbert, Kerry Washington, and Elizabeth Banks. In 2019, Estes co-wrote and directed the Blumhouse thriller Don't Let Go starring David Oyelowo and Storm Reid.
Estes is married to musician Gretchen Lieberum.[1]
| Year | Film | Director | Writer | Producer | Notes | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2001 | Summoning | Short film | ||||
| 2004 | Mean Creek | John Cassavetes Award winner | ||||
| 2005 | Nearing Grace | |||||
| 2011 | The Details | |||||
| 2014 | 7 Minutes | |||||
| 2015 | Bromance | Special thanks | ||||
| 2017 | Rings | Co-write with David Loucka and Akiva Goldsman | ||||
| 2019 | Don't Let Go | |||||
| 2022 | He's Watching | |||||
| 2023 | Black Mirror (Season 6 Episode 3) | Netflix anthology series |