Jess Search

Search was born in Waterlooville, Hampshire and was raised in Sevenoaks, Kent to Henrietta (née Loufte) and Phil Search. Her father died in a car accident when she was 18.

She was educated at Tonbridge Grammar School and Sevenoaks School before studying philosophy, politics and economics at New College, Oxford. After university she had a gap year in Sydney.{{Cite web |date=2023-08-15 |title=Jess Search obituary: Doc Society founder and tireless champion of independent documentary |url=https://www.bfi.org.uk/news/jess-search-obituary-doc-society-founder-tireless-champion-independent-documentary |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20250221031027/https://www.bfi.org.uk/news/jess-search-obituary-doc-society-founder-tireless-champion-independent-documentary |archive-date=2025-02-21 |access-date=2025-02-21 |website=BFI |language=en}}{{Cite news |last=Mitchell |first=Wendy |date=2023-08-07 |title=Jess Search obituary |url=https://www.theguardian.com/film/2023/aug/07/jess-search-obituary |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20250221031130/https://www.theguardian.com/film/2023/aug/07/jess-search-obituary |archive-date=2025-02-21 |access-date=2025-02-21 |work=The Guardian |language=en-GB |issn=0261-3077}}

Search began her career in 1992 working as an assistant for her uncle, Tony Laryea, at his company Catalyst Television.

In 1998, she co-founded Shooting People, an international social network for independent filmmakers, with Cath Le Couteur. She then joined Channel 4 in 1999 as a commissioning editor in the Independent Film and Video Department. She stayed in this role until 2004 when the department was shut down.

In 2005, she co-founded Britdoc (renamed Doc Society in 2017) with Maxyne Franklin, Katie Bradford, and Beadie Finzi. She announced in an open letter in July 2023 that she would be stepping back from Doc Society after having received a cancer diagnosis.{{Cite web |last=Macaulay |first=Scott |date=2023-08-02 |title=Remembering Producer and Doc Society Co-Founder Jess Search, 1969 – 2023 – Filmmaker Magazine |url=https://filmmakermagazine.com/122374-jess-search-obituary/ |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20250221050345/https://filmmakermagazine.com/122374-jess-search-obituary/ |archive-date=2025-02-21 |access-date=2025-02-21 |website=Filmmaker Magazine {{!}} Publication with a focus on independent film, offering articles, links, and resources. |language=en-US}}

Additionally, she acted as a trustee of MSI Reproductive Choices and served on the boards of the Institute for Public Policy Research and Kickstarter.

Search described herself as queer and gender nonconforming. She used the pronouns "she" and "her".{{Cite news |last=Genzlinger |first=Neil |date=2023-08-04 |title=Jess Search, a Force in the Documentary Genre, Dies at 54 |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2023/08/04/movies/jess-search-dead.html |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20250221031002/https://www.nytimes.com/2023/08/04/movies/jess-search-dead.html |archive-date=2025-02-21 |access-date=2025-02-21 |work=The New York Times |language=en-US |issn=0362-4331}}

In 2018, Search married fellow film producer Beadie Finzi in Margate. They raised two children together, Ella and Ben. In her spare time she enjoyed walking her lurchers, reading poetry, and gaming.

Search was diagnosed with brain cancer in June 2023.{{Cite web |last=Macaulay |first=Scott |date=2023-08-02 |title=Remembering Producer and Doc Society Co-Founder Jess Search, 1969 – 2023 – Filmmaker Magazine |url=https://filmmakermagazine.com/122374-jess-search-obituary/ |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20250221050345/https://filmmakermagazine.com/122374-jess-search-obituary/ |archive-date=2025-02-21 |access-date=2025-02-21 |website=Filmmaker Magazine|language=en-US}} She died on 31 July 2023 at the age of 54.{{Cite news |last=Waterson |first=Jim |last2= |first2= |date=2023-08-02 |title=Documentary producer Jess Search dies at 54 |url=https://www.theguardian.com/film/2023/aug/02/jess-search-documentary-producer-dies-at-54 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20250221031115/https://www.theguardian.com/film/2023/aug/02/jess-search-documentary-producer-dies-at-54 |archive-date=2025-02-21 |access-date=2025-02-21 |work=The Guardian |language=en-GB |issn=0261-3077}}

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Category:British documentary film producers

Category:British women film producers

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