Jon-Sesrie Goff is a multidisciplinary artist, filmmaker, curator, and cultural strategist whose work bridges narrative, infrastructure, and justice. A Guggenheim Fellow and Princess Grace Award recipient, he is the director of the award-winning documentary After Sherman (POV, ITVS), a New York Times Critics’ Pick that screened at Tribeca, True/False, Camden, and BFI London, and was featured on the Criterion Channel. The film earned Best Documentary honors at the Santa Barbara, Atlanta, and Tacoma Film Festivals, as well as the Gordon Parks Award at Tallgrass.

Goff’s leadership spans philanthropy, cultural institutions, and field-building initiatives at the intersection of arts, media, and social justice. He has advanced global strategies in documentary film, emerging media, and visual storytelling—supporting artist-centered infrastructure, equitable distribution networks, and transnational partnerships that expand cultural power. His previous roles include Executive Director of the Flaherty Film Seminar and the inaugural Museum Specialist for Film at the Smithsonian’s National Museum of African American History and Culture.

Before pursuing his creative practice full-time, Goff worked simultaneously in strategic communications and film production. At The Estabrook Group, he collaborated with clients such as MSN’s Branded Entertainment Television division—helping pilot some of the first branded digital video marketing strategies—as well as Rocawear, LeBron James & LRMR, Ben Silverman’s Reveille, and Larry Mestel’s Primary Wave. In parallel, he built a strong foundation in production as a cinematographer, later producing and directing hundreds of episodic short-form digital videos across platforms. He is also a co-founder of The Marcus Graham Project, an initiative founded in 2008, dedicated to developing the next generation of diverse leadership in advertising, media, and marketing.

His creative work has been exhibited at Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art, the Speed Art Museum, the California African American Museum, Prospect.4 in New Orleans, and San Francisco Cinematheque at SFMOMA, among other institutions. He studied sociology, economics, and theater at Morehouse College, completed his BA at The New School, and earned an MFA in Experimental and Documentary Arts from Duke University. His work as an educator includes teaching at Duke University, Villanova University, and West Chester University.