Justin Perkinson

Justin Perkinson is an award-winning filmmaker, immersive storyteller, and Assistant Professor of Cinema Production. His work leverages both traditional and emerging tools (such as Virtual Reality and 360° cameras) and connects across disciplines to help communicate science, bridge cultural gaps, and support social and environmental impact. Raised in Virginia and Jamaica, Justin is an avid underwater explorer whose current creative practice is taking him to new depths (literally), as he helps tell stories of aquatic wildlife conservation beneath rivers, seas, and oceans.

A former Fulbright Arts Grantee to China, Justin has lived and filmed in several countries around the world and speaks English, Spanish, Jamaican patois, Mandarin Chinese, and what French he hasn’t forgotten. His production credits include documentary and narrative shorts and feature films, television, branded content, and Extended Reality (XR) content such as Virtual Reality (VR) and 360° experiences. Justin’s work has been featured in American Cinematographer magazine, screened at various festivals around the world, exhibited at museums both domestic and abroad, broadcasted on national television, and viewed millions of times online. Previous production partners include media companies such as VICE Media, PBS, History Channel, and brands like Team USA Basketball, LinkedIn, Airbnb, and Hyundai, among others.

Three examples of Justin’s work include: Under the Net, the United Nations Foundation’s first-ever VR/360° project, created for their Nothing But Nets campaign to fight the global malaria crisis; Benthos 360, an immersive underwater experience created in partnership with a Restoration Biologist from the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, about conserving the most-endangered group of animals in the country – the freshwater mussel; and Winter Worm Summer Grass, an intimate documentary portrait of a family of caterpillar-fungus diggers along the Tibetan Plateau.

As an educator, Justin is committed to building on the essential foundations of cinematic storytelling to help inspire students to find their own individual paths, passions, and voices.