Bess O'Brien

Bess O’Brien co-founded Kingdom County Productions with her husband Jay Craven in 1990. KCP is a non-profit arts organization that produces film and theatre, and arts education programs. O’Brien co-produced the feature films “Where the Rivers Flow North” starring Rip Torn, Tantoo Cardinal and Michael J. Fox, and “A Stranger in the Kingdom” starring Ernie Hudson and Martin Sheen.

O’Brien is also the director/producer of the feature film Shout it Out based on the original Voices Project live musical that toured Vermont in 2008 and has played the Los Angeles International Children’s Film Festival and the Vermont International Film Festival.

O’Brien is the producer/director of the acclaimed Voices Project, a three year state-wide initiative working with teens from across Vermont to create an original theatre production with music based on their stories. The live production toured Vermont in the fall of 2005 to eleven towns garnering rave reviews and raising consciousness about teen lives.

O’Brien has also produced and directed a number of documentary films including “Journey into Courage” about women in the Northern part of Vermont who survived domestic violence and sexual abuse, “Where is Stephanie” about the murder of a young girl in Rutland, VT, and “Here today” about Vermont families struggling with heroin in their lives. O’Brien has won many festival awards for her documentaries and toured her films extensively throughout Vermont and New England.

O’Brien has also been the producer/director of KCP’s Fledgling Films, Theatre Program, a three week intensive camp for teens from across the country to learn about film and theatre.

O’Brien with her husband Jay Craven is also a recipient of the prestigious Producers Guild Of America Award in Los Angeles. Other awards include:

** U.S. Department of Justice Special Recognition for documentary film, Journey into Courage.

** Jack Barry Communication Award for Here today, state-wide recognition for Excellence in prevention awareness

** Vermont Agency of Human Service 2005 Award in recognition of The Voices Project for excellence in improving the lives of Vermonters.