Actor-writer-filmmaker Jess Jacobs goes beyond the screen; she connects, moves, and confronts. Her artistry feels like a higher gift that transcends technique, as if she holds an invisible thread that delicately weaves together the elements of a story, strengthening the narrative and bringing fiction closer to truth.
That sense of magic comes alive in her latest work, the independent feature If You See Something, an intense project that delves into migration in the United States, while exploring love and the secrets that shape us. Directed by Iraqi filmmaker Oday Rasheed, Jacobs co-wrote the script and portrays Katie, a young New York gallerist who becomes Ali’s love interest, an Iraqi doctor seeking asylum.
If You See Something had its world premiere at the Woodstock Film Festival and is executive-produced by Doug Liman (The Bourne Identity, Edge of Tomorrow). The feature is now showing in select theaters across the United States.
Jacobs shares the screen with Adam Bakri and Tony Award–winner Reed Birney in a story that captures, with uncommon sensitivity, the lives of refugee and immigrant families striving to rebuild their futures in New York.
Katie, Jacobs’ character, embodies the compassionate gaze of a woman who witnesses another’s trauma and is ultimately transformed by it. Her performance stands out for its emotional restraint, a balance between fragility and hope that anchors the story’s moral center. The bond between Katie and Ali becomes a thread that explores love as refuge and memory as an open wound.
“Katie is both a lover and a fighter; she is a tenacious agent of her own destiny and is simultaneously impacted deeply by the people and the world around her; she balances earnest hopefulness with grounded sobriety,” says Jacobs. “Those are qualities I recognized in early drafts that Katie and I share, and which were fleshed out further in the character through the years of script development — and probably deepened within my own psyche as a result. Katie is more patient than I am; I think I learned from her that you cannot force another human to meet you on your terms; you can only show up, with vulnerability and love, as long as you’re able, until they do.”
Beyond her work on screen, Jess Jacobs is celebrated for her commitment to projects that unite art and social justice. She recently served as executive producer on the documentary Plan C, presented at Sundance and SXSW, which follows public health advocate Francine Coeytaux’s fight to expand access to abortion pills in the United States. It reinforces her reputation as an emerging creator with a clear voice that carries through her work as an actor, writer, and filmmaker. The documentary, deeply connected to a cause close to Jacobs’ heart, is now streaming on Apple TV, Amazon Prime, YouTube Movies, among others.
The trailer for If You See Something gives goosebumps, proof that with a powerful story, a refined script, and the vision of artists like Jess Jacobs, excellence can be achieved outside the major studios. Her work stands as both a testament and an invitation to believe in the quiet power of independent cinema.
Jacobs says, “the script overall reflects, at least in my intention, the opportunity to hold conflicting truths at once. The world can be so binary, so black and white, and it’s easier to imagine that every story is one of good-versus-evil. However, I have found that the most growth and, actually, the most freedom comes from my willingness to accept that two things can be true at once; that flexibility and a willingness to be vulnerable in the face of rigidity brings us closer to our own humanity, especially at a time where so many forces seek to divide us.”
Connect with Jess Jacobs on Instagram and don’t miss the opportunity to watch If You See Something.
Photographer: Monika Ottehenning
