Directory Profile

John Ira Palmer is a producer and director. He is a founding partner of Projected Picture Works with Sean Penn and John Wildermuth, focused on developing and producing feature films and series.

Palmer produced SEPTEMBER 5 (directed by Tim Fehlbaum and starring Peter Sarsgaard and John Magaro, Venice & Telluride 2024), which was a nominated for an Academy Award for Best Original Screenplay and a Golden Globe for Best Motion Picture – Drama. Palmer's other producing credits include ASPHALT CITY (directed by Jean-Stéphane Sauvaire and starring two-time Academy Award winner Sean Penn and Tye Sheridan, Cannes 2023), FLAG DAY (directed by Sean Penn and starring Dylan Penn and Sean Penn, Cannes 2021), AL IMAM (directed by Omar Al Dakheel, Vimeo Staff Pick, National Geographic release, winner of KCET Fine Cut’s top documentary prize), THE DARE PROJECT (directed by Adam Salky, follow-up to the beloved queer short DARE, Frameline & Outfest 2018), and CONTRA-INTERNET: JUBILEE 2033 (directed by Zach Blas, Berlinale 2018). Palmer served as a production executive for Projected Picture Works titles including DADDIO (directed by Christy Hall and starring Dakota Johnson and Sean Penn, Telluride & Toronto 2023) and SUPERPOWER (directed by Sean Penn and Aaron Kaufman; documentary about Ukrainian President Zelenskyy and the War in Ukraine, Berlinale 2023).

As a director, Palmer’s most recent project is the Outfest 2023 Audience Award winner OUT OF THE CORNER OF OUR EYE, funded by National Endowment for the Arts and commissioned by SCI-Arc Channel for their Queer Perspectives series. He also directed ELWOOD TAKES A LOVER, which screened at festivals around the world and was an official selection of The American Pavilion Emerging Filmmaker Showcase at Cannes 2019. His experimental short films have exhibited at venues and festivals such as San Francisco Museum of Modern Art, Detroit Institute of Arts, REDCAT, Pacific Film Archive, Blum & Poe, Outfest, and Frameline.

For his work on SEPTEMBER 5, Palmer–along with his fellow producers–was nominated for the Darryl F. Zanuck Award for Outstanding Producer of Theatrical Motion Pictures by the Producers Guild of America. Palmer's past honors include the Film at Lincoln Center’s Artists Academy fellowship, Echo Park Film Center’s LA AIR residency, AICAD’s New York Studio Program residency, the ARRI Emerging Filmmaker Grant, the James Broughton Film Award, and a Princess Grace Award. He has also curated film series and programs for American Cinematheque, Echo Park Film Center, and San Francisco Art Institute. As a consultant for Sundance’s Documentary Film Program and Concordia Studio, he has helped identify the next generation of documentary filmmakers. Palmer earned his MFA in Film & Television Production at USC’s School of Cinematic Arts and his BFA in Fine Arts at San Francisco Art Institute. Before attending USC, he spent nearly ten years as an executive and producer at entertainment-focused creative agencies, overseeing marketing campaigns for film and television titles from the major studios and networks.

At USC's School of Cinematic Arts, Palmer had taught a variety of graduate and undergraduate courses, with subjects ranging from producing to pitching feature films and series, and–most recently–case studies of films THEY CLONED TYRONE and DÌDI, where students learn in detail about how movies are made from creative and business perspectives.

Outside of filmmaking, Palmer regularly engages in community-based service. He served as Chief of Staff at CORE (Community Organized Relief Effort) throughout its response to the Covid-19 pandemic–which included offering large-scale vaccines, testing, tracing, and wraparound services across the United States and Navajo Nation, as well as Brazil, India, and Haiti–and during its crucial initial months on the ground in Ukraine, Poland, and Romania offering shelter, resources, and services to refugees and those displaced within Ukraine. More recently, Palmer has worked with CORE on their relief efforts in response to the 2025 Los Angeles area wildfires, providing the most vulnerable among those affected with access to emergency cash, shelter, childcare, and hygiene supplies. While a student at USC, Palmer co-founded the Our Voices speaker series as part of the School of Cinematic Arts’ Diversity & Inclusion initiative with inaugural lineup speakers including John Singleton, Andrew Ahn, and Cheryl Boone-Isaacs. For over a decade, Palmer also volunteered as a crisis counselor and training mentor for The Trevor Project, dedicated to suicide prevention and crisis intervention for LGBTQ+ youth.