Tim Kirkman is a screenwriter, director, teacher and podcaster.

His first feature, the personal diary documentary Dear Jesse, received numerous honors, including Emmy, Gotham, GLAAD and Independent Spirit Award nominations. Distributed theatrically by Cowboy Pictures, Dear Jesse was named Best Documentary of the Year (Runner-Up) by the Boston Society of Film Critics, won the Audience Award at Frameline and screened in film festivals all over the world. After Dear Jesse’s HBO/Cinemax Reel Life series debut, Tim was nominated for an Emmy Award for Outstanding Documentary Writing.

Tim wrote and directed Loggerheads, which premiered in the Dramatic Competition at the Sundance Film Festival. Starring Tess Harper, Chris Sarandon, Michael Kelly, Bonnie Hunt, Robin Weigert, Michael Learned and Kip Pardue, Loggerheads won the Grand Jury Prize at Outfest, Audience Awards at the Florida and Nashville Film Festivals, and the top screenwriting prize at the Madrid International LGBT Film Festival. It was released theatrically by Strand Releasing.

With Todd Shotz, Tim is the co-founder of T42 Entertainment, a production company that seeks to amplify LGBTQ voices and stories. Their first feature film, Lazy Eye, written, produced and directed by Tim, had a brief theatrical run, followed by a Netflix streaming window. The film stars Lucas Near-Verbrugghe, Aaron Costa-Ganis and Michaela Watkins. With T42, Tim was part of the producing team of Tony Winner Joanna Gleason’s short film Morning Into Night, as well as her feature directorial debut, The Grotto, starring Betsy Brandt, Dan Bucatinsky, Steve Kazee, Jonathan Del Arco and Susan Sullivan.

With André Robert Lee, Tim co-directed the award-winning documentary Freeman Vines, a short film about a rural North Carolina artist who has spent a lifetime chasing an elusive sound and making guitars, some using the wood from trees traced to a lynching in the mid-1900s. The film screened at some of the top festivals including Tribeca, Hamptons, Florida, Indyshorts, Hollyshorts and Nantucket and was distributed by Switchboard Magazine. It won awards at the Tallahassee Film Festival and 12 Lions Film Festival.

In February 2026, Tim launched the podcast Reel Lives. Each episode of Reel Lives focuses on one film and features interviews with people about how the film made an impact on their lives.

Previously, Tim directed the film adaptation of David Drake’s smash solo show, The Night Larry Kramer Kissed Me, and 2nd Serve, a romantic comedy set in the world of professional tennis, written by James Markert and starring Josh Hopkins, Cameron Monaghan, Alexie Gilmore, Sam McMurray and Guillermo Diaz.

Through the Tribeca Film Festival, Tim received an Alfred P. Sloan Award for development of an original screenplay about Wilbur and Orville Wright. His half-hour pilot script Bless Your Heart was named one of the “Ten Best Unproduced Pilots of the Year” by OutLoud and was an official selection of the NY Television Festival. In 2026, he was selected to be part of the inaugural Ouray Film Sabbatical.

A North Carolina native, Tim received his bachelor’s degree from North Carolina State University’s College of Design, where he majored in graphic design with a minor in journalism. After graduation, he moved to New York City and worked for more than ten years as an art director for Miramax Films, designing posters and advertising campaigns for award-winning films. While at Miramax, Tim completed an M.A. in Media Studies at The New School where he made his first documentary short, Jasmine, which received the top student prize and subsequently screened in festivals around the country.

In addition to his film work, Tim has been a teacher at some of the country’s top film schools: University of Southern California’s School for Cinematic Arts; UCLA’s School of Theater, Film and Television; and Hunter College in New York City. He was part of the founding faculty of the writing and publishing program at the Vermont College of Fine Arts and has led workshops in directing in their cinema program. He has also taught at Transylvania University, Sessions College, and Bluegrass Community College.

Tim has served as a mentor for Outfest’s screenwriting lab and is also a freelance commercial director, creating content for clients such as FedEx Office, Michael’s, Erie Insurance, Journeys, and Maurice’s, as well as music videos for artists including Tift Merritt, New Hollow Band, Katie Herzig, and Leftover Cuties.

He is a member of the Writers Guild of America.

He is represented by Robin Budd of Viewfinder Management and Paul Miloknay.