Jason Cortlund was born in Oakland, California and raised in rural Oregon.

He obtained a Bachelor of Arts with honors from the University of Oregon in 1994. In 1998, he recived Master of Arts in Screenwriting and a James Michener Fellowship in Writing from the University of Texas.

His work has earned the support of Texas Commission on the Arts, Texas Filmmaker’s Production Fund, Hershey Foundation, the City of Austin Cultural Contracts program, the Pacific Northwest Writer’s Association, Washington State’s Centrum Institute, the IFP Gotham Awards, and the Corporation of Yaddo.

He wrote and co-directed the 2012 feature film NOW, FORAGER, which premiered at IFF Rotterdam and New Directors/New Films. The film received “Two Thumbs Up” from Roger Ebert, an IFP Gotham Award nomination for Breakthrough Director, and “Best of 2012” inclusions from the likes of MoMA and Eugene Hernandez.