An accomplished interdisciplinary thinker and strategic decision-maker, Giona Jefferson navigates the convergence of cultural impact, entertainment, and business. With a deep understanding of media's ability to shape cultural landscapes, she founded Third Rail Media, a production company committed to elevated, cinematic storytelling.  Her work includes Harry & Meghan, the biggest documentary debut in Netflix history, Children of the Underground  (FX/Hulu), which was nominated for an International Documentary Association Award as well as an Independent Spirit Award, and the critically acclaimed Netflix series, The Innocence Files.

 

She is the first Black American documentary filmmaker to produce a documentary garnering 84+ million global streams in its first three days of release, as a producer on Harry and Meghan.

 

Beyond producing, Giona is Board Treasurer at PANO network, a non-profit that supports underrepresented women and non-binary filmmakers, and she has spoken on various industry panels including the 2023 Sundance Panel A Seat at the Table. With a commitment to supporting the next wave of filmmakers, she was a 2023 Trainer for the Writers Guild of America East’s, Associate Producer to Producer training program.

​

Giona's leadership and filmmaking expertise have been further recognized through her participation as an Impact Partners Producers Fellow (2021-2022), and through her contribution to Black Star Film Festival’s inaugural Philadelphia Filmmaker Lab.

 

Before filmmaking, Giona launched her career at the U.S. Department of Justice and served as a community advocate for low-income families and previously incarcerated citizens in Washington, D.C.  She is a Magna Cum Laude graduate of Howard University and earned a Master of Arts in Cultural Politics and Film at New York University's Gallatin School of Individualized Study.

​