{{Use mdy dates|date=February 2026}} {{Infobox film | name = Jessie's Dad | director = [[Boaz Dvir]] | released = {{film date|2011|06|16}} | runtime = 50 minutes | country = United States | language = English | budget = $19,000 | writer = Boaz Dvir | image = Promotional_poster_of_Jessie's_Dad.jpg|caption = Promotional poster for the film}} '''''Jessie's Dad''''' is a 2011 [[documentary film]] by [[Boaz Dvir]]. The film tells the story of [[Mark Lunsford]], and his transformation from an uneducated truck driver to an activist after the [[Murder of Jessica Lunsford|murder of his daughter Jessica]] by a convicted [[sex offender]]<ref name="Stephanie Garry">{{cite news |last1=Garry |first1=Stephanie |title=Lunsford's pain vivid in documentary 'Jessie's Dad' |url=http://www.tampabay.com/news/publicsafety/article485905.ece#selection-2483.0-2483.51 |accessdate=2020-02-01 |work=[[Tampa Bay Times]] |date=3 May 2008 |archiveurl=https://archive.today/20130204234732/http://www.tampabay.com/news/publicsafety/article485905.ece#selection-2483.0-2483.51 |archivedate=2013-02-04 |url-status=dead}}</ref>{{cbignore}}. As of June 2016, the film is currently on Hulu, available to the public.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://news.psu.edu/story/345250/2015/02/17/arts-and-entertainment/award-winning-film-part-campaign-child-protection|title=Award-winning film, part of campaign for child protection, available for free {{!}} Penn State University|website=news.psu.edu|access-date=2016-05-27}}</ref>
==Background== Before his daughter's murder, the tattooed, long-haired Harley rider drove a dump truck, lived with his church-going parents and spent most of his free time with his daughter. Jessie, as everyone in the small West Florida town of Homosassa called her, loved going to karaoke nights with her dad and playing outside in their mobile-home neighborhood. On February 24, 2005, [[John Couey]] broke into Jessie's bedroom and took her across the street to his trailer. He raped her, buried her alive, smothering her.
After his daughter's body was discovered, Lunsford embarked on a journey to pass [[Jessica Lunsford Act|Jessica's Law]] around the country.<ref>{{cite web |title=Our Story |url=https://www.stopchildpredators.org/our-story |website=Stop Child Predators |accessdate=2020-02-03}}</ref> It toughens penalties against [[sex offenders]]. So far, Lunsford has convinced 46 [[US states|states]] to pass it.
==The film== The hour-long documentary follows Lunsford as he visits [[Capitol Hill]] and [[U.S. State Capitols|state capitols]] to urge [[lawmakers]] to increase penalties for persons convicted of offenses against children. The film offers a behind-the-scenes look at a single father haunted by the knowledge that a [[sex offender]] held his daughter within earshot for three days.<ref name="Stephanie Garry"/>
''Jessie's Dad'' was initially funded by a Carole Fielding Production Grant, along with a University of Florida research grant. Mark Lunsford, his parents and several other members of his family attended the 2008 screening of Jessie's Dad at the University of Florida.<ref>{{cite news |last1=Garcia |first1=Vanessa |title=Lundsford set to attend documentaries |url=https://www.gainesville.com/article/LK/20080502/News/604161341/GS |work=[[The Gainesville Sun]] |date=2 May 2008 |accessdate=February 3, 2020 |archive-date=3 February 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200203112553/https://www.gainesville.com/article/LK/20080502/News/604161341/GS |url-status=dead }}</ref><ref>{{cite web|last1=Garcia|first1=Vanessa|title=Lundsford to Attend Documentary Premiere|url=http://www.ocala.com/article/20080502/NEWS/805020326/1025/NEWS&title=Lunsford_to_attend_documentary_premiere|website=ocala.com|publisher=Ocala Star Banner|accessdate=May 2, 2008}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |last1=Altman |first1=Howard |title=Lunsford Documentary Revives Pain, Loss For Family |url=http://tbo.com/news/news/2008/may/03/me-lunsford-documentary-revives-pain-loss-for-fami-ar-150994/ |accessdate=2020-02-01 |work=[[The Tampa Tribune]] |date=3 May 2008 |archiveurl=https://archive.today/20140615102142/http://tbo.com/news/news/2008/may/03/me-lunsford-documentary-revives-pain-loss-for-fami-ar-150994/#selection-3703.3-3707.13 |archivedate=2014-06-15}}</ref> Lunsford and the film received two standing ovations from a packed theater. <!-- Deleted image removed: [[File:Boaz Dvir filming for the 2011 film, "Jessie's Dad".jpg|thumb|[[Boaz Dvir]] setting up lighting for the filming of ''Jessie's Dad''.]] --> Green Apple Entertainment is distributing Jessie's Dad, which is available from iTunes and Amazon, where it has received an average rating of 5 (the highest possible). [[Lifetime (TV network)|Lifetime]] and [[Investigation Discovery]] have used a substantial amount of Jessie's Dad footage in their programs. The film has screened in several film festivals, where it has won top prizes, and prestigious venues, including [[Columbia University]]'s [[Reid Hall|satellite campus in Paris]].
Dvir reflected on the film years later in an article in the ''Centre Daily Times:'' "As a documentary filmmaker, I change my mind about societal issues related to my projects much like kids experience growth — I only notice it months, sometimes years, later. Directing and producing "Jessie's Dad" [...] altered my point of view on mandatory sentencing."<ref>{{Cite web|url = http://www.centredaily.com/living/article74565807.html|title = Rethinking the notion of a second Holocaust|website = centredaily|access-date = 2016-05-02}}</ref>
==Awards== * Best Documentary at the 2011 ITN Distribution Film and New Media Festival * Best Florida Film at the 2011 Fort Lauderdale International Film Festival * Direct Cinema Outstanding Documentary Award * CINE Special Jury Award * Finalist for the [[International Documentary Association]]'s David L. Wolper Award * Carole Fielding Production Grant
==References== {{reflist}}
==External links== * {{IMDb title|1864380}} * [https://web.archive.org/web/20120321122948/http://magazine.ufl.edu/2011/10/uf-alumnus-films-jessies-dad/ UF Graduate Stirs Discussion with "Jessie's Dad"] * [https://web.archive.org/web/20080506112404/http://www2.tbo.com/content/2008/may/02/slain-girls-dad-preview-documentary-jessies-dad/ Slain Girl's Dad To Preview Documentary: 'Jessie's Dad'] * [http://www.ocala.com/article/20080502/NEWS/805020326/1025/NEWS&title=Lunsford_to_attend_documentary_premiere Lunsford to attend documentary premiere] * [http://www.gainesville.com/article/20080502/NEWS/805020333 Lunsford set to attend documentaries] * [http://www.alligator.org/articles/2008/04/21/news/local/080421_doc.txt UF documentary students win award, grant for "Jessie's Dad"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090526004503/http://www.alligator.org/articles/2008/04/21/news/local/080421_doc.txt |date=2009-05-26 }} * [http://alligator.org/articles/2007/11/30/news/photo/photostory1.txt Documenting the Documentary] {{Webarchive|url=https://archive.today/20130223175846/http://alligator.org/articles/2007/11/30/news/photo/photostory1.txt |date=2013-02-23 }}
[[Category:Documentary films about child abuse in the United States]] [[Category:American documentary films]] [[Category:2011 films]] [[Category:2011 documentary films]] [[Category:Films directed by Boaz Dvir]] [[Category:Documentary films about law in the United States]] [[Category:2011 English-language films]] [[Category:2011 American films]] [[Category:English-language documentary films]] [[Category:Documentary films about rape in the United States]] [[Category:Documentary films about child sexual abuse]]