Desiree Schippers is a Chicago-based filmmaker, writer, and old person in training. She grew up in the rural community of Colby, Kansas and graduated with a degree in English Creative Writing and a secondary major in Gerontology from Kansas State University. In 2022, she earned her Master of Fine Arts in Documentary Media at Northwestern University.
She discovered her passion for storytelling while working as a CNA in a long-term care facility. She combed hair and brushed teeth and listened, absorbing stories and forging deep connections to the people who shared them. Her films, essays, and visual art tend to be tethered to the body– centered around healthcare, reframing aging, and rural communities. Desiree has published non-fiction essays in Crossing Borders and The Examined Life Journal and her films, Fail First and Дом, screened internationally in several film festivals, including Aesthetica, Kansas City International Film Festival, San Francisco Documentary Festival, and American Documentary & Animation Film Festival.
Desiree currently works in non-profit marketing and communications, and is in production on a documentary exploring the impact of young motherhood on rural Kansas women.