Who was Kieran Turner? Documentary filmmaker known for 'Jobriath A.D.' dies at 56

Documentary filmmaker Kieran Turner, best remembered for his film Jobriath A.D., passed away at 56. The news was confirmed by his representatives to Deadline, adding he died from cancer on Monday, December 23, 2024, in West Hollywood, California.

Turner was a director, writer, and producer who dedicated his life to telling stories centered around the gay artists who passed away before their time. According to LinkedIn, his company, Eight Track Tape Productions, specializes in telling fictional and non-fictional "gay themed stories" that:

"(Give) voice to diverse figures from history who have otherwise not been given their due."

Kieran Turner, at the 2012 Newfest Opening Night - Source: Getty

There is no official word on the exact illness.

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Kieran Turner's first feature film, 24 Nights, was originally his thesis project

Per LinkedIn, Kieran Turner graduated with a bachelor's and master's degree in Fine Arts from New York University's Tisch School of the Arts. He gained recognition in professional circles after the release of his first feature film (writer, producer, and director), 24 Nights in 1999.

Per his profile on LinkedIn, 24 Nights was originally his thesis for graduation but gained traction after it was played at a local film festival circuit. As a result, it was picked up for distribution by TLA Releasing.

The movie earned Kieran Turner several awards, including one for Best American Independent Feature Film at the Cleveland International Film Festival (1999) and an award for screenplay at the Rhode Island International Film Festival (1999). It was screened at more than 60 film festivals before its release.

Turner's best work as producer, writer, and director, is Jobriath A.D. (2012). The film centered on the life of the first openly gay rock star from the 1970s, Jobriath, who died in 1983 of AIDS. As the documentary gained traction, so did public interest in the musician, inspiring a re-release of his catalog.

It won Kieran Turner awards at the Dublin Gay & Lesbian Film Festival, Out on Film, and the Seattle Queer Film Festival.

Per LinkedIn, through Cinemarket, an online market to buy and sell rights for movies and TV shows, Turner helped manage audio/video materials for films like Love & Mercy, Killer Elite, Planet 51, Tomorrow When the War Began, Bran Nue Dae, Very Good Girls, and Bitter Harvest.

Kieran Turner's profile on the platform shows that in January 2011, he set up his company, Eight Track Tape Productions. It is an "independent production company specializing in feature film and web-based content."

In addition to Jobriath A.D., the company released the hit web series Wallflowers (2013-2014). It focused on four friends who joined a support group for people who can't get dates. The comedy show won several accolades, including awards at the Indie Series Awards (2015), Glendale International Film Festival (2015), and Los Angeles Independent Film Festival Awards.

The cast of 'Wallflowers' with director Kieran Turner (R) - Source: Getty

According to an article by The Hollywood Reporter, Kieran Turner was a 2021 CNN Docuseries Fellow. Further, his script for Black Dogs made the 2022 Black List (list of the most-liked screenplays not yet produced). It is currently in development by Star Thrower Entertainment.

Before his death, Turner was working on Ghost Lights: Reclaiming Theater in the Age of AIDS. The 6-hour TV documentary is centered around the AIDS epidemic's impact on the theater industry and community. Per his profile on LinkedIn, it features "interviews from over 150... artists" and restaging of productions from "artists felled by the disease."

Per a Deadline article, while unfinished, Wise Child Studios and producer Christianne Tisdale, along with executive producers Brett Morgan and Jonathan Groff, will complete the project in Turner's honor.

A celebration of life is scheduled for January 2025. According to Deadline, Turner is survived by his cousins on the East Coast, alongside his chosen family.