Freddi Stevens-Jacobi earned her first camera at age 14 as a prize for selling magazines. Immediately smitten with the craft of photography, she focused on still images, telling visual stories of people and their environments.

Over a decade later, she added an 8-millimeter camera to her arsenal and suddenly movement and voice were added to her vibrant look at the world.

Her artistic passion simmered in her early years as a high school English teacher, but flourished after she created a film study course for her students. As an elective, high schoolers learned how to analyze, critique and create films.  This combined her love for documentary filmmaking and photography inside and outside the classroom.

Freddi’s work has long been recognized for her poignant ability to reveal the beauty and complexity of life.

In the 1980s, she co-produced and directed with Linda Chapman and Pam LeBlanc the Academy Award nominated documentary, See What I Say, which highlighted the need for American Sign Language interpretation at public events. A later documentary, Waiting Tables, highlighted the challenges of servers and aired nationally on PBS as a Labor Day special. 

Freddi’s photography has been featured in juried shows and exhibited in Indianapolis, Michigan and Virginia. Photo exhibits over the past two decades demonstrate her experimentation with diverse subjects.  Exhibitions included Chasing Beauty in Southern Italy, Window Treatments and Gardens: A Leisurely Stroll.

En Los Campos: In the Fields, a nationally acclaimed still-photography exhibition at The Children’s Museum of Indianapolis, documented the arduous work of teenage migrant farm workers in the Midwest.

The exhibit is archived in the permanent collection of the Walter P. Reuther Library at Wayne State University.

Using her storytelling skills, in 2014 she documented the refurbishing of a 1890s barn. Realizing still photos wouldn't adequately tell the story, she directed and videotaped Resurrection of a Barn, a 23-minute, award-winning film. This enchanting documentary follows the resurrection and re-purposing of a 1890s barn, revealing an intimate glimpse into the lives and choices of those who saved this important piece of history.

​Saving history is also evident in her most recent film project, which she co-produced with Lynn Sygiel for WFYI (2017).  When Kids Wrote the Headlines examines the 24-year run of a youth-media organization.  In this 30-minute film young people reveal how they learned to tackle serious topics in their community and around the world. They also share how this profound experience transformed their lives.  In 2018 the film was featured at the Heartland Film Festival’s Shorts competition and then it was selected as the Indiana Spotlight winner. Later that year it was shown at the Heartland International Film Festival and recieved an Emmy Award from  the Lower Great Lakes Region.

Always a collaborator, more recently Freddi has teamed with Lynn Sygiel and Bryan Boyd to produce multiple videos for a nonprofit's annual gala and website as part of its reporting efforts. In addition, her documentation efforts are showcasing the work of local entrepreneur Michael Guggenheim who is removing invasive plant species and transforming them into elegant works of backyard art.  (BomaWoodlands.Co)