Production

Jim Butterworth

Jim Butterworth is the founder and president of Naked Edge Films, as well as a technology entrepreneur. Jim’s first film, Seoul Train, has been in competition at more than 90 international film festivals (winning more than a dozen awards), was broadcast in 20 countries (including PBS in the U.S.), and has inspired countless grassroots and policy-level actions worldwide.

Known For

Who Killed Alex Odeh?
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Who Killed Alex Odeh? · 2026
Who Killed Alex Odeh?
2026
MovieDocumentary
In October 1985, Santa Ana, California was shaken by a brazen act of political violence when Palestinian American Alex Odeh, a beloved teacher and community leader, was killed by a tripwire bomb planted in his office. Despite substantial evidence and identified suspects, the case was never solved. Who Killed Alex Odeh? reopens the mystery, tracking a renewed investigation in real time as new leads emerge, long-buried records come to light, and the forces behind a political assassination are finally confronted.
Sara Bareilles: Good GriefSara Bareilles: Good Grief · 2026
Sara Bareilles: Good Grief
★ 8.02026
MovieDocumentaryMusic
Seven years after her Grammy Award-winning “Amidst the Chaos”, Sara Bareilles reunites with her closest collaborators to record a new album. What emerges is an intimate, cinematic process that lays bare the musician's deep connections and inspirations in Josh Alexander's moving music documentary.
Pray AwayPray Away · 2021
Pray Away
★ 6.72021
MovieDocumentary
In the 1970s, five men struggling with being gay in their Evangelical church started a bible study to help each other leave the "homosexual lifestyle." They quickly received over 25,000 letters from people asking for help and formalized as Exodus International, the largest and most controversial conversion therapy organization in the world. But leaders struggled with a secret: their own “same-sex attractions” never went away. After years as Christian superstars in the religious right, many of these men and women have come out as LGBTQ, disavowing the very movement they helped start. Focusing on the dramatic journeys of former conversion therapy leaders, current members, and a survivor, PRAY AWAY chronicles the “ex gay" movement’s rise to power, persistent influence, and the profound harm it causes.
The Haunting of PennhurstThe Haunting of Pennhurst · 2026
The Haunting of Pennhurst
2026
MovieDocumentary
Once a notorious institution for people with disabilities, Pennhurst finally closed after decades of abuse in 1987. Now those doors are reopening, as a group of disabled performers reframe the narrative around the site's harmful history – as a haunted house.
The Feeling of Being WatchedThe Feeling of Being Watched · 2018
The Feeling of Being Watched
★ 6.92018
MovieDocumentary
Journalist Assia Boundaoui sets out to investigate long-brewing rumors that her quiet, predominantly Arab-American neighborhood was being monitored by the FBI.
Seoul TrainSeoul Train · 2004
Seoul Train
★ 5.92004
MovieDocumentary
Seoul Train is a 2005 documentary that deals with the dangerous journeys of North Korean defectors fleeing through or to China. These journeys are both dangerous and daring, since if caught, they face forced repatriation, torture and possible execution. Seoul Train has been broadcast on television around the world, including on the Emmy Award-winning PBS series Independent Lens. In January 2007, "Seoul Train" was awarded the Alfred I. duPont – Columbia University Silver Baton for excellence in broadcast journalism. In April 2007, "Seoul Train" was named runner-up in the National Journalism Awards. The film was produced, directed and filmed by Jim Butterworth, a technology entrepreneur in Colorado in the U.S., and Lisa Sleeth of Incite Productions. It was co-directed and edited by Aaron Lubarsky, an Emmy award-winning documentary filmmaker in New York.
The Life and Mind of Mark DeFriestThe Life and Mind of Mark DeFriest · 2014
The Life and Mind of Mark DeFriest
★ 7.22014
MovieAnimationDocumentary
When a legendary escape artist comes up for parole after 30 years behind bars, a chance for freedom must be weighed against his infamous past.
The InfiltratorsThe Infiltrators · 2019
The Infiltrators
★ 6.52019
MovieDramaDocumentary
A rag-tag group of undocumented youth – Dreamers – deliberately get detained by Border Patrol in order to infiltrate a shadowy, for-profit detention center.

Filmography

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Pray AwayPray Away · 2021
Pray Away
★ 6.72021
MovieDocumentary
In the 1970s, five men struggling with being gay in their Evangelical church started a bible study to help each other leave the "homosexual lifestyle." They quickly received over 25,000 letters from people asking for help and formalized as Exodus International, the largest and most controversial conversion therapy organization in the world. But leaders struggled with a secret: their own “same-sex attractions” never went away. After years as Christian superstars in the religious right, many of these men and women have come out as LGBTQ, disavowing the very movement they helped start. Focusing on the dramatic journeys of former conversion therapy leaders, current members, and a survivor, PRAY AWAY chronicles the “ex gay" movement’s rise to power, persistent influence, and the profound harm it causes.

Executive Producer

Seoul TrainSeoul Train · 2004
Seoul Train
★ 5.92004
MovieDocumentary
Seoul Train is a 2005 documentary that deals with the dangerous journeys of North Korean defectors fleeing through or to China. These journeys are both dangerous and daring, since if caught, they face forced repatriation, torture and possible execution. Seoul Train has been broadcast on television around the world, including on the Emmy Award-winning PBS series Independent Lens. In January 2007, "Seoul Train" was awarded the Alfred I. duPont – Columbia University Silver Baton for excellence in broadcast journalism. In April 2007, "Seoul Train" was named runner-up in the National Journalism Awards. The film was produced, directed and filmed by Jim Butterworth, a technology entrepreneur in Colorado in the U.S., and Lisa Sleeth of Incite Productions. It was co-directed and edited by Aaron Lubarsky, an Emmy award-winning documentary filmmaker in New York.

Director