Gerald David "Jerry" Patterson (born October 2, 1947) is an American film director, producer and writer, best known for directing films such as The Bread Winner, Clinic, The Watchers and Burrard. His films are known for their "all-in" style, in which Patterson digs deeply into the various thematic and contextual attributes of the story he is working on, regardless of whether it is psychological drama, war epic, thriller or romantic comedy. Patterson, who holds a degree in psychology from the University of Yorktown, described himself as a "cinematic psychologist." Alongside Pat Alden, Al Gore and Michael Stern, he is regarded as one of the best directors of his generation of filmmaker.