At seventeen Esy went to Mexico to secretly join the Zapatistas, but was distracted by the murals of Siqueiros and ultimately received an MFA from Hunter College in Integrated Media Arts. Her film, video and print work considers the ways that symbols and objects in a landscape maintain the presence of past events and belief systems.
She has worked as a cinematographer on films including BORN TO FLY (Outstanding Arts and Culture Programming Emmy nominee, Independent Lens with DPs Albert Maysles and Kirsten Johnson, Dir. Cat Gund) and BEFORE YOU KNOW IT (Dir. PJ Raval, America Reframed).
Her directorial debut JEEPNEY premiered on PBS, was nominated for Best Documentary at CAAMFest and won the jury prize for Best Cinematography at the Los Angeles Asian Pacific Film Festival. She is the recipient of awards and fellowships from organizations including The New York State Council on the Arts (NYSCA), The Creative Work Fund, The Princess Grace Foundation USA, The Flaherty Seminar, The Ford Foundation, The New York Film Festival, MacDowell, Yaddo, The Center for Asian American Media, and The American Association of University Women.