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Jonathan Berman
Born
Brooklyn, New York, U.S.
Education
Occupation(s)Film director, film producer, screenwriter, academic
Years active1986–present
EmployerCalifornia State University San Marcos
Known forThe Shvitz (1993), My Friend Paul (1999), Commune (2005), Calling All Earthlings (2018)
TitleProfessor

Jonathan Berman is an American film producer, director, screenwriter, and academic.[1][2][3] He is best known for his documentary work as producer and film director of The Shvitz (1993),[4][5] My Friend Paul (1999),[6] Commune (2005),[7] and Calling All Earthlings (2018).[8][9][10][11] His non-fiction feature films explore subculture and identity, depicting how alternative people, groups and ideas are represented in media. Berman currently serves as a professor at California State University San Marcos.[12]

Biography

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Jonathan Berman was born in Brooklyn, NY and raised in Merrick, New York.[6][2] His father, Herb Berman was a veteran of World War II and a community newspapers publisher in Brooklyn.[13] Berman graduated from McGill University in Montreal with a B.A. degree and received an M.F.A. from Bard College.[12]

Beginnings

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Berman began his film career in 1986, when he joined as an assistant film editor and production assistant several entertainment, art and documentary projects in New York including Pee-wee's Playhouse (1987), Costa Rica: A Child in the Wind and The Toxic Avenger Part II (1989).[14]

Filmmaking career

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His directorial debut, The Shvitz (1993) was a 16mm black and white documentary depicting traditions revolving around the steambaths once popular in the Eastern European enclaves in New York.[15] The project was supported by the National Endowment for the Arts.[12] The next documentary film, My Friend Paul (1999), observed the nexus of mental illness, friendship, and crime and was one of the first films that ITVS, a division of US Public TV, produced on the subject of mental illness.[16] It has been broadcast on networks worldwide, including US PBS, the Sundance Channel, Planète+, and Netflix.[6] In 1999, Berman co-wrote the story with director Bruno de Almeida for the independent comedy feature On The Run starring Soprano's regulars Michael Imperioli and John Ventimiglia.[2] His documentary Commune (2006) explores an archetypal 1960s California commune, the Black Bear Ranch, which discover that the path to utopia is fraught with struggle. The film opened numerous festivals (Munich, Jerusalem, Karlovy Vary), played on TV (Sundance Channel, BBC, others worldwide),[2][12] and received positive reviews from the New York Times, Variety, and other publications.[7][17][18] His fourth film, Calling All Earthlings (2018) examines California High Desert's UFO counterculture cult and Integratron, a structure near Landers, California built by George Van Tassel. The film gained critical acclaim from a number of media sources including Newsweek and the Boston Globe.[19][9][8][20][1]

Filmography

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Year Title Credit Notes
2018 Calling All Earthlings Director/Producer/Writer San Diego Film Week (Award Nominee)[21]
Illuminate Film Festival (2018 Award Winner: Debut Feature Competition Jury Prize)[22]
2006 Commune Producer/Writer Documentary
2002 Down to Earth Producer Documentary
2000 Maternity Ward Producer T.V. Series
2000 Sabbath in Paradise U.S Producer Documentary (Germany/USA)[citation needed]
1999 Final Rinse Associate producer Documentary
1999 On the Run Co-writer Film
1999 My Friend Paul Director/Producer/Writer Slamdance Film Festival (Grand Jury Prize Nominee)[23]
1993 The Shvitz Director/Producer/Writer Documentary

References

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  1. ^ a b "Mass media professor makes it personal". San Diego Union-Tribune. April 26, 2009.
  2. ^ a b c d "The Shvitz". Jewish Film Institute.
  3. ^ Turner Classic Movies: Jonathan Berman
  4. ^ "The Shvitz". NewsReview.
  5. ^ American Jewish Year Book, 1996. VNR AG. December 8, 1995. ISBN 9780874951103 – via Google Books.
  6. ^ a b c Genzlinger, Neil (January 14, 2001). "Film Explores Psyche of a Friend Gone Wrong". The New York Times. Retrieved 20 July 2020.
  7. ^ a b Holden, Stephen (3 November 2006). "Just a Hardy Bunch of Settlers Who Left America and Moved to California". The New York Times.
  8. ^ a b Rechtshaffen, Michael (June 28, 2018). "Review: Documentary 'Calling All Earthlings' provides a light look at 1950s curio the Integratron". Los Angeles Times.
  9. ^ a b Keough, Peter (August 30, 2018). "Hey, Earthlings, time to fire up that Integratron!". The Boston Globe.
  10. ^ "New Film by Arts Professor Explores Paranormal World". New Film by Arts Professor Explores Paranormal World.
  11. ^ "Jonathan Berman tells Leonard about his new documentary "Calling All Earthlings" (August 1, 2018)" – via soundcloud.com.
  12. ^ a b c d "Jonathan Berman, M.F.A." CSUSM/School of Art.
  13. ^ Newman, Andy (November 4, 2006). "Immortalizing a Crusader Who Wielded a Mighty Pen". The New York Times.
  14. ^ Olsen, Eric (March 29, 2019). "Talking Aliens and Madmen in the Desert with CALLING ALL EARTHLINGS Filmmaker Jonathan Berman on After Hours AM/America's Most Haunted Radio".
  15. ^ Penning, Lars (June 10, 1999). "Filmstarts a la carte: Aufsteigende Hitze" [A la carte film starts: Rising heat]. Die Tageszeitung (in German). p. 26 – via taz.de.
  16. ^ "My Friend Paul". Variety.
  17. ^ "Documentary revisits Black Bear commune, Jewish idealism". Jewish Weekly.
  18. ^ "KVIFF | Commune". www.kviff.com.
  19. ^ "'Calling All Earthlings' explores UFO cult's Integratron time machine". Newsweek. August 28, 2018.
  20. ^ Eghigian, Greg. "New Film Tells the Story of George Van Tassel and His UFO-Inspired "Integratron"". Air & Space Magazine.
  21. ^ "Calling All Earthlings". San Diego Film Week 2020.
  22. ^ "2018 Award Winners | ILLUMINATE Film Festival | Sedona, Arizona".
  23. ^ "Slamdance Film Festival (1999)". mubi.
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