Former New York Film Academy student Jonathan Jakubowicz, has seen a steady stream of success since graduating from our filmmaking workshop in New York City.
Jakubowicz says, “The workshop I did with you was an open door for a career beginning in filmmaking that couldn’t have been better. I shot a 35MM documentary (Ships of Hope) on the arrival in Venezuela of two ships filled with Jewish refugees just before WWII. The film has been broadcast on HBO for all of Latin America. It has premiered in thirteen countries and received the many awards”.
Ships of Hope screened at the Director’s Guild of America’s Angelus Awards, and the Havana Film Festival. The documentary went on to win; Best Documentary at the Premios a la Calidad de CENAC (Venezulelan Oscars). Ships of Hope was purchased by HBO OLE and History Channel Latin America, and was in programming rotation for two years. Jakubowicz has a BA in Communications from the Universidad Central de Venezuela.
In 2002, Jakubowicz treaded sensitive waters gracefully as he broached the subject of September 11 from a very different angle. _Distance (2002/I)_ is a poignant short film about a woman’s mysterious past unfolding during an unexpected trip to Holland in the aftermath of the terrorist attacks. _Distance (2002/I)_ screened at the World Film Festival of Montreal, New York Independent Film Festival and Palm Springs Short Film Festival, amongst others.
In 2005, he wrote and directed Secuestro express; the frightening story of one young couple’s ordeal as they career through the underbelly of Caracas in the hands of three thugs who’ve made them their latest payday. The thriller became Venezuela’s highest-grossing film, eclipsing such movies as “Titanic” and “The Passion of the Christ.”