Jason B. Kohl

Last updated

Jason B. Kohl
Born
Jason Burton Kohl

Lansing, Michigan, U.S.
Alma mater UCLA School of Theater, Film and Television
OccupationDirector, screenwriter, producer
Years active2013–present
Website jasonbkohl.com

Jason B. Kohl is an Austrian/American filmmaker from Michigan. His films have screened at festivals including the Berlinale, SXSW, Locarno, NYFF, BFI London, Tallinn Black Nights and Traverse City.

Contents

Early life

Kohl grew up in Michigan. His father is from Vienna and his mother is from Pittsburgh, they both worked in agriculture. He studied English literature at Kalamazoo College, where he discovered filmmaking. [1] After moving to Germany on a Fulbright Scholarship, Kohl began working in the German film industry before he was accepted into the UCLA School of Theater, Film and Television, where he received his MFA in directing. [2]

Short films

Kohl's first short film, A Son Like You, starring Disney channel actor Jake Short, followed a young boy who accidentally meets his father's mistress. The film premiered at the 2012 Florida Film Festival. [3]

The following year Kohl's UCLA MFA Thesis Film The Slaughter premiered at the 2013 SXSW Film Festival, and went on to screen at the Locarno Festival, [4] BFI London Film Festival, [5] and become a finalist for the Student Academy Awards. The film, which stars Michael Shamus Wiles and Eli Bridges, follows a pig farmer who tests his unemployed son's resolve to join the family business.

The film, shot on Kohl's family pig farm in Lansing, Michigan, sparked a heated discussion for its portrayal of a humane slaughter of a pig. [6] [7] Kohl was inspired to make the film from his experience working on the farm, which gave him concern over industrial agriculture. He wrote for No Film School that:

Food animals are now almost entirely raised on factory farms, which has had profound consequences for animal rights, human health and the environment. [8]

The film received praise from various critics. Scott Macaulay, writing for Filmmaker Magazine, called it "a masterfully directed story." [9] Katie Walsh, writing for The Playlist, said that the film was "able to pack more of an emotional punch in just 15 minutes than many studio feature films." [10] Jason Sondhi, writing for Short of the Week, said that "The film is excellently written. Subtle, and filled with details and plot points which are called back, it is a great showcase of Kohl's emerging talent." [11] Alex Garland wrote in the academic food journal Gastronomica that

While certainly a product of the spirit of the times, ardently willing new meanings onto food, the film remains a profound viewing experience that is nothing short of immersive in its depiction of the cessation of life intrinsic to eating. [12]

In 2014, Kohl's documentary short 80 to 90 ft premiered at the Los Angeles Film Festival. [13] Set in Traverse City, Michigan, the film follows a pair of Native American fishermen whose business is threatened by climate change. It was later acquired by The Atlantic Magazine for distribution. [14]

His next documentary short, Lucid Dream, part of the Soundhunters multimedia project, screened at the 2015 SXSW Film Festival, the New York Film Festival and won the FIPA D'or at the Festival International de Programmes Audiovisuels. [15] [16] The film follows the electronic musician Daedelus as he creates a new piece of music from sounds he discovers in Berlin. The film was aired on Arte France in 2015. [17]

Feature films

In 2017, Kohl's first feature film, New Money , premiered at the 2017 Tallinn Black Nights Film Festival. [18] The film stars Louisa Krause and Emmy and Gotham Nominee Robin Weigert, and follows a young woman who kidnaps her estranged father after he cuts her out of his will. [19] The film was shot on location in Lansing, Michigan and Detroit, Michigan. [20]

The film was released on April 16, 2019 in the US by Gravitas Ventures, [21] followed by a theatrical release in Germany and Austria. [22] [23] New Money received positive reviews from critics, with particular praise for actress Louisa Krause's performance. Chuck Foster, in a 9/10 review for Film Threat, called New Money...

A smart, engaging thriller. Kohl has delivered a Coen brothers-type narrative with airtight precision. Louisa Krause clearly shines. [24]

Douglas Davidson, writing for Elements of Madness, praised the film as

A powder keg of emotion, beautifully shot, scored and performed. [25]

Feature documentaries

Kohl has also completed two feature documentaries. The first, Eli, A Dog In Prison, is set in a prison outside Detroit. It follows three prisoners who raise a puppy to become a guide dog for the blind. [26] [27] The film was released as a Topic Original in August 2021. [28] It had its world premiere at the 2022 Traverse City Film Festival. [29] Common Sense Media wrote that it was

"a beautiful, moving film about the humanity that can be brought out in all of us through our connection with animals." [30]

The second, The Process of Recovering, follows an incest survivor and her remarkable recovery process. [31] The film was produced by Vice Media and Gebrueder Beetz, and aired on the German television network NDR as Nicht Meine Schande: Geschichte Eines Missbrauchs in August 2020. [32] The film had its US premiere at the Sarasota Film Festival. [33] It was also nominated for the Juliane Bartel Media Prize for the promotion of equality between the genders. [34] The film received praise from critics, including Der Spiegel, which wrote that it was

"courageous… definitely worth seeing." [35]

In 2021 Kohl wrote, edited and executive produced Trans In Trumpland, a four part documentary series for Topic, which was nominated for the GLAAD Media Award. [36] The series received praise from critics, including Vanity Fair , which called it:

"a vital contribution to the trans media canon." [37]

Filmography


Related Research Articles

Film festival Event with films being shown

A film festival is an organized, extended presentation of films in one or more cinemas or screening venues, usually in a single city or region. Increasingly, film festivals show some films outdoors. Films may be of recent date and, depending upon the festival's focus, can include international and domestic releases. Some festivals focus on a specific filmmaker, genre of film, or subject matter. Several film festivals focus solely on presenting short films of a defined maximum length. Film festivals are typically annual events. Some film historians, including Jerry Beck, do not consider film festivals as official releases of the film.

Michael Moore American filmmaker and author

Michael Francis Moore is an American documentary filmmaker, author, and left-wing activist. His works frequently address the topics of globalization and capitalism.

Traverse City Film Festival Annual film festival in Traverse City, Michigan, US

The Traverse City Film Festival is an annual film festival held at the end of July in Traverse City, Michigan. The festival was created as an annual event in 2005 to help “save one of America's few indigenous art forms—the cinema". The event was co-founded by Michael Moore, the Oscar-winning film director, well known for his anti-establishment films and documentaries such as Fahrenheit 9/11, Bowling for Columbine, and Roger & Me, along with author Doug Stanton and photographer John Robert Williams.

Locarno Festival Annual film festival in Locarno, Switzerland

The Locarno Film Festival is an annual film festival, held every August in Locarno, Switzerland. Founded in 1946, the festival screens films in various competitive and non-competitive sections, including feature-length narrative, documentary, short, avant-garde, and retrospective programs. The Piazza Grande section is held in an open-air venue that seats 8,000 spectators.

Davy Rothbart American writer and filmmaker (born 1975)

David Ira "Davy" Rothbart is a bestselling author, Emmy Award-winning filmmaker, contributor to This American Life, and the editor/publisher of Found Magazine.

Ondi Timoner American film director

Ondi Doane Timoner is an American filmmaker and the founder and CEO of Interloper Films, a full-service production company located in Pasadena, California. Timoner is a two-time recipient of the Sundance Film Festival's Grand Jury Prize for her documentaries Dig! (2004) and We Live in Public (2009). Both films have been acquired by New York's Museum of Modern Art for their permanent collection.

Stephen Kijak American filmmaker

Stephen Kijak (; is an American film director. He is known for films about music and musicians, most notably the feature documentaries Scott Walker – 30 Century Man, Stones in Exile, We Are X, If I Leave Here Tomorrow, and Sid & Judy. His collaborators and subjects include such musical legends and icons as David Bowie, Scott Walker, The Rolling Stones, Jaco Pastorius, Rob Trujillo, Backstreet Boys, X Japan, Lynyrd Skynyrd, Judy Garland, and The Smiths.

Aaron Katz is an American independent filmmaker from Portland, Oregon.

<i>Cruel and Unusual</i> (2006 film) 2006 American film

Cruel and Unusual is a 2006 American documentary film directed and produced by Janet Baus, Dan Hunt and Reid Williams about the experiences of transgender women in the United States prison system. It was screened on television as Cruel and Unusual: Transgender Women in Prison.

Bob Byington American film director

Robert Byington is an American film director, screenwriter and actor living in Austin, Texas. He is most noted for his films RSO (2008), Harmony and Me (2009), Somebody Up There Likes Me (2012), winner of The Special Jury Prize at the 2012 Locarno Film Festival, 7 Chinese Brothers (2015) starring Jason Schwartzman, Olympia Dukakis and Tunde Adebimpe, and Infinity Baby (2017) starring Kieran Culkin, Nick Offerman, and Martin Starr. His most recent film, Frances Ferguson, premiered at South by Southwest in March 2019.

Denis Côté Filmmaker and producer

Denis Côté is an independent filmmaker and producer living in Quebec, of Brayon origin. His experimental films have been shown at major film festivals around the world.

Tony Asimakopoulos Canadian film director

Tony Asimakopoulos is a Canadian film and television director based in Montreal. He often collaborates with the Montreal-based Canadian film production company EyeSteelFilm. He is best known for his autobiographical documentary Fortunate Son, about his relationship with his immigrant parents, which was one of the highest-grossing theatrical documentaries in Quebec in 2012.

Petra Costa Brazilian actress and filmmaker

Petra Costa is a Brazilian filmmaker and actress. She has been a member of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences since 2018.

Trevor Anderson (artist) Canadian filmmaker and musician

Trevor Anderson is a Canadian filmmaker and musician. His films have screened at the Sundance Film Festival, Berlin International Film Festival, and the Toronto International Film Festival.

Lindsey Dryden is a British film director, producer and writer.

Fiona Dawson

Fiona Jane Dawson is a writer, producer, and film director. She is best known for the documentary TransMilitary, which premiered at SXSW Film Festival in 2018 and won the Audience Award. Dawson is an Emmy-nominated documentarian and has lived in America since 2000.

<i>New Money</i> (2017 film) 2017 American film

New Money is an American crime drama film written and directed by Jason B. Kohl. It stars Louisa Krause, Robin Weigert, Brendan Sexton III and Chelcie Ross. The plot follows a pet store worker who kidnaps her estranged father after he cuts her out of his will. The film had its world premiere at the Tallinn Black Nights Film Festival, and won the audience award at the 2018 Indie Memphis Film Festival. The film was released on April 16, 2019 by Gravitas Ventures.

Kevin Jerome Everson

Kevin Jerome Everson is an artist working in film, painting, sculpture, and photography. He was born in Mansfield, Ohio and currently resides in Virginia. He holds an MFA from Ohio University, and a BFA from the University of Akron, and is Professor of Art at the University of Virginia, Charlottesville.

Nicolas Blies and Stéphane Hueber-Blies

Nicolas Blies, born on 26 September 1981 in Mulhouse (France), and Stéphane Hueber-Blies, born on 18 August 1976 in Mulhouse (France), also called the Blies brothers, are two French filmmakers, producers and artists who create their works together. They are known for writing and directing the feature film Zero Impunity which was in official feature film competition at the Annecy International Animated Film Festival in 2019.

Nora Mandray is a French filmmaker. Her works have notably screened at the Berlinale, Hot Docs, SXSW, Sheffield Doc/Fest, and the Camden International Film Festival.

References

  1. ↑ Kzoo Alum Shows His Award-Winning Film
  2. ↑ Alum's film explores family relationships, food sources
  3. ↑ Imdb
  4. ↑ Locarno Filmmakers Academy
  5. ↑ Screen Daily
  6. ↑ Grist
  7. ↑ Vimeo Staff Picks
  8. ↑ No Film School
  9. ↑ Macaulay, Scott (Spring 2013). "Fest Circuit". Filmmaker Magazine. New York: IFP. Filmmaker Magazine
  10. ↑ The Playlist
  11. ↑ Short of the Week
  12. ↑ Gastronomica
  13. ↑ Imdb
  14. ↑ The Atlantic - Fishing in the Age of Climate Change
  15. ↑ Publik Art
  16. ↑ New York Film Festival - Soundhunters
  17. ↑ Arte - Soundhunters
  18. ↑ Variety
  19. ↑ Filmmaker Magazine
  20. ↑ Detroit Free Press
  21. ↑ iTunes
  22. ↑ Film Haus Vienna
  23. ↑ Il Kino Berlin
  24. ↑ Film Threat
  25. ↑ Elements of Madness
  26. ↑ San Francisco Film Society
  27. ↑ Screen Daily
  28. ↑ "Topic Buys North American Rights to Documentary 'Eli: A Dog in Prison'". July 22, 2021.
  29. ↑ https://www.freep.com/story/entertainment/movies/julie-hinds/2022/07/24/traverse-city-film-festival-returns-scaled-back-and-some-changes/10111334002// Detroit Free Press
  30. ↑ "Eli: A Dog in Prison - Movie Review". August 24, 2021.
  31. ↑ Mako Films
  32. ↑ NDR Website
  33. ↑ "The Process of Recovering | 2021 Sarasota Film Festival".
  34. ↑ Juliane Barthel Medienpreis
  35. ↑ Fetscher, Caroline (August 15, 2020). "Das, was bei Dad passiert ist". Der Tagesspiegel Online.
  36. ↑ GLAAD Media Awards
  37. ↑ Nguyen, Benedict (April 22, 2022). "Trans in Trumpland". Vanity Fair.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.