Azazel Jacobs
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Azazel Jacobs (born September 27, 1972) is an American film director and screenwriter. His feature films include '' The GoodTimesKid'' (2005), ''
Terri Terri is an alternative spelling of Terry. It is a feminine given name and is also a diminutive for Teresa. Notable people with the name include: *Terri Allard (born 1962), American country/folk singer/songwriter *Terri S. Armstrong, American sc ...
'' (2011), ''
The Lovers The Lovers (VI) is the sixth trump (card games), trump or Major Arcana card in most traditional Tarot decks. It is used in Tarot card games, game playing as well as in Tarot reading, divination. Interpretation According to A. E. Waite's 191 ...
'' (2017), '' French Exit'' (2020), and ''
His Three Daughters ''His Three Daughters'' is a 2023 American drama film written and directed by Azazel Jacobs. The film stars Carrie Coon, Natasha Lyonne and Elizabeth Olsen as three estranged sisters who come back together to care for their ailing father. It ...
'' (2023).


Biography

Jacobs grew up in a Jewish family in the
Tribeca Tribeca ( ), originally written as TriBeCa, is a neighborhood in Lower Manhattan in New York City. Its name is a syllabic abbreviation of "Triangle Below Canal Street". The "triangle" (more accurately a quadrilateral) is bounded by Canal Str ...
neighborhood of
Manhattan Manhattan ( ) is the most densely populated and geographically smallest of the Boroughs of New York City, five boroughs of New York City. Coextensive with New York County, Manhattan is the County statistics of the United States#Smallest, larg ...
. He is the son of experimental filmmaker
Ken Jacobs Ken Jacobs (born May 25, 1933 in Brooklyn, New York) is an American experimental filmmaker. His style often involves the use of found footage which he edits and manipulates. He has also directed films using his own footage. Ken Jacobs directed ...
. He attended Bayard Rustin High School. He received a bachelor's degree in film from SUNY Purchase and a master's degree from the
AFI Conservatory The AFI Conservatory is a private non-profit graduate film school in the Hollywood Hills district of Los Angeles. Students (called "Fellows") learn from the masters in a collaborative, hands-on production environment with an emphasis on stor ...
. , Jacobs lives in Los Angeles.


Career

His feature '' The Goodtimeskid'' (2005), a micro-budget film, gained a cult following and was later re-released by
KINO International The Kino International is a film theater in Berlin, built from 1961 to 1963. It is located on Karl-Marx-Allee in former East Berlin. It hosted premieres of the DEFA film studios until the Berlin Wall#The Fall, fall of the Berlin Wall in 1989. T ...
. Jacobs' film ''Momma’s Man'' premiered at the
Sundance Film Festival The Sundance Film Festival is an annual film festival organized by the Sundance Institute. It is the largest independent film festival in the United States, with 423,234 combined in-person and online viewership in 2023. The festival has acted ...
2008. Upon its release by
KINO International The Kino International is a film theater in Berlin, built from 1961 to 1963. It is located on Karl-Marx-Allee in former East Berlin. It hosted premieres of the DEFA film studios until the Berlin Wall#The Fall, fall of the Berlin Wall in 1989. T ...
,
The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''NYT'') is an American daily newspaper based in New York City. ''The New York Times'' covers domestic, national, and international news, and publishes opinion pieces, investigative reports, and reviews. As one of ...
declared the film to be "Independent Film defined." In 2011, Jacobs film ''Terri'' starring John C. Reilly, was written by
Patrick deWitt Patrick deWitt (born 1975) is a Canadian novelist and screenwriter. Born on Vancouver Island, deWitt lives in Portland, Oregon, and has acquired American citizenship. As of 2023, he has written five novels: ''Ablutions'' (2009), ''The Sisters Bro ...
, premiered in competition at
Sundance A Sun Dance is a Native American ceremony. Sun dance or Sundance may also refer to: Places ;Canada * Sundance, Calgary, Alberta, a neighbourhood * Sundance, Manitoba, a ghost town ;United States * Sundance, New Mexico, a census-designated pl ...
and in competition internationally at
Locarno Locarno (; ; Ticinese dialect, Ticinese: ; formerly in ) is a southern Switzerland, Swiss List of towns in Switzerland, town and Municipalities of Switzerland, municipality in the district Locarno (district), Locarno (of which it is the capita ...
& the
BFI London Film Festival The BFI London Film Festival is an annual film festival held in London, England, in collaboration with the British Film Institute. Founded in 1957, the festival runs for two weeks every October. In 2016, the BFI estimated that around 240 fe ...
’s "Film On The Square." During 2014 and 2015, Jacobs directed the two seasons of the SKY/HBO show, '' Doll & Em''. He also worked as a writer and producer. In 2017, Jacobs wrote and directed the film ''
The Lovers The Lovers (VI) is the sixth trump (card games), trump or Major Arcana card in most traditional Tarot decks. It is used in Tarot card games, game playing as well as in Tarot reading, divination. Interpretation According to A. E. Waite's 191 ...
'' which was released by
A24 A24 Films LLC, commonly referred to as A24, is an American Privately held company, independent entertainment company that specializes in film and television production, as well as film distribution. The studio is based in Manhattan. The company ...
to top specialty box office. The film starred
Debra Winger Debra Lynn Winger (born May 16, 1955) is an American actress. She starred in the films '' An Officer and a Gentleman'' (1982), '' Terms of Endearment'' (1983), and '' Shadowlands'' (1993), each of which earned her a nomination for the Academy Awa ...
,
Tracy Letts Tracy S. Letts (born July 4, 1965) is an American actor, playwright, and screenwriter. He started his career at the Steppenwolf Theatre before making his Broadway debut as a playwright for '' August: Osage County'' (2007), for which he received t ...
,
Melora Walters Melora Walters (born October 21, 1959) is an American actress and filmmaker, best known for her starring roles as Wanda Henrickson on HBO's ''Big Love'' (2006–2010) and Kathy Kone on Hulu's '' PEN15'' (2019–2021). She has frequently collabora ...
, and
Aidan Gillen Aidan Murphy (born 1967 or 1968), better known as Aidan Gillen (), is an Irish actor. He is known for his roles as Stuart Alan Jones in ''Queer as Folk (British TV series), Queer as Folk'' (1999–2000); Tommy Carcetti in ''The Wire'' (2004–20 ...
. Jacobs’ screenplay for ''
The Lovers The Lovers (VI) is the sixth trump (card games), trump or Major Arcana card in most traditional Tarot decks. It is used in Tarot card games, game playing as well as in Tarot reading, divination. Interpretation According to A. E. Waite's 191 ...
'' was nominated for a 2017
Independent Spirit Award for Best Screenplay The Independent Spirit Award for Best Screenplay is one of the annual awards given out by Film Independent, a non-profit organization dedicated to independent film and independent filmmakers. It was first presented in 1985 with Horton Foote being ...
. Jacobs produced the pilot of ''Cherries'', written/directed by Diaz Jacobs, which premiered in the episodic section of
Sundance A Sun Dance is a Native American ceremony. Sun dance or Sundance may also refer to: Places ;Canada * Sundance, Calgary, Alberta, a neighbourhood * Sundance, Manitoba, a ghost town ;United States * Sundance, New Mexico, a census-designated pl ...
2018. In 2020, Jacobs’ film ''French Exit'' had its world premiere as the closing night film for the
New York Film Festival The New York Film Festival (NYFF) is a film festival held every fall in New York City, presented by Film at Lincoln Center. Founded in 1963 by Richard Roud and Amos Vogel with the support of Lincoln Center president William Schuman, NYFF i ...
. The film is based on a novel of the same name by
Patrick deWitt Patrick deWitt (born 1975) is a Canadian novelist and screenwriter. Born on Vancouver Island, deWitt lives in Portland, Oregon, and has acquired American citizenship. As of 2023, he has written five novels: ''Ablutions'' (2009), ''The Sisters Bro ...
and stars
Michelle Pfeiffer Michelle Marie Pfeiffer ( ; born April 29, 1958) is an American actress. She was one of the most bankable stars in Cinema of the United States, Hollywood during the 1980s and 1990s, and her List of Michelle Pfeiffer performances, performances ...
alongside Lucas Hedges,
Tracy Letts Tracy S. Letts (born July 4, 1965) is an American actor, playwright, and screenwriter. He started his career at the Steppenwolf Theatre before making his Broadway debut as a playwright for '' August: Osage County'' (2007), for which he received t ...
,
Imogen Poots Imogen Gay Poots (born 3 June 1989) is an English actress. She played Tammy in the post-apocalyptic horror film ''28 Weeks Later'' (2007), Linda Keith in the Jimi Hendrix biopic ''Jimi: All Is by My Side'' (2013), Debbie Raymond in the Paul Ray ...
, Danielle McDonald, Isaach de Bankole,
Valerie Mahaffey Valerie Mahaffey (June 16, 1953 – May 30, 2025) was an American actress. She began her career starring in the NBC daytime soap opera '' The Doctors'' (1979–81), for which in 1980 she was nominated for the Daytime Emmy Award for Outstanding ...
,
Susan Coyne Susan Coyne (born 16 June 1958) is a Canadians, Canadian writer and actress, best known as one of the co-creators and co-stars of the award-winning ''Slings & Arrows'', a TV series which ran 2003–06 about a Canadian Shakespearean theatre c ...
and Daniel Di Tomasso. Pfeiffer plays Francis Price, which ''Variety'' called "a role for which she'll be remembered." It was nominated for multiple awards, including a 2021 Golden Globe, and won Best Actress from the Canadian Screen Awards. The film was released theatrically by
Sony Pictures Classics Sony Pictures Classics Inc. is an American arthouse film production and distribution company that is a division of Sony Pictures Entertainment. It was founded in 1992 by former Orion Classics heads Michael Barker, Tom Bernard and Marcie Bloo ...
on February 12, 2021, and internationally by Sony Pictures Worldwide on March 18, 2021. ''French Exit'' was selected for the 71st
Berlin Film Festival The Berlin International Film Festival (), usually called the Berlinale (), is an annual film festival held in Berlin, Germany. Founded in 1951 and originally run in June, the festival has been held every February since 1978 and is one of Europ ...
in Berlinale Special Gala, having its European premier on June 12, 2021. Azazel Jacobs latest film,
His Three Daughters ''His Three Daughters'' is a 2023 American drama film written and directed by Azazel Jacobs. The film stars Carrie Coon, Natasha Lyonne and Elizabeth Olsen as three estranged sisters who come back together to care for their ailing father. It ...
, had its world premiere at th
2023 Toronto International Film Festival
where it wa
purchased by Netflix
in a world wide deal for a 2024 release. The film — which he wrote, directed, edited, and produced — stars
Natasha Lyonne Natasha Bianca Lyonne Braunstein ( ; born April 4, 1979) is an American producer, director, comedian, writer, actress, and artificial intelligence film studio head. Lyonne started her career as a child actress before expanding her career taking o ...
, Elizabeth Olsen and
Carrie Coon Carrie Alexandra Coon (born January 24, 1981) is an American actress. Known for her portrayals of complex characters on stage and screen, she has received a Critics' Choice Television Award, as well as nominations for two Primetime Emmy Awards a ...
in performances that have been widely hailed as amongst thei
best
Azazel Jacobs appeared on Marc Maron's podcast, ''
WTF with Marc Maron ''WTF with Marc Maron'' is a weekly podcast and radio show hosted by stand-up comedian Marc Maron. The show was launched in September 2009. The show is produced by Maron's former Air America co-worker Brendan McDonald. Background The show's ...
'', on March 29, 2021, speaking about art films, The Clash, ''Mad'' magazine, and his movies ''Terri'', ''The Lovers'' and ''French Exit''. Jacobs directed two episodes of the Facebook series ''Sorry For Your Loss'' starring Elizabeth Olsen, and three episodes of Amazon's ''
Mozart in the Jungle ''Mozart in the Jungle'' is an American comedy-drama television series developed by Roman Coppola, Jason Schwartzman, Alex Timbers, and Paul Weitz for the video-on-demand service Amazon Prime Video. It received a production order in March 20 ...
'', for which he was a consulting producer in its final season. On April 19, 2024, a
official remake
of ''The Lovers'', “ Do Aur Do Pyaar”, told from a different perspective and different culture, was released in theaters across India. This production also marks the first remake of an
A24 A24 Films LLC, commonly referred to as A24, is an American Privately held company, independent entertainment company that specializes in film and television production, as well as film distribution. The studio is based in Manhattan. The company ...
film.


Filmography


Films


Television


Recognition

In 2012,
CinemaScope CinemaScope is an anamorphic format, anamorphic lens series used, from 1953 to 1967, and less often later, for shooting widescreen films that, crucially, could be screened in theatres using existing equipment, albeit with a lens adapter. Its cr ...
magazine cited Azazel as one of the 50 Best Directors Under 50.


Awards and nominations


References


External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Jacobs, Azazel 1972 births 20th-century American male writers 20th-century American screenwriters 21st-century American male writers 21st-century American screenwriters AFI Conservatory alumni American male screenwriters Film directors from New York City Living people People from Tribeca Place of birth missing (living people) State University of New York at Purchase alumni Writers from Manhattan Screenwriters from New York City