Jonathan Berman is an American film producer, director, screenwriter, and academic. He is best known for his documentary work as producer and film director of ''The Shvitz'' (1993), ''My Friend Paul'' (1999), Commune (2005), and Calling All Earthlings (2018). 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 California State University, San Marcos (CSUSM or Cal State San Marcos) is a public university in San Marcos, California, United States. It was founded in 1989 as the 21st campus in the California State University (CSU) system. CSUSM offers 43 ...

Biography

Jonathan Berman was born in

Brooklyn, NY Brooklyn is a Boroughs of New York City, borough of New York City located at the westernmost end of Long Island in the New York (state), State of New York. Formerly an independent city, the borough is coextensive with Kings County, one of twelv ...

and raised in

Merrick, New York Merrick is a hamlet and census-designated place (CDP) in the Town of Hempstead in Nassau County, on the South Shore of Long Island, in New York, United States. , the population was 20,130. Geography According to the United States Census Bu ...

. His father, Herb Berman was a veteran of World War II and a community newspapers publisher in

Brooklyn Brooklyn is a Boroughs of New York City, borough of New York City located at the westernmost end of Long Island in the New York (state), State of New York. Formerly an independent city, the borough is coextensive with Kings County, one of twelv ...

. Berman graduated from

McGill University McGill University (French: Université McGill) is an English-language public research university in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. Founded in 1821 by royal charter,Frost, Stanley Brice. ''McGill University, Vol. I. For the Advancement of Learning, ...

in Montreal with a B.A. degree and received an M.F.A. from

Bard College Bard College is a private college, private Liberal arts colleges in the United States, liberal arts college in Annandale-on-Hudson, New York. The campus overlooks the Hudson River and Catskill Mountains within the Hudson River Historic District ...

Beginnings

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 ''Pee-wee's Playhouse'' is an American comedy children's television series starring Paul Reubens as the childlike Pee-wee Herman that ran from 1986 to 1990 on Saturday mornings on CBS, and airing in reruns until July 1991. The show was develop ...

'' (1987), ''Costa Rica: A Child in the Wind'' and '' The Toxic Avenger Part II'' (1989).

Filmmaking career

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. The project was supported by the

National Endowment for the Arts The National Endowment for the Arts (NEA) is an independent agency of the United States federal government that offers support and funding for projects exhibiting artistic excellence. It was created in 1965 as an independent agency of the feder ...

. 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 ITVS (Independent Television Service) is a service in the United States which funds and presents documentaries on public television through distribution by PBS and American Public Television, new media projects on the Internet, and the weekly ...

, a division of US Public TV, produced on the subject of mental illness. It has been broadcast on networks worldwide, including US

PBS The Public Broadcasting Service (PBS) is an American public broadcaster and non-commercial, free-to-air television network based in Arlington, Virginia. PBS is a publicly funded nonprofit organization and the most prominent provider of educat ...

, the Sundance Channel, Planète+, and

Netflix Netflix is an American subscription video on-demand over-the-top streaming service. The service primarily distributes original and acquired films and television shows from various genres, and it is available internationally in multiple lang ...

. 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 Michael Imperioli (born March 26, 1966) is an American actor. He is best known for his role as Christopher Moltisanti in the HBO crime drama series ''The Sopranos'' (1999–2007), which earned him the Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Suppor ...

and

John Ventimiglia John Ventimiglia (, ; born ) is an American actor. He portrayed Artie Bucco in the HBO television series ''The Sopranos'' and had a recurring role as Dino Arbogast, an Organized Crime Control Bureau Chief for the NYPD, on the American police pr ...

. 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), and received positive reviews from the ''New York Times'', ''Variety'', and other publications. 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 George Wellington Van Tassel (March 12, 1910 – February 9, 1978) was an American contactee, ufologist and author. Early life Van Tassel was born in Jefferson, Ohio in 1910, and grew up in a fairly prosperous middle-class family. He finished ...

. The film gained critical acclaim from a number of media sources including ''

Newsweek ''Newsweek'' is an American weekly news magazine based in New York City. Founded as a weekly print magazine in 1933, it was widely distributed during the 20th century and has had many notable editors-in-chief. It is currently co-owned by Dev P ...

'' and the ''

Boston Globe ''The Boston Globe,'' also known locally as ''the Globe'', is an American daily newspaper founded and based in Boston, Massachusetts. The newspaper has won a total of 27 Pulitzer Prizes. ''The Boston Globe'' is the oldest and largest daily new ...

''.

Filmography

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Berman, Jonathan American documentary filmmakers Film producers from New York (state) American male screenwriters McGill University alumni Bard College alumni Living people Year of birth missing (living people)