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 A commune is an alternative term for an intentional community. Commune or comună or comune or other derivations may also refer to: Administrative-territorial entities * Commune (administrative division), a municipality or township ** Communes of ...

(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. It was founded in 1989 as the 21st campus in the 23-campus California State University (CSU) system. CSUSM offers 43 bachel ...

Biography

Jonathan Berman was born in

Brooklyn, NY Brooklyn () is a Boroughs of New York City, borough of New York City, coextensive with Kings County, in the U.S. state of New York (state), New York. Kings County is the most populous Administrative divisions of New York (state)#County, county i ...

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 Bure ...

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

Brooklyn Brooklyn () is a borough of New York City, coextensive with Kings County, in the U.S. state of New York. Kings County is the most populous county in the State of New York, and the second-most densely populated county in the United States, be ...

. Berman graduated from

McGill University McGill University (french: link=no, Université McGill) is an English-language public research university located in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. Founded in 1821 by royal charter granted by King George IV,Frost, Stanley Brice. ''McGill Universit ...

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, and is within the Hudson River Historic ...

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 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 developed from Reubens's po ...

'' (1987), ''Costa Rica: A Child in the Wind'' and ''

The Toxic Avenger Part II ''The Toxic Avenger Part II'' is a 1989 American superhero black comedy film released by Troma Entertainment. It is the second installment of ''The Toxic Avenger'' franchise. It was directed by Lloyd Kaufman and features The Toxic Avenger in an a ...

'' (1989).

Filmmaking career

His directorial debut, ''The Shvitz'' (1993) was a 16mm black and white documentary depicting traditions revolving around the

steambath A steam bath is a steam-filled room for the purpose of relaxation and cleansing. It has a long history, going back to Greek and Roman times. History The origins of the steam bath come from the Roman bath, which began during the height of the R ...

s 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 federal ...

. 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 seri ...

, 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 broadcasting, public broadcaster and Non-commercial activity, non-commercial, Terrestrial television, free-to-air television network based in Arlington, Virginia. PBS is a publicly fu ...

, the

Sundance Channel Sundance Channel can refer to: * Sundance TV, formerly known as Sundance Channel (United States). * Sundance Channel (Canada) * Sundance Channel (Netherlands) * Sundance Channel (Europe) * Sundance Channel (Iberia) * Sundance Channel (Asia) Sundanc ...

Planète+ Planète+ (formerly Planète Câble) is a French television network that primarily broadcasts documentaries. It is owned by the Canal+ Group. It is available on digital terrestrial television. In France it also operates the following spin-off c ...

, and

Netflix Netflix, Inc. is an American subscription video on-demand over-the-top streaming service and production company based in Los Gatos, California. Founded in 1997 by Reed Hastings and Marc Randolph in Scotts Valley, California, it offers a fil ...

. In 1999, Berman co-wrote the story with director

Bruno de Almeida Bruno de Almeida (11 March 1965) is an independent filmmaker whose body of work navigates between fiction and documentaries. He is also a composer. He is New York City and Lisbon-based. Biography Bruno de Almeida was born in Paris of Portuguese ...

for the independent comedy feature On The Run starring ''Soprano''s regulars

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

and

John Ventimiglia John Ventimiglia (, ) 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 procedur ...

. His documentary ''

'' (2006) explores an archetypal 1960s California commune, the

Black Bear Ranch Black Bear Ranch is an 80-acre intentional community located in Siskiyou County, California, about 25 miles from Forks of Salmon. It was founded in 1968, with the watchword "free land for free people". It has been considered by some participant ...

, 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 The Integratron is a tall cupola structure with a diameter of designed by ufologist and contactee George Van Tassel. Van Tassel claimed the Integratron was capable of rejuvenation, anti-gravity and time travel. He built the structure in Lan ...

, a structure near

Landers, California Landers is an unincorporated community in the High Desert region of the Mojave Desert, in San Bernardino County, Southern California. Landers' population, as of 2017, is 2,982 people. Its residents are sometimes referred to as "Landroids"—an ...

built by

George Van Tassel George Washington 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 h ...

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

Newsweek ''Newsweek'' is an American weekly online news magazine co-owned 50 percent each by Dev Pragad, its president and CEO, and Johnathan Davis (businessman), Johnathan Davis, who has no operational role at ''Newsweek''. Founded as a weekly print m ...

'' and the ''

Boston Globe ''The Boston Globe'' is an American daily newspaper founded and based in Boston, Massachusetts. The newspaper has won a total of 27 Pulitzer Prizes, and has a total circulation of close to 300,000 print and digital subscribers. ''The Boston Glob ...

''.

Filmography

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Berman, Jonathan American documentary filmmakers American film producers American screenwriters McGill University alumni Bard College alumni Living people Year of birth missing (living people)