> Bio

JONATHAN JOFFE

      Jonathan Joffe began in film and television as a volunteer in a community television station in 1994. Since then he has continually developed his creative and technical skills.

      In 1999 Jonathan Joffe was hired as technical coordinator for a small non-profit station NUTV in Calgary. While working at NUTV, Jonathan Joffe wrote and directed his first major short film Young Rocket Samurai. The film was a huge success, earning him a national broadcast license on Canada’s Space Channel.

      After Young Rocket Samurai, Jonathan Joffe co-founded a workshop now known as Upstart, where each week he directs local actors in performing scene studies for the camera. The workshop, which is still ongoing, has completed over 200 scenes with hundreds of actors and dozens of directors.

      Using the lessons he learned from Upstart, Jonathan went on to write, direct, and produce Cost of Living, his second major short film staring William B. Davis of X-Files fame. Within months of its release, the film won international recognition with 15 awards and over 45 festival screenings worldwide, including the 2006 Ampia awards for Best Screenplay, Best Director, and Best Film in the Drama under 60 minutes category.

      January 2007 saw the release of his first ever series Have Guide Will Travel, a 3 part half hour travel show about backpacking in Mexico. The show, on which Joffe worked as producer, director, host, and editor, is currently airing nationally on Canadian Learning Television.

      In 2008 Jonathan wrote, produced, and directed 3 sort films of three different genres. The Boiler Room, a thriller, Outervention, a comedy, and The Femme Fatale, a film noir mystery. These films have seen there debuts the Calgary and Edmonton International Film Festivals, and the World Of Comedy Film Festival in Toronto.

      Jonathan has written two award winning feature screenplays, Frozen, a feature length Science Fiction film, commissioned by Canadian producer Noah Segal, and the comedy Darren Gets Whacked which is in development with Panacea Entertainment of Edmonton.

      Jonathan is a black belt in Wado Kai Karate, and avid skier, sport climber, and scuba diver, and has backpacked through 11 countries on 3 continents.