This week we are highlighting Jonathan Joffe as part of our 2022 Instructor Series. Jonathan is a Canadian writer and director who has won over 20 international industry awards. Highlights of his work include the Telefilm/Super Channel feature The Burlesque Assassins, the feature film Ism, which was nominated for Best Picture at the San Diego Film Awards, and the TV pilot Desiciti, which was nominated for Best International Pilot at the Banff TV Awards.

Jonathan will be teaching the How to Pitch Your Project course at CSIF on Saturday, May 21st. Click here to learn more and get your tickets.

CSIF: Tell us about yourself; what do you do in the film industry?

JONATHAN JOFFE: I started out as a self producing writer/director, which I did for about 10 years. I started the Upstart Talent Development Program which has been going for something like 15 years. About 8 years ago, I started focusing primarily on writing. Currently, I’m a screenwriter, and I teach both writing and directing at SAIT.

CSIF: How did you get started in filmmaking? Why did you decide to become a filmmaker?

JJ: I started volunteering at NUTV in the 90s. Great fun. That got me into the whole process. I spent time as a news editor and shooter, and I was even a cinematographer for an indie feature. Then, I switched over to directing, which also meant producing, since I was the one raising money for my projects. That whole time I was also writing projects. At first just to have scripts to direct, but when the scripts started getting optioned I started writing scripts for other producers.

Around 2013 I really switched to focusing on writing full time. I got into the Corus Media Writer’s Apprentice Program and the Canadian Film Centre’s Feature Film Lab. I moved to Toronto for a few years and got some great gigs for notable Canadian producers, but Toronto was never home and I came back in 2018. That’s also when I grabbed a very part-time teaching gig at SAIT, but with that program growing it’s taken over a fair part of my time.

CSIF: What inspired you to become a filmmaker?

JJ: A love of telling stories, and a love for the whole process that goes into telling stories.

CSIF: What kinds of stories are you interested in telling?

JJ: I started off as a sci-fi fan and I still am, but the more into writing I got, the less I was worried about the kind of story, and the more I was interested in the quality of the story telling. I’m interested in any story that’s well told. I’ve worked in sci-fi, horror, rom-com, comedy, thriller, and even kids’. I find good storytelling interesting in whatever form, though I still have a love of good sci-fi.

CSIF: What is the most embarrassing or funniest thing that has happened to you on set?

JJ: I was extremely nervous in my first TV writing room as an intern and pretty much every time I opened my mouth I put my foot in it. But people were pretty forgiving.

CSIF: Tell us about your most recent project.

JJ: I’ve currently got a serialized drama that I am co-creator on that is part of the NSI Series Accelerator. That will be going to Banff this year. I’m not actually sure how much I can say about it.

CSIF: What is a film that you wish you made and why?

JJ: Groundhog Day. What a brilliant and original concept. Why didn’t I think of that?

Favourite movie(s): The Wizard of Oz

Favourite movie snack(s): Popcorn