We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Jacob Fertig a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.
Alright, Jacob thanks for taking the time to share your stories and insights with us today. We’d love to hear about a project that you’ve worked on that’s meant a lot to you.
The most meaningful project to me at the moment is my latest short documentary, “Offcuts”, which follows my grandparents, mother, and aunts as they confront the absence of their disabled son.
A deeply personal exploration of grief and memory, the film recounts the impossible decisions that parents of disabled children face, and the emotional fallout from regrettable calls, revisited through an assemblage of the family’s home movies. A painfully intimate, poetic course through a family’s divergent memories builds to a meditation on the inherent power of documentation to preserve or redact.
This film presents a unique window for me to expand and evolve my creative practice by taking on the most personal project I have ever made. I hope to build a gripping, accurate, responsible, and effective story that highlights the incohesion between disability and the American nuclear family. As a filmmaker, I’m especially cognizant of the power I have to preserve or redact. What gets cropped out, taped over, or cut for time? All of these questions come up for me in the making of this film.
“Offcuts” is produced by Jaydn Ray Gosselin and is a production of Denizen Studios.
Jacob, before we move on to more of these sorts of questions, can you take some time to bring our readers up to speed on you and what you do?
I’m a documentary filmmaker and Co-Founder of Denizen Studios, a Brooklyn-based production company dedicated to pushing the form of nonfiction storytelling. Most often I’m producing or directing short and feature-length documentaries, but I have an expanding curiosity for other creative media. I’m also a nonfiction writer, archival producer for films and museums, and small business owner— which sometimes even I overlook.
My formal film education actually began when I was 14. I had the opportunity to major in Film & Media at Tony Bennett’s fledgling Frank Sinatra School of the Arts in New York. It was a wonderful experience, and I credit it with introducing me to documentary filmmaking. I carried that curiosity with me to NYU’s Tisch School of the Arts, where I met my company Co-Founder, Jaydn Ray Gosselin, and many of my closest collaborators and friends.
My filmmaking practice centers the investigation of social, political, and ethical issues, infusing new perspectives and parallels into what I feel is purpose-driven work. Influenced by an activist upbringing, I strive to make films that offer inventive access points to unpack the issues we face, building empathy and inciting conversation.
Art and politics go hand in hand for me. I went back to school to get a Master’s in Nonprofit and Public Policy, focusing specifically on the ways in which stories can be tools for advocacy and political action. Even in my amateurish high school films, I can recognize my own political voice evolving.
How about pivoting – can you share the story of a time you’ve had to pivot?
Sometimes it feels like my journey has just been a series but pivots, which is funny considering that I’ve been in the same career path since I was 14 years old.
I used to think the most talented artists and entrepreneurs had superior instincts, and were therefore unwavering in the face of career curveballs. They stuck to their guns even when it got scary. It wasn’t until Covid struck New York that I began to rethink this view. I saw so many New Yorkers lose so much in a very short time. I had built a company dedicated to sparking civic engagement through storytelling. What was I doing to help my neighbors? And how was I to survive as an artist?
It was time for our first major pivot. We offered up our film services to any nonprofit or local business that was willing to share their story widely. If we could shine a light on small businesses and community organizations to help drive donations or sales, it felt like the most valuable use of our time. We started by producing a short for a Karate dojo in Harlem teaching self-defense skills that help empower Black children and teens. Then we made a piece about loneliness and isolation for adults in long-term care facilities on Roosevelt Island. This turned into political campaign videos for three newcomer city council candidates and fundraising videos for an international NGO supporting refugees resettled in the U.S. and Canada.
It was a rewarding endeavor, and although it ate at my capacity in the short-term, I attribute many crucial lessons, new skills, and much of my later client work to this pivot. The world around us has continued to force pivots, so I’m not sure what rigidity or steadfastness would yield for me and my career. I’m not sure I have the luxury of being unwavering at this point.
How can we best help foster a strong, supportive environment for artists and creatives?
Too much power is controlled by too few. But as the recent WGA and SAG-AFTRA strikes have reminded me, executives desperately need artists and creators, not the other way around. As the big industry buyers lose their taste for artful documentaries, I’m increasingly interested in new avenues to create closed loops between storytellers and activated audiences. I can’t always afford to wait around for my films to sell. It’s also not why I got into this work.
So here is my pitch for folks interested in the independent documentaries that don’t end up on Netflix: attend community screenings and local film festivals, connect directly with directors on social media, and share work that moves you with people in your communities. In lieu of huge marketing budgets, this genuinely supports independent artists and small companies like mine. It also aids artist-friendly festivals, arts organizations, and tells those in power that audiences have an appetite for these stories.
It took me a long time to see my favorite filmmakers as my peers. It was frightening to approach them, compliment their work, or ask for advice or mentorship. But once I did, the journey became much less lonely. We’re all just artists trying to make a living and make sense of our shared world. Better we do it together.
Contact Info:
- Website: denizenstudios.com
- Instagram: instragram.com/jacobfertig/
- Linkedin: linkedin.com/jacob-fertig/