Joshua Seftel
Encyclopedia
Joshua Seftel is an American filmmaker. Born in Schenectady, New York
, Seftel graduated from Tufts University
in the class of 1990 as a pre-med and French literature major. He currently lives in New York City
and is represented by Creative Artists Agency in Los Angeles, California
. Seftel directed the feature film comedy War, Inc.
(2008), a political satire about an American assassin sent on a mission to a war zone in Central Asia, starring John Cusack
, Hilary Duff
, Marisa Tomei
, Joan Cusack
, and Ben Kingsley
. He also directed the award-winning documentary about American campaign politics, Taking on the Kennedys.
Old Warrior, (1994) Seftel’s next film, is a documentary about the forgotten history of the Senior Citizens Power Movement and its founder, Frank J. Manning and received the Gold Plaque at the Chicago International Film Festival
and was broadcast on Public TV.
In 1996, Seftel produced Taking on the Kennedys for the PBS
series P.O.V.
which followed the campaign of Republican candidate Kevin Vigilante as he challenged Patrick J. Kennedy
for a U.S. Congressional seat in Rhode Island. Taking on the Kennedys was named on TIME’s list “The Best Television Of 1996” and has been anthologized in P.O.V.’s 20th Anniversary Collection DVD set.
Seftel's next film was Ennis’ Gift, an HBO documentary about learning differences produced with Bill Cosby
and wife Camille Hanks in memory of their late son Ennis, which featured Danny Glover
, James Earl Jones
, Anne Bancroft
, Robert Rauschenberg
, Charles Schwab
and Bruce Jenner
. It has been called “inspirational” by The Boston Globe
and received the 2002 Literacy in Media Award
from the Literacy Network of Greater Los Angeles.
librarian Kee Malesky. The humorous film originated when Maryland Public Television
asked Seftel to make a fictional piece about indoor air quality for middle-school aged children. The film played at the Los Angeles International Short Film Festival, the Newport International Film Festival, the Austin Film Festival
and won the Jury Prize at the Chicago International Children's Film Festival
. Breaking the Mold was shown at the One Reel Film Festival in Seattle where director Alexander Payne
was a judge.
championed Seftel as a director of features and put him in touch with John Cusack
and Mark Leyner
who were taken with Seftel's work. This led to Seftel directing the feature film War, Inc.
, starring Cusack, and co-written by Leyner, Cusack, and Jeremy Pikser
. War, Inc. premiered at the 7th Annual Tribeca Film Festival
in April 2008 and played nationally in theaters. The movie is a political satire set in Turaqistan, a fictional country occupied by an American private corporation run by a former US Vice-President (Dan Aykroyd
). In an effort to monopolize the opportunities the war-torn nation offers, the corporation's CEO hires a troubled hit man (Cusack), to kill a Middle Eastern oil minister. Struggling with his own growing demons, the assassin must pose as the corporation's Trade Show Producer in order to pull off this latest hit, while maintaining his cover by organizing the high-profile wedding of Yonica Babyyeah (Hilary Duff
), an outrageous Middle Eastern pop star, and keeping a sexy left wing reporter (Marisa Tomei
) in check.
, CBS Sunday Morning, PBS' Nova
Science Now series and the award-winning public radio program This American Life
. At CBS News, Seftel was brought in by then Executive Vice President Jonathan Klein (current President of CNN
) to pioneer the use of the mini-DV format at the network.
For This American Life
, Seftel produced a 1997 radio documentary entitled Trek about an exploration of race and friendship in post-apartheid South Africa. He also produced a segment called “Still Life” in episode #2 “My Way” for This American Life the television show, which aired on Showtime in 2007. Seftel also adapted NPR's popular This I Believe series from radio to public television for WGBH
Boston. Seftel's short stories and articles have been featured on NPR
, Salon.com
, and The Seattle Times
.
Nomination for his work on the series. He also helped develop the A&E series Confessions of a Matchmaker, featuring Patti Novak, directing the series pilot, and served as Supervising Producer for the series. Seftel also developed the Emmy-nominated PBS children’s reality game show Fetch! with Ruff Ruffman
and directed the inaugural season.
and Columbia University School of the Arts
in 2003.
Schenectady, New York
Schenectady is a city in Schenectady County, New York, United States, of which it is the county seat. As of the 2010 census, the city had a population of 66,135...
, Seftel graduated from Tufts University
Tufts University
Tufts University is a private research university located in Medford/Somerville, near Boston, Massachusetts. It is organized into ten schools, including two undergraduate programs and eight graduate divisions, on four campuses in Massachusetts and on the eastern border of France...
in the class of 1990 as a pre-med and French literature major. He currently lives in New York City
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
and is represented by Creative Artists Agency in Los Angeles, California
Los Angeles, California
Los Angeles , with a population at the 2010 United States Census of 3,792,621, is the most populous city in California, USA and the second most populous in the United States, after New York City. It has an area of , and is located in Southern California...
. Seftel directed the feature film comedy War, Inc.
War, Inc.
War, Inc. is a 2008 American political satire film starring John Cusack and directed by Joshua Seftel. Cusack also co-wrote and produced the film.- Plot :...
(2008), a political satire about an American assassin sent on a mission to a war zone in Central Asia, starring John Cusack
John Cusack
John Paul Cusack is an American film actor and screenwriter. He has appeared in more than 50 films, including The Journey of Natty Gann, Say Anything..., Grosse Point Blank, The Thin Red Line, Stand by Me, Con Air, Being John Malkovich, High Fidelity, Serendipity, Runaway Jury, The Ice Harvest,...
, Hilary Duff
Hilary Duff
Hilary Erhard Duff is an American actress, singer-songwriter, entrepreneur, and author. After working in local theater plays and television commercials in her childhood, she achieved fame playing the title role in the Disney Channel television series Lizzie McGuire. She also reprised her role in...
, Marisa Tomei
Marisa Tomei
Marisa Tomei is an American stage, film and television actress. Following her work on As The World Turns, Tomei came to prominence as a supporting cast member on The Cosby Show spinoff A Different World in 1987...
, Joan Cusack
Joan Cusack
Joan Mary Cusack is an American film, stage and television actress. Throughout her career, Cusack has appeared in many films as well as appearing in stage productions....
, and Ben Kingsley
Ben Kingsley
Sir Ben Kingsley, CBE is a British actor. He has won an Oscar, BAFTA, Golden Globe and Screen Actors Guild awards in his career. He is known for starring as Mohandas Gandhi in the film Gandhi in 1982, for which he won the Academy Award for Best Actor...
. He also directed the award-winning documentary about American campaign politics, Taking on the Kennedys.
Documentary films
Seftel began his career in documentaries. At age 22, he received a National Emmy Nomination for his first film, Lost and Found: the Story of Romania’s Forgotten Children, a documentary about the plight of Romania’s 120,000 orphaned and abandoned children. Seftel lived in orphanages for several weeks while shooting the film. The Public Television broadcast of the film, which Seftel made for only $2,000, led to hundreds of adoptions of Romanian orphans and helped raise money and awareness for the cause.Old Warrior, (1994) Seftel’s next film, is a documentary about the forgotten history of the Senior Citizens Power Movement and its founder, Frank J. Manning and received the Gold Plaque at the Chicago International Film Festival
Chicago International Film Festival
The Chicago International Film Festival is an annual film festival held every fall. Founded in 1964, it is the longest-running competitive film festival in North America....
and was broadcast on Public TV.
In 1996, Seftel produced Taking on the Kennedys for the PBS
Public Broadcasting Service
The Public Broadcasting Service is an American non-profit public broadcasting television network with 354 member TV stations in the United States which hold collective ownership. Its headquarters is in Arlington, Virginia....
series P.O.V.
P.O.V.
POV is a Public Broadcasting Service Public television series which features independent nonfiction films. POV is a cinema term for "point of view"....
which followed the campaign of Republican candidate Kevin Vigilante as he challenged Patrick J. Kennedy
Patrick J. Kennedy
Patrick Joseph Kennedy II is the former U.S. Representative for , serving from 1995 until 2011. He is a member of the Democratic Party. The district includes all of Bristol County and Newport County, and parts of Providence County. Kennedy did not seek re-election in 2010.A member of the Kennedy...
for a U.S. Congressional seat in Rhode Island. Taking on the Kennedys was named on TIME’s list “The Best Television Of 1996” and has been anthologized in P.O.V.’s 20th Anniversary Collection DVD set.
Seftel's next film was Ennis’ Gift, an HBO documentary about learning differences produced with Bill Cosby
Bill Cosby
William Henry "Bill" Cosby, Jr. is an American comedian, actor, author, television producer, educator, musician and activist. A veteran stand-up performer, he got his start at various clubs, then landed a starring role in the 1960s action show, I Spy. He later starred in his own series, the...
and wife Camille Hanks in memory of their late son Ennis, which featured Danny Glover
Danny Glover
Danny Lebern Glover is an American actor, film director, and political activist. Glover is perhaps best known for his role as Detective Roger Murtaugh in the Lethal Weapon film franchise.-Early life:...
, James Earl Jones
James Earl Jones
James Earl Jones is an American actor. He is well-known for his distinctive bass voice and for his portrayal of characters of substance, gravitas and leadership...
, Anne Bancroft
Anne Bancroft
Anne Bancroft was an American actress associated with the Method acting school, which she had studied under Lee Strasberg....
, Robert Rauschenberg
Robert Rauschenberg
Robert Rauschenberg was an American artist who came to prominence in the 1950s transition from Abstract Expressionism to Pop Art. Rauschenberg is well-known for his "Combines" of the 1950s, in which non-traditional materials and objects were employed in innovative combinations...
, Charles Schwab
Charles Schwab
Charles Schwab may refer to:*Charles M. Schwab , American steel magnate*Charles R. Schwab , founder of the eponymous brokerage*Charles Schwab Corp., an American based brokerage firm...
and Bruce Jenner
Bruce Jenner
William Bruce Jenner is a former U.S. track and field athlete, motivational speaker, socialite and television personality. He won the gold medal for decathlon in the Montreal 1976 Summer Olympics....
. It has been called “inspirational” by The Boston Globe
The Boston Globe
The Boston Globe is an American daily newspaper based in Boston, Massachusetts. The Boston Globe has been owned by The New York Times Company since 1993...
and received the 2002 Literacy in Media Award
Literacy in media award
The Literacy In Media Awards annual event was created by the Literacy Network of Greater Los Angeles in 1999 to honor producers and screenwriters for film, television, radio, and internet productions drawing attention to the importance of reading and writing...
from the Literacy Network of Greater Los Angeles.
Scripted work
Seftel broke into scripted film work with Breaking the Mold: The Kee Malesky Story that told the fictional story of one young librarian’s quest to defeat toxic, asthma-inducing mold. The title character borrows the name of real-life NPRNPR
NPR, formerly National Public Radio, is a privately and publicly funded non-profit membership media organization that serves as a national syndicator to a network of 900 public radio stations in the United States. NPR was created in 1970, following congressional passage of the Public Broadcasting...
librarian Kee Malesky. The humorous film originated when Maryland Public Television
Maryland Public Television
Maryland Public Television is a non-profit, state-licensed Public Broadcasting Service non-commercial educational public television state network which serves U.S. state of Maryland. Its six transmitters cover nearly all of the state, plus Washington, D.C...
asked Seftel to make a fictional piece about indoor air quality for middle-school aged children. The film played at the Los Angeles International Short Film Festival, the Newport International Film Festival, the Austin Film Festival
Austin Film Festival
The Austin Film Festival was started in 1994 in Austin, Texas and is claimed to be "the first organization of its kind to focus on the writer’s unique creative contribution to the film and television industries"...
and won the Jury Prize at the Chicago International Children's Film Festival
Chicago International Children's Film Festival
Founded in 1975, Facets Multi-Media, located at 1517 W. Fullerton Avenue, Chicago, 60614 Facets Multi-Media is the largest conservator dedicated to the exhibition, distribution & education of foreign, independent & classic cinema...
. Breaking the Mold was shown at the One Reel Film Festival in Seattle where director Alexander Payne
Alexander Payne
Alexander Payne, born Alexander Constantine Papadopoulos is an American film director and screenwriter. His films are noted for their dark humor and satirical depictions of contemporary American society.- Early life :...
was a judge.
Feature films
After seeing the film Breaking the Mold, director Alexander PayneAlexander Payne
Alexander Payne, born Alexander Constantine Papadopoulos is an American film director and screenwriter. His films are noted for their dark humor and satirical depictions of contemporary American society.- Early life :...
championed Seftel as a director of features and put him in touch with John Cusack
John Cusack
John Paul Cusack is an American film actor and screenwriter. He has appeared in more than 50 films, including The Journey of Natty Gann, Say Anything..., Grosse Point Blank, The Thin Red Line, Stand by Me, Con Air, Being John Malkovich, High Fidelity, Serendipity, Runaway Jury, The Ice Harvest,...
and Mark Leyner
Mark Leyner
Mark Leyner is an American postmodernist author.Leyner employs an intense and unconventional style in his works of fiction. His stories are generally humorous and absurd: In The Tetherballs of Bougainville, Mark's father survives a lethal injection at the hands of the New Jersey penal system, and...
who were taken with Seftel's work. This led to Seftel directing the feature film War, Inc.
War, Inc.
War, Inc. is a 2008 American political satire film starring John Cusack and directed by Joshua Seftel. Cusack also co-wrote and produced the film.- Plot :...
, starring Cusack, and co-written by Leyner, Cusack, and Jeremy Pikser
Jeremy Pikser
Jeremy Pikser is an award-winning screenwriter.Best known for Bulworth , which was nominated for Academy, Golden Globe, and WGA Awards for best screenplay, and won the LA Film Critics Best Screenplay award for 1998...
. War, Inc. premiered at the 7th Annual Tribeca Film Festival
Tribeca Film Festival
The Tribeca Film Festival is a film festival founded in 2002 by Jane Rosenthal, Robert De Niro and Craig Hatkoff in a response to the September 11, 2001 attacks on the World Trade Center and the consequent loss of vitality in the TriBeCa neighborhood in Lower Manhattan.The mission of the festival...
in April 2008 and played nationally in theaters. The movie is a political satire set in Turaqistan, a fictional country occupied by an American private corporation run by a former US Vice-President (Dan Aykroyd
Dan Aykroyd
Daniel Edward "Dan" Aykroyd, CM is a Canadian comedian, actor, screenwriter, musician, winemaker and ufologist. He was an original cast member of Saturday Night Live, an originator of The Blues Brothers and Ghostbusters and has had a long career as a film actor and screenwriter.-Early...
). In an effort to monopolize the opportunities the war-torn nation offers, the corporation's CEO hires a troubled hit man (Cusack), to kill a Middle Eastern oil minister. Struggling with his own growing demons, the assassin must pose as the corporation's Trade Show Producer in order to pull off this latest hit, while maintaining his cover by organizing the high-profile wedding of Yonica Babyyeah (Hilary Duff
Hilary Duff
Hilary Erhard Duff is an American actress, singer-songwriter, entrepreneur, and author. After working in local theater plays and television commercials in her childhood, she achieved fame playing the title role in the Disney Channel television series Lizzie McGuire. She also reprised her role in...
), an outrageous Middle Eastern pop star, and keeping a sexy left wing reporter (Marisa Tomei
Marisa Tomei
Marisa Tomei is an American stage, film and television actress. Following her work on As The World Turns, Tomei came to prominence as a supporting cast member on The Cosby Show spinoff A Different World in 1987...
) in check.
Television, radio, and print journalism
Seftel has also worked in television, producing for ABC Turning Point, CBS Evening NewsCBS Evening News
CBS Evening News is the flagship nightly television news program of the American television network CBS. The network has broadcast this program since 1948, and has used the CBS Evening News title since 1963....
, CBS Sunday Morning, PBS' Nova
NOVA (TV series)
Nova is a popular science television series from the U.S. produced by WGBH Boston. It can be seen on the Public Broadcasting Service in the United States, and in more than 100 other countries...
Science Now series and the award-winning public radio program This American Life
This American Life
This American Life is a weekly hour-long radio program produced by WBEZ and hosted by Ira Glass. It is distributed by Public Radio International on PRI affiliate stations and is also available as a free weekly podcast. Primarily a journalistic non-fiction program, it has also featured essays,...
. At CBS News, Seftel was brought in by then Executive Vice President Jonathan Klein (current President of CNN
CNN
Cable News Network is a U.S. cable news channel founded in 1980 by Ted Turner. Upon its launch, CNN was the first channel to provide 24-hour television news coverage, and the first all-news television channel in the United States...
) to pioneer the use of the mini-DV format at the network.
For This American Life
This American Life
This American Life is a weekly hour-long radio program produced by WBEZ and hosted by Ira Glass. It is distributed by Public Radio International on PRI affiliate stations and is also available as a free weekly podcast. Primarily a journalistic non-fiction program, it has also featured essays,...
, Seftel produced a 1997 radio documentary entitled Trek about an exploration of race and friendship in post-apartheid South Africa. He also produced a segment called “Still Life” in episode #2 “My Way” for This American Life the television show, which aired on Showtime in 2007. Seftel also adapted NPR's popular This I Believe series from radio to public television for WGBH
WGBH-TV
WGBH-TV, channel 2, is a non-commercial educational public television station located in Boston, Massachusetts, USA. WGBH-TV is a member station of the Public Broadcasting Service , and produces more than two-thirds of PBS's national prime time television programming...
Boston. Seftel's short stories and articles have been featured on NPR
NPR
NPR, formerly National Public Radio, is a privately and publicly funded non-profit membership media organization that serves as a national syndicator to a network of 900 public radio stations in the United States. NPR was created in 1970, following congressional passage of the Public Broadcasting...
, Salon.com
Salon.com
Salon.com, part of Salon Media Group , often just called Salon, is an online liberal magazine, with content updated each weekday. Salon was founded by David Talbot and launched on November 20, 1995. It was the internet's first online-only commercial publication. The magazine focuses on U.S...
, and The Seattle Times
The Seattle Times
The Seattle Times is a newspaper serving Seattle, Washington, US. It is the largest daily newspaper in the state of Washington. It has been, since the demise in 2009 of the printed version of the rival Seattle Post-Intelligencer, Seattle's only major daily print newspaper.-History:The Seattle Times...
.
Reality television
In reality television, Seftel directed the first two seasons of Queer Eye for the Straight Guy and received a National Emmy AwardEmmy Award
An Emmy Award, often referred to simply as the Emmy, is a television production award, similar in nature to the Peabody Awards but more focused on entertainment, and is considered the television equivalent to the Academy Awards and the Grammy Awards .A majority of Emmys are presented in various...
Nomination for his work on the series. He also helped develop the A&E series Confessions of a Matchmaker, featuring Patti Novak, directing the series pilot, and served as Supervising Producer for the series. Seftel also developed the Emmy-nominated PBS children’s reality game show Fetch! with Ruff Ruffman
FETCH! with Ruff Ruffman
FETCH! with Ruff Ruffman, sometimes shortened as FETCH!, is a children's television series for children ages 6–12 on PBS during the PBS Kids GO! block of educational programming. It is a game show/reality show that is hosted by an animated anthropomorphic dog who dispenses challenges to the show's...
and directed the inaugural season.
Awards and recognition
Seftel was awarded a National Arts Journalism Fellowship at the Columbia University Graduate School of JournalismColumbia University Graduate School of Journalism
The Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism is one of Columbia's graduate and professional schools. It offers three degree programs: Master of Science in journalism , Master of Arts in journalism and a Ph.D. in communications...
and Columbia University School of the Arts
Columbia University School of the Arts
The Columbia University School of the Arts , also known simply as the School of the Arts or as SoA, is the division of the university that offers Master of Fine Arts degrees in Film, Visual Arts, Theatre Arts, and Writing, as well as a Master of Arts degree in Film Studies...
in 2003.