{{Short description|Canadian screenwriter and film director}} {{Infobox person | name = Jamie Kastner | image = <!-- just the filename, without the File: or Image: prefix or enclosing brackets --> | alt = | caption = | birth_name = | birth_date = <!-- {{Birth date and age|YYYY|MM|DD}} or {{Birth-date and age|Month DD, YYYY}} --> | birth_place = | death_date = <!-- {{Death date and age|YYYY|MM|DD|YYYY|MM|DD}} or {{Death-date and age|Month DD, YYYY|Month DD, YYYY}} (death date then birth date) --> | death_place = | other_names = | occupation = Film director, screenwriter | known_for = ''There Are No Fakes'', ''The Secret Disco Revolution'', ''The Skyjacker's Tale'' }} '''Jamie Kastner''' is a Canadian writer, director and documentary filmmaker based in Toronto, Canada. His company, Cave 7 Productions, produces both theatrical and television productions.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.cave7productions.com/ |title=Home |website=cave7productions.com}}</ref> Kastner is best known for his feature documentaries, including ''There Are No Fakes'', which premiered at ''Hot Docs'' in 2019,<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.theglobeandmail.com/arts/film/article-hot-docs-2019-norval-morrisseau-the-barenaked-ladies-and-the-fine/|title = Hot Docs 2019: Norval Morrisseau, the Barenaked Ladies and the fine art of forgery|newspaper = The Globe and Mail|date = 23 April 2019|last1 = Taylor|first1 = Kate}}</ref> ''The Skyjacker's Tale'' (2016) <ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.thestar.com/entertainment/tiff/2016/09/09/jamie-kastner-to-use-skyjacking-doc-as-springboard-to-movie-drama.html|title = Jamie Kastner to use skyjacking doc as springboard to movie drama|newspaper = The Toronto Star|date = 9 September 2016|last1 = Knelman|first1 = Martin}}</ref> and ''The Secret Disco Revolution'', both of which premiered at the Toronto International Film Festival.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://realscreen.com/2012/11/20/kastners-disco-revolution-heads-to-america/|title = Kastner's "Disco Revolution" heads to America}}</ref>
==Career== Jamie Kastner is a member of a family of filmmakers. He is the nephew of actor Peter Kastner and filmmaker John Kastner.<ref>[https://www.theglobeandmail.com/arts/film/carrying-on-the-kastner-family-business/article18374304/ "Carrying on the Kastner family business"]. ''The Globe and Mail'', May 2, 2014.</ref> Kastner's grandmother, Rose, served as an associate producer on several of John Kastner's films,<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.theglobeandmail.com/arts/film/carrying-on-the-kastner-family-business/article18374304/|title = Carrying on the Kastner family business|newspaper = The Globe and Mail|date = 2 May 2014|last1 = Benzine|first1 = Adam}}</ref> while his mother, Susan Kastner, was involved in the production of several of Jamie Kastner's films as a researcher. Kastner's wife Laura Baron Kastner is producer and business partner at Cave 7 Productions.<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.thestar.com/entertainment/tiff/2016/09/09/jamie-kastner-to-use-skyjacking-doc-as-springboard-to-movie-drama.html|title = Jamie Kastner to use skyjacking doc as springboard to movie drama|newspaper = The Toronto Star|date = 9 September 2016|last1 = Knelman|first1 = Martin}}</ref> Kastner worked as an associate producer and researcher on several of John Kastner's films, including 1997's ''Hunting Bobby Oatway''.<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.theglobeandmail.com/arts/film/carrying-on-the-kastner-family-business/article18374304/|title = Carrying on the Kastner family business|newspaper = The Globe and Mail|date = 2 May 2014|last1 = Benzine|first1 = Adam}}</ref>
Jamie Kastner's films explore such topics as pop culture,<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.theglobeandmail.com/arts/film/carrying-on-the-kastner-family-business/article18374304/|title = Carrying on the Kastner family business|newspaper = The Globe and Mail|date = 2 May 2014|last1 = Benzine|first1 = Adam}}</ref> political and social issues, crime and identity.<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2007/12/17/movies/17docu.html?_r=0|title = Vexing Questions of Jewish Identity|newspaper = The New York Times|date = 17 December 2007|last1 = Lee|first1 = Felicia R.}}</ref> His first documentary was ''Free Trade Is Killing My Mother'' (2003), a black comedy about protest.<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.theglobeandmail.com/arts/babe-in-tv-land/article18434503/|title=Babe in TV land|newspaper=The Globe and Mail|date=November 2003|last1=Kastner|first1=Jamie}}</ref> Films such as ''Djangomania!'' (2005),<ref>[http://jam.canoe.com/Movies/2005/09/24/1233966-sun.html "Django doc hits T.O."]{{dead link|date=April 2026|bot=medic}}{{cbignore|bot=medic}}. ''Toronto Sun'', September 24, 2005.</ref> ''Kike Like Me'' (2007)<ref>[https://www.nytimes.com/2007/12/17/movies/17docu.html?_r=0 "Vexing questions of Jewish identity"]. ''The New York Times'', December 17, 2007.</ref> and ''Recessionize! For Fun and Profit!'' (2011)<ref>[https://web.archive.org/web/20140729173528/http://www.ctvnews.ca/hot-docs-grows-as-filmmakers-connect-the-dots-1.636522 "Hot Docs grows as filmmakers 'connect the dots'"]. CTV News, April 28, 2011.</ref> employ both comedy and a first-person, road movie format. ''Kike Like Me'', which follows Kastner as he travels to several countries exploring the notion of modern Jewish identity, premiered at HotDocs in 2007.<ref>{{cite web |title=Kastner doc shortlisted for Grierson award |date=2008-08-07 |website=CBC News |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220317175636/https://www.cbc.ca/news/entertainment/kastner-doc-shortlisted-for-grierson-award-1.706927 |archive-date=2022-03-17 |url-status=live |url=https://www.cbc.ca/news/entertainment/kastner-doc-shortlisted-for-grierson-award-1.706927}}</ref> The film won the Audience Award at Munich Dokfest and was shortlisted for the Grierson Award in 2008.<ref>{{cite web |title=Kastner doc shortlisted for Grierson award |date=2008-08-07 |website=CBC News |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220317175636/https://www.cbc.ca/news/entertainment/kastner-doc-shortlisted-for-grierson-award-1.706927 |archive-date=2022-03-17 |url-status=live |url=https://www.cbc.ca/news/entertainment/kastner-doc-shortlisted-for-grierson-award-1.706927}}</ref>
Kastner has also worked as a producer and writer on several television series, as a newspaper reporter and features writer,<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.northernstars.ca/kastner_jamie/|title = Jamie Kastner|date = 30 July 2013 | last1=Lucas | first1=Ralph }}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.theguardian.com/travel/2011/feb/19/single-parent-holiday-jamaica|title = Just the two of us: Holidays for single parents|website = TheGuardian.com|date = 19 February 2011}}</ref> playwright,<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.northernstars.ca/kastner_jamie/|title = Jamie Kastner|date = 30 July 2013 | last1=Lucas | first1=Ralph }}</ref> critic and television host.
In 2017, The Harold Greenberg Fund supported the adaptation of ''The Skyjacker's Tale'' into a dramatic feature film, titled, ''The Skyjacker's Son'', with Kastner as screenwriter.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.bellmedia.ca/the-lede/press/bell-medias-harold-greenberg-fund-announces-script-development-support-for-39-canadian-film-projects/|title=Bell Media's Harold Greenberg Fund Announces Script Development Support for 33 Canadian Film Projects|work=Bell Media }}</ref>
==Filmography== * ''Free Trade Is Killing My Mother'' (2003) * ''Djangomania!'' (2005) * ''Kike Like Me'' (2007) * ''Ancestors in the Attic'' (2010, TV series; episode "Slavery Roots") * ''Recessionize! For Fun and Profit!'' (2011) * ''The Secret Disco Revolution'' (2012) * ''The Skyjacker's Tale'' (2016) * ''D-Day in 14 Stories'' (2019) * ''There Are No Fakes'' (2019) * ''Nobody Wants to Talk About Jacob Appelbaum'' (2024) * ''The Spoils'' (2024)
== Awards == {| class="wikitable" |+ !Award !Date of ceremony !Category !Result !Reference |- | rowspan="3" |Canadian Screen Awards | rowspan="3" |May 20, 2021 |Direction in a Documentary Program or Series |{{nom}} | rowspan="3" |<ref>{{Cite web|last=Furdyk|first=Brent|date=2021-03-30|title=Television Nominees Announced For 2021 Canadian Screen Awards, 'Schitt's Creek' Leads The Pack With 21 Nominations|url=https://etcanada.com/news/762146/television-nominees-announced-for-2021-canadian-screen-awards-schitts-creek-leads-the-pack-with-21-nominations/|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210330100408/https://etcanada.com/news/762146/television-nominees-announced-for-2021-canadian-screen-awards-schitts-creek-leads-the-pack-with-21-nominations/|url-status=dead|archive-date=March 30, 2021|access-date=2021-07-06|website=ET Canada|language=en-US}}</ref> |- |Writing in a Documentary Program or Series |{{nom}} |- |Biography or Arts Documentary Program or Series |{{nom}} |}
==References== {{Reflist}}
==External links== *{{IMDb name|2040170|Jamie Kastner}}
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Kastner, Jamie}} Category:Canadian documentary film directors Category:Canadian male screenwriters Category:Screenwriters from Toronto Category:Film directors from Toronto Category:Living people Category:Year of birth missing (living people) Category:Jewish Canadian screenwriters Category:21st-century Canadian screenwriters Category:21st-century Canadian male writers