Jeff L. Lieberman

Jeff L. Lieberman is an award-winning film director, screenwriter and producer of both narrative and documentary films. He is the founder of Re-Emerging Films and the filmmaker behind The Amazing Nina Simone, Re-Emerging: The Jews of Nigeria and the upcoming films: Bella! and My Harlem.[1]

Jeff L. Lieberman
Born (1978-03-30) March 30, 1978
Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada
NationalityAmerican & Canadian
Alma materRyerson University
UCLA
Prince of Wales Secondary School
OccupationFilmmaker
Notable work
The Amazing Nina Simone
Websitewww.re-emergingfilms.com

Early life

Lieberman was born in Vancouver, British Columbia and is a graduate of The Mini School at Prince of Wales Secondary School,[2] Ryerson University’s RTA School of Media, and UCLA's Professional Program in Producing.[3] Lieberman’s first training in tv/film was through Vancouver’s cult-hit community access TV program, The Complaint Department, which he helped produce for several years while in high school. He also received theatrical training during a summer at the famed Stagedoor Manor in New York’s Catskill Mountains.

His sister is the Author & Writer, Leanne Lieberman.[4]

Journalism

During Lieberman’s years in college, both his journalism and production training were further developed as an intern at Business News Network, The Mike Bullard Show, Pearson Television in London, and at KGTV, the ABC Affiliate in San Diego, California. An internship with CNN brought Lieberman to the network's New York Bureau and working directly with Correspondent Maria Hinojosa and Producer Rose Arce, where during the last month of 1999, they covered stories on the impending Y2K technical glitch, the changing demographics of America in the year 2000, and the events surrounding the trials of the 4 NYPD officers charged in the murder of Amadou Diallo.[5]

Lieberman went on to later write, produce and edit news stories at CBS News in New York and The New York Post, where he covered events all over New York and Washington, DC, including the Obama inauguration, The Times Square terrorist attack, New York’s Fashion Week and the 10-year anniversary of the September 11th attacks. In speaking to LGBT Weekly, he told them: "I’m a journalist at heart and hope that my films invite people to consider situations in different ways and provoke them into action." [6]

Documentary Producing

From 2002–2008, Lieberman was the Senior Producer of Hurwitz Creative, producing behind-the-scenes documentaries on the making of many top feature films[7] including Ratatouille, The Incredibles, The Chronicles of Narnia, Charlie and The Chocolate Factory, Troy, I, Robot, and The Bucket List. Lieberman travelled to film sets around the world, interviewing Hollywood's leading actors, directors, producers and crafts people, producing programs that aired on HBO, Fox, Starz, Discovery Channel, and the DVDs of films from Warner Bros, Disney, 20th Century Fox, Sony Pictures and Lionsgate.[8]

Re-Emerging Films

Lieberman established Re-Emerging Films in 2007 at the outset of his first documentary feature. Inspired by Steven Spielberg naming his production company after his first film, Lieberman followed suit and named his company after his first feature: Re-Emerging: The Jews of Nigeria. Through Re-Emerging Films, Lieberman has produced two feature documentaries, two TV pilots (Beauty Queens, Mario The Magician) and has produced hours of content for Disney, Coca-Cola,[9] Wine Enthusiast Magazine, Elsevier, Marlo Thomas and Showtime’s Homeland. Lieberman also co-produced the hit viral pro-Obama election video, “Call Your Zeyde”.

The Amazing Nina Simone

Lieberman has said that he is a longtime fan of Nina Simone,[10] discovering her music while in high-school. In 2012, Lieberman journeyed to Simone's hometown of Tryon, North Carolina to visit the origins of the famous musician. It was there that he was introduced to many of the men and women that grew up with Simone (then named Eunice Waymon) and began the journey to reconstruct the story of the often misunderstood singer, songwriter and civil rights activist. Lieberman interviewed over 50 of Simone's friends, family, band members, lovers, and fellow activists, including Nikki Giovanni, Eric Burdon of The Animals, Chuck Stewart, Billy Vera, Horace Ott, Lester Hyman, Tom Schnabel, Roscoe Dellums, Marie-Christine Dunham Pratt and Sam Waymon, Nina's brother and longtime band member. The film debuted in cinemas in October 2015 and has since played over 100 theatres in 10 countries, receiving acclaim from The Hollywood Reporter,[11] Jet Magazine,[12] The Seattle Times[13] , Chicago Reader,[14] The Boston Globe,[15] Broadway World [16] and Blavity,[17] with Richard Brody writing in The New Yorker Magazine that "It’s a story that’s told well in Liz Garbus’s documentary "What Happened, Miss Simone?" and even better in Jeff Lieberman's documentary "The Amazing Nina Simone."[18]

Lieberman on the Nina Simone Casting Controversy

In March 2015, Lieberman weighed in on the casting of Zoe Saldana as Nina Simone for the separate bio-film, Nina. In a guest column in The Hollywood Reporter, Lieberman stated that he found the script and trailer of the film to offer an "ugly and inaccurate portrayal.[19] Lieberman stated that the sensationalized script was one of the reasons he made his documentary film, in order to counter the dramatic liberties used in the telling of Simone's story in other films. The article was also re-published in People Magazine, The Huffington Post,[20] The Root,[21] BET,[22] and Complex.[23]

Re-Emerging: The Jews of Nigeria

For his first independent feature, Lieberman wrote, directed, produced, filmed and edited the 2013 documentary, Re-Emerging: The Jews of Nigeria. Lieberman journeyed deep into Nigeria, operating as a one-man crew, meeting a wide swath of Jewish communities throughout small towns and Nigeria's large cities. The film centers around one young Igbo man named Shmuel, and his quest to find the true Judaism. The film debuted in 2013, opening at New York's Quad Cinema and in LA at Laemmle Theatres. It also premiered at film festivals in New York, Washington DC, Boston, Toronto, Vancouver, Israel and Switzerland. The film qualified for the 2014 Academy Awards,[24] and received acclaim from The New York Times,[25] The Hollywood Reporter,[26] BBC,[27] NPR[28] , Village Voice[29] and Indiewire.[30] New York’s Amsterdam News called the film "one of the must-see documentaries of 2013".

The film also inspired several aid projects, including a large shipment of Jewish prayerbooks, following a screening of the film at a Long Island synagogue.[31]

My Harlem

In 2016, Lieberman announced the completion of his first feature screenplay entitled My Harlem,[32] written in response to an anti-gay Harlem church.[33] Lieberman aimed to bring the real-life events of the summer of 2016 (gentrification, race relations, police brutality, and interracial gay dating) to the forefront and launched a crowd-funding campaign to get others involved[34] - resulting in the film making international news.[35] Lieberman says he also wrote the film because "I am a gay man who hardly ever sees my life and dreams on film. I want to see a beautiful, romantic love story between two men that is based in reality with the challenges of dating and relationships but without the pitfalls of dramatic gay tragedy."[36] He has stated that he plans to independently produce the film with shooting to take place in the summer of 2017.

Bella!

According to IMDB,[37] Lieberman's newest feature documentary is entitled Bella! and is about the life and political achievements of the groundbreaking feminist, activist and pioneering congresswoman, Bella Abzug. The film features brand new interviews with Barbra Streisand, Shirley MacLaine, Hillary Clinton, Lily Tomlin, Nancy Pelosi, Gloria Steinem, Maxine Waters, Phil Donahue, Marlo Thomas, Charles Rangel, David Dinkins and Renée Taylor. It is scheduled to premiere in 2020, coinciding with the upcoming historic 100-year anniversary of the Women's Right to Vote.

Filmography
Year Film Role Notes
TBDBella!Director/Writer/ProducerFeature Documentary
TBDMy HarlemDirector/Writer/ProducerNarrative Feature Film
2015The Amazing Nina SimoneDirector/Writer/ProducerFeature Documentary
Nominated - Black Reel Awards for Outstanding Documentary
Audience Choice Award - 2016 Tryon International Film Festival
2013Re-Emerging: The Jews of NigeriaDirector/Writer/ProducerFeature Documentary
Qualified for 2014 Academy Awards
2007Akeelah and The Bee DVD DocumentaryDirector/Writer/ProducerDocumentary Short
Winner - 2007 Telly Award

References
  1. Hoff, Victor (2016-11-10). "My Harlem". LGBT Weekly.
  2. Derdeyn, Stuart (2016-06-12). "Vancouver director Jeff Lieberman tells the 'amazing' story of Nina Simone". The Vancouver Sun.
  3. "Professional Programs Alumni Producers and Directors". UCLA School of Theater, Film and Television.
  4. Lieberman, Leanne (2016-09-29). "My Harlem". Books, books and more books. Find out what I'm writing and reading.
  5. Lipps, Jessica (Apr 1, 2016). Interview: Jeff L. Lieberman, Director of The Amazing Nina Simone (audio). New York: Lipps on Life.
  6. Hoff, Victor (2016-11-10). "My Harlem". LGBT Weekly.
  7. "Professional Programs Alumni Producers and Directors". UCLA School of Theater, Film and Television.
  8. Lipps, Jessica (Apr 1, 2016). Interview: Jeff L. Lieberman, Director of The Amazing Nina Simone (audio). New York: Lipps on Life.
  9. Lieberman, Jeff L. (Director) (Jan 6, 2012). COCA-COLA Tour Adelante FEATURETTE-desktop.mov (video). Los Angeles: Coca-Cola.
  10. Wishna, Victor (2015-07-26). "Nina Simone, misunderstood no more". Jewish Telegraphic Agency.
  11. DeFore, John (2015-10-15). "'The Amazing Nina Simone': Film Review". The Hollywood Reporter.
  12. Cross, Latoya (20 October 2015). "DOCUMENTARY: 'THE AMAZING NINA SIMONE'". Jet.
  13. de Barros, Paul. "'The Amazing Nina Simone': a tumultuous tale, well told". The Seattle Times. Retrieved October 22, 2015.
  14. Jones, J.R. "The Amazing Nina Simone". Chicago Reader. Retrieved October 22, 2015.
  15. Keough, Peter. "To be young, gifted, and Nina Simone". The Boston Globe. Retrieved February 26, 2016.
  16. Lang, Katricia. "BWW Preview: Documentary THE AMAZING NINA SIMONE Shows In Houston on Sunday, Feb 21". Broadway World. Retrieved February 20, 2016.
  17. Jones, Dom. "The Nina Simone film we should all be watching". Blavity. Retrieved 15 September 2016.
  18. Brody, Richard. "Nina Simone and the Clichés of the Musical Bio-Pic". The New Yorker. Retrieved 22 April 2016.
  19. Lieberman, Jeff L. "Director of Nina Simone Documentary Calls Zoe Saldana Film an "Ugly and Inaccurate Portrayal" (Guest Column)". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved 18 March 2016.
  20. Williams, Brennan (2016-03-22). "Director Of 'The Amazing Nina Simone' Doc Slams Forthcoming Biopic". The Huffington Post.
  21. Callahan, Yesha (2016-03-21). "Director of Nina Simone Documentary Says Zoe Saldana Film Is 'Ugly and Inaccurate'". The Root.
  22. Cummings, Moriba (2016-03-19). "Director of Nina Simone Documentary Calls Biopic 'Ugly and Inaccurate'". BET.
  23. Landsbaum, Claire (2016-03-19). "Director of Nina Simone Documentary Calls Zoe Saldana Film "Ugly and Inaccurate"". Complex.
  24. Pond, Steve (2013-10-18). "Here They Are, All 151 Oscar-Qualifying Documentaries (Exclusive)". The Wrap.
  25. Saltz, Rachel (2013-05-16). "Keeping Kosher in Nigeria, a Tiny but Fervent Minority". The New York Times.
  26. Scheck, Frank (2013-05-17). "Re-Emerging: The Jews of Nigeria: Film Review". The Hollywood Reporter.
  27. Goffe, Leslie (2012-12-14). "Nigeria's 'Igbo Jews' on film". BBC.
  28. Taylor, Ella (2013-05-16). "'Re-Emerging': In Nigeria, A People Finds A Faith". NPR.
  29. Staeger, Rob (2013-05-16). "Circumstantial Evidence of a Shared History Aside, Re-Emerging: The Jews of Nigeria Tracks Conversion to the Hebrew Faith". The Village Voice.
  30. Martinez, Vanessa (2013-05-23). "Review: 'RE-EMERGING: The Jews of Nigeria' Inspires w/ Passion, Knowledge & Conviction". Indiewire.
  31. Jones, Bart (2012-09-16). "From Long Island To Nigeria". Newsday.
  32. Hoff, Victor (2016-11-10). "My Harlem". LGBT Weekly.
  33. Yohannes, Alamin (2016-09-13). "Filmmaker Takes a Stand Against Anti-Gay Harlem Church". NBC News.
  34. Isaac, Tim (2016-09-11). "Gay Film Set Around Harlem Hate Church Needs Your Help". Big Gay Picture Show.
  35. Duffy, Nick (2016-09-16). "Filmmaker sets gay love story outside real-life 'stone the gays' church". Pink News.
  36. Hoff, Victor (2016-11-10). "My Harlem". LGBT Weekly.
  37. Bella! at IMDb
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