Azazel Jacobs

Azazel Jacobs (born September 27, 1972)^[1] is an American film director and screenwriter. His feature films include The GoodTimesKid (2005), Terri (2011), The Lovers (2017), French Exit (2020), and His Three Daughters (2023).

Azazel Jacobs
Jacobs in 2017
Born	(1972-09-27) September 27, 1972 (age 52)
Alma mater	State University of New York at Purchase AFI Conservatory
Occupation(s)	Film director, screenwriter
Years active	1997–present
Relatives	Ken Jacobs (father)

Biography

Jacobs grew up in a Jewish family in the Tribeca neighborhood of Manhattan.^[2] He is the son of experimental filmmaker Ken Jacobs.^[3][4] He attended Bayard Rustin High School.^[5] He received a bachelor's degree in film from SUNY Purchase and a master's degree from the AFI Conservatory.^[6][7] As of 2011^[update], Jacobs lives in Los Angeles.^[5]

Career

His feature The Goodtimeskid (2005), a micro-budget film, gained a cult following and was later re-released by KINO International. Jacobs' film Momma’s Man premiered at the Sundance Film Festival 2008.^[8] Upon its release by KINO International, The New York Times declared the film to be "Independent Film defined."^[9] In 2011, Jacobs film Terri starring John C. Reilly, was written by Patrick deWitt, premiered in competition at Sundance and in competition internationally at Locarno & the BFI London Film Festival’s "Film On The Square."^[5]

During 2014 and 2015, Jacobs directed the two seasons of the SKY/HBO show, Doll & Em. He also worked as a writer and producer. In 2017, Jacobs wrote and directed the film The Lovers which was released by A24 to top specialty box office.^[10] The film starred Debra Winger, Tracy Letts, Melora Walters, and Aidan Gillen. Jacobs’ screenplay for The Lovers was nominated for a 2017 Independent Spirit Award for Best Screenplay. Jacobs produced the pilot of Cherries, written/directed by Diaz Jacobs, which premiered in the episodic section of Sundance 2018.^[11]

In 2020, Jacobs’ film French Exit had its world premiere as the closing night film for the New York Film Festival. The film is based on a novel of the same name by Patrick deWitt and stars Michelle Pfeiffer alongside Lucas Hedges, Tracy Letts, Imogen Poots, Danielle McDonald, Isaach de Bankole, Valerie Mahaffey, Susan Coyne and Daniel Di Tomasso. Pfeiffer plays Francis Price, which Variety called "a role for which she'll be remembered."^[12] It was nominated for multiple awards,^[13] including a 2021 Golden Globe,^[14] and won Best Actress from the Canadian Screen Awards.^[15] The film was released theatrically by Sony Pictures Classics on February 12, 2021, and internationally by Sony Pictures Worldwide on March 18, 2021. French Exit was selected for the 71st Berlin Film Festival in Berlinale Special Gala, having its European premier on June 12, 2021.^[16]

Azazel Jacobs latest film, His Three Daughters, had its world premiere at the 2023 Toronto International Film Festival where it was purchased by Netflix in a world wide deal for a 2024 release. The film — which he wrote, directed, edited, and produced — stars Natasha Lyonne, Elizabeth Olsen and Carrie Coon in performances that have been widely hailed as amongst their best.

Azazel Jacobs appeared on Marc Maron's podcast, WTF with Marc Maron, on March 29, 2021, speaking about art films, The Clash, Mad magazine, and his movies Terri, The Lovers and French Exit. Jacobs directed two episodes of the Facebook series Sorry For Your Loss starring Elizabeth Olsen, and three episodes of Amazon's Mozart in the Jungle, for which he was a consulting producer in its final season.^[17]

On April 19, 2024, an official remake of The Lovers, “Do Aur Do Pyaar”, told from a different perspective and different culture, was released in theaters across India. This production also marks the first remake of an A24 film.

Filmography

Films

Year	Title	Director	Writer	Producer	Notes	Ref.
1997	Kirk and Kerry	Yes	No	No	Short film
1999	Danger 44	Yes	No	No	Short film
2000	Dear Mexico	Yes	No	No	Short film
2002	Message Machine	Yes	No	No	Short film
2003	Oh Wee!	Yes	No	No	Short film
2003	Nobody Needs to Know	Yes	Yes	Yes	Feature film debut	[18]
2005	The GoodTimesKid	Yes	Yes	No		[19]
2008	Momma's Man	Yes	Yes	No		[20]
2011	Terri	Yes	Yes	No		[21]
2017	The Lovers	Yes	Yes	No		[22]
2020	French Exit	Yes	No	Executive		[23]
2023	His Three Daughters	Yes	Yes	Yes		[24]

Television

Year	Title	Director	Writer	Producer	Network	Notes	Ref.
2013–2015	Doll & Em	Yes	Yes	Co-Producer	Sky Atlantic / HBO	12 episodes	[25]
2016–2018	Mozart in the Jungle	Yes	No	Consulting	Amazon Prime Video	3 episodes	[26]
2018–2019	Sorry for Your Loss	Yes	No	No	Facebook Watch	2 episodes	[27]

Recognition

In 2012, CinemaScope magazine cited Azazel as one of the 50 Best Directors Under 50.^[28]

Awards and nominations

Year	Association	Category	Project	Result	Ref.
1997	Slamdance Film Festival	Grand Jury Prize for Best Dramatic Short	Kirk and Kerry	Won	[29]
2008	Off Plus Camera	Kraków Film Award	Momma’s Man	Won	[30]
	Torino Film Festival	Best Feature Film Prize		Nominated
	Deauville Film Festival	Grand Special Prize		Nominated	[31]
2011			Terri	Nominated	[32]
	Gijón International Film Festival	Grand Prix		Nominated	[33]
	Locarno Film Festival	Junior Jury Award		3rd place	[34]
	Sundance Film Festival	Grand Jury Prize		Nominated	[35]
	Sarasota Film Festival	Narrative Feature Jury Prize		Nominated	[36]
2017	Independent Spirit Award	Best Screenplay	The Lovers	Nominated	[37]
	London Film Festival	Official Competition		Nominated	[38]