Jonathan Gruber (filmmaker)

{{Other people|Jonathan Gruber}}

Jonathan Gruber{{cite web|title=Masthead|url=http://retroreport.org/masthead/|publisher=RetroReport|accessdate=29 April 2014|url-status=dead|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20140522032026/http://retroreport.org/masthead/|archivedate=22 May 2014}} is an American director of documentary films, commercials, and videos.{{cite news|last=Lebowitz|first=Steven|title=Judy Blume wins big at Palm Beach International Film Festival|url=http://thepalmbeachproper.com/2012/04/21/judy-blume-wins-big-at-palm-beach-international-film-festival-examiner-com/|newspaper=Examiner|date=21 April 2012|access-date=29 April 2014|archive-date=19 October 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171019220602/http://thepalmbeachproper.com/2012/04/21/judy-blume-wins-big-at-palm-beach-international-film-festival-examiner-com/|url-status=dead}} He is Jewish.{{cite web |title=Jonathan Gruber on 'Upheaval' |url=https://www.atlantajewishtimes.com/jonathan-gruber-on-upheaval/ |work=Atlanta Jewish Times |archive-url=https://archive.today/20240130180227/https://www.atlantajewishtimes.com/jonathan-gruber-on-upheaval/ |date=27 Jan 2021 |archive-date=30 January 2024 |first=Stephanie |last=Nissani}}

Projects that Gruber directed and produced have screened at festivals and in theaters nationwide and around the world,{{cite news|last=Kate Sweeney &|first=John Lemley|title="Jewish Soldiers" Separates Civil War Myth from Truth|url=http://wabe.org/post/jewish-soldiers-separates-civil-war-myth-truth|newspaper=WABE/NPR|date=7 August 2013|access-date=29 April 2014|archive-date=26 July 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140726162528/http://wabe.org/post/jewish-soldiers-separates-civil-war-myth-truth|url-status=dead}} and have aired on PBS,{{cite web|title=Print JEWISH SOLDIERS IN BLUE & GRAY|url=http://www.aptonline.org/catalog.nsf/vLinkTitle/JEWISH+SOLDIERS+IN+BLUE+GRAY|publisher=APT/American Public Television}} The History Channel, National Geographic, Discovery Networks, and more.

His film, Follow Me: The Yoni Netanyahu Story, was an in depth look into the private life of the man who became the hero and pivotal strategist in the Israeli rescue of the Israeli hostages{{cite news|last=GENZLINGER|first=NEIL|title=The Life and Death of an Israeli Hero|url=http://mobile.nytimes.com/movies/2012/05/18/movies/follow-me-a-biography-of-jonathan-netanyahu.html?from=movies|newspaper=New York Times|date=18 May 2012}} from Entebbe, Uganda following the hijacking of an Air France plane by Palestinian militants, which Idi Amin permitted to land in his country.{{cite news|last=Merry|first=Stephanie|title=Follow Me: The Yoni Netanyahu Story|url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/gog/movies/follow-me-the-yoni-netanyahu-story,1227237.html|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120415083730/http://www.washingtonpost.com/gog/movies/follow-me-the-yoni-netanyahu-story,1227237.html|url-status=dead|archive-date=15 April 2012|newspaper=Washington Post|date=2 May 2012}} After the Jewish and Israeli passengers were separated and threatened, the Israeli government quickly devised Operation Entebbe, which ended with the rescue of the passengers, but the death of Netanyahu. The film won awards at several national film festivals.{{cite news|title=2013 Charlotte Jewish Film Festival|url=http://www.charlottejewishfilm.com/2013/follow-me.html|newspaper=Charlotte Jewish Film Festival|date=12 March 2012|access-date=29 April 2014|archive-date=30 April 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140430044349/http://www.charlottejewishfilm.com/2013/follow-me.html|url-status=dead}}

Gruber also directed a film about the American Civil War, Jewish Soldiers in Blue & Gray,{{cite news|last=COHN|first=ROBERT|title=Civil War Sesquicentennial: was the St. Louis Jew Gray or Blue?|url=http://www.stljewishlight.com/blogs/cohn/article_d0c6bb42-e52f-11e0-8781-001cc4c002e0.html?mode=jqm|archive-url=https://archive.today/20140429224025/http://www.stljewishlight.com/blogs/cohn/article_d0c6bb42-e52f-11e0-8781-001cc4c002e0.html?mode=jqm|url-status=dead|archive-date=April 29, 2014|newspaper=St Louis Jewish Light|date=14 January 2012}} and two other notable films. Jonathan currently has one film in development, another in pre-production, and runs a successful film and video production company, Black Eye Productions, which is hired for corporate, PSA, and non-profit work. He was a co-creator and director on the 2018 MSNBC series, The Story of Cool.

Filmography

• Jewish Soldiers in Blue & Gray (2011)
• Follow Me: The Yoni Netanyahu Story (2012)
• Upheaval: The Journey of Menachem Begin (2021)