Reboot Studios: Providing Funding and Creative Support for Fresh and Imaginative Film, Multimedia and Art Projects.

Dispatches from the Studio: In the documentary Sabbath Queen, director and producer Sandi DuBowski follows Rabbi Amichai Lau Lavie’s epic journey as the dynastic heir of 38 generations of Orthodox rabbis who rejects his traditional destiny and becomes a drag-queen rebel, a queer father, and the founder of Lab/Shul. The feature documentary, filmed over 20+ years and supported with funding from Reboot Studios and executive produced by Reboot Network member Adrian Salpeter, was included as an Official Selection of the 2024 Tribeca Film Festival and will be featured at the SF Jewish Film Festival in July.

Alex Edelman’sJust For Us had an acclaimed Broadway run last summer in a production co-produced and funded by Reboot Studios as a part of our inaugural round of studio investments. Filmed at Broadway’s Hudson Theatre last August, HBO released the comedy special in April. Learn more about the New York Times Critic’s Pick on our site and watch the special on HBO and Max. Download our discussion guide here to deepen your engagement with the show. We Should Eat, a short film written and directed by Shaina Feinberg and starring Alysia Reiner, Joel de la Fuente, Lexi Perkel, Jackie Hoffman, Bob Ari and Tovah Feldshuh will premiere this summer at the SF Jewish Film Festival. The Anne Frank Gift Shop, the first film project funded and produced by Reboot Studios was shortlisted this year for an Oscar in the Live Action Short Film category. The film is a dark comedy from author and journalist Mickey Rapkin about antisemitism that sparks a debate about collective trauma, the Holocaust—and tote bags. 

Reboot Studios provides seed investments to develop new inspirational and transformational Jewish content. Driven by the belief that art influences our world, enriches our lives and has the power to educate, inspire, create movements and change the way we think, Reboot Studios tells stories through a Jewish lens about the shared human experience.

Reboot is uniquely positioned to create the best, most exciting and high-quality Jewish content and to distribute and launch projects at a national level, while also targeting local communities via existing partner organizations, using a model and relationships developed over the past 15 years. Reboot’s previous successes funding a multitude of projects across all media, including the widely hailed virtual Passover production Saturday Night Seder, with Jason Alexander, Billy Porter, Henry Winkler, Pamela Adlon, Cynthia Erivo, and more, led to Reboot Studios. Reboot also supported the launch of the HBO film The Survivor, hosting a Reboot Ideas conversation with USC Shoah Foundation featuring director Barry Levinson, actor Ben Foster and producer Matti Leshem, moderated by Sami Sage, co-founder of Betches Media.

Reboot’s creative network now consists of more than 650 Jewish (and “Jew-ish”) influencers, including Hollywood creatives (Transparent, Lost, The Office, Orange is the New Black), Broadway stars (Dear Evan Hansen, La La Land, and The Greatest Showman, Rent, Fiddler on the Roof, The Band’s Visit), tech pioneers (Google, Facebook, MasterClass) and journalists (New York Times, Wall Street Journal, Buzzfeed); plus influential academics, non-profit executives, community organizers, renowned chefs and digital media innovators.

Reboot Studios’ advisory board, comprised of distinguished industry leaders and creators who will be actively shepherding and guiding the projects, includes: Adrian Salpeter, Tony® Award-winning producer of theatre, film and television and executive creative director, Amy Israel, President of TV, North Road; Benj Pasek, Oscar®, Grammy®, Tony®, and Golden Globe® Award-winning songwriter of Dear Evan Hansen, La La Land and The Greatest Showman; David Greenbaum, President of Disney Live Action Studios and 20th Century Studios; Jamie Kantrowitz, Entrepreneur and Investor; Jeb Brody, President of Imagine Features; Jenny Steingart, Tony® Award-winning producer and co-founder of Ars Nova; Joey Soloway, writer, director, showrunner of Transparent; Lacey Schwartz, producer and director; Melissa Eccles, Emmy®-nominated producer and creative director; Michael Ellenberg, CEO & Founder, Media Res Studio; Rachel Webber, CMO, Playboy Enterprises; Raymond Roker, Consultant and former Global Head of Editorial, Amazon; Rebecca Arzoian, President, Smokehouse Pictures; and Riva Marker, CEO Linden Productions; Stacey Reiss, Emmy® award-winning filmmaker; Sam Sonenshine, Vice President, Sonenshine Partners; Samantha Kurtzman-Counter, Emmy®-winning producer and director, President, The Mother Company; Steve Bodow, Emmy® and Peabody winning writer and producer, The Daily Show.

Reboot Studios will: 

• Identify talent, provide resources for project development, and ongoing mentorship and support for emergent creatives. 
• Develop docuseries, plays, podcasts, books, films, theater, record albums, photography projects, digital and multimedia art.
• Develop a program specifically focusing on Jews of Color, to provide funding, mentorships and ongoing support. 
• Distribute and market projects to scale for a hungry young Jewish audience and their friends.
• Launch high-impact programs that inspire real participation/social change for Jews and beyond.
• Leverage Reboot’s existing marketing and distribution channels, including over 1,000 community partner organizations across the country.