Reboot Studios: Providing Funding and Creative Support for Fresh and Imaginative Projects in Film, Television, Podcasts, Music, Stage and Beyond

TheWrap featured an exclusive on Reboot Studios’ announcement of its 2024 Creator Fund slate that elevates diverse Jewish Stories. Reboot’s new round of funding supports media projects that build on the success of its recent studio projects. Launched in 2022, Reboot Studios empowers artists, storytellers and innovators to transform society with diverse, inspirational and provocative new Jewish content. Our investments in new Jewish projects have now surpassed half a million dollars.

Recipients of the Reboot Studios 2024 Creator Fund:

Sangre Sucio/Tainted Blood from writer/director Jeremy Xido is a Ladino language cowboy movie set on the borderlands between Coahuila, Mexico, and south Texas during the closing days of the American Civil War. The story follows a family of Crypto-Jews, focusing on a dying father, Aureliano, and his son, Emmanuel de León, who harbors a dark past. Following a prophetic dream, Aureliano insists that Emmanuel take him on a perilous journey north to Las Cruces, New Mexico, to mend a longstanding family rift before he dies.

How To Rule The World (working title), from award-winning British filmmaker Tim Samuels, confronts the deep-seated roots and alarming resurgence of antisemitism in this provocative new theatrical documentary. Known for his investigative journalism and subversive humor, Samuels combines these elements to tackle this ancient hatred that continues to evolve in our modern era of misinformation and conspiracy theories. 

Erev Yalda from entrepreneur Rachel Sumekh and food writer Tannaz Sassooni, is an original Iranian-Jewish take on Yalda, the ancient Persian celebration marking the winter solstice by staying up late into the night, reciting poetry, eating traditional foods, and being in community. The holiday, often falling close to Hanukkah, shares themes of bringing light into the darkest moments. The videos will be accompanied by a digital resource kit that guides and inspires readers on how to host their own Yalda night.

AlefBet Audio from Rabbi Amichai Lau-Lavie, co-founder and senior spiritual leader of Lab/Shul, is a podcast series that offers the basic building blocks of post-patriarchal Jewish life for the 21st century. Each 45-minute segment explores core Jewish concepts, symbols, ethical values, rituals, and spiritual practices through engaging storytelling and conversations with diverse guests. This series, based on Rabbi Amichai’s successful annual course held in New York City and online, aims to provide an inclusive, justice-driven, and meaningful framework for modern Jewish life.

Reboot Studios’ current slate from celebrated Jewish artists includes: 

We Should Eat, written and directed by Shaina Feinberg and executive produced by Alysia Reiner with Reboot Studios, humorously explores the age-old familial irritations with Jewish mothers, the intricacies of raising pre-teen daughters, existential dread, and the perpetual struggle to figure out what to order for dinner. The film features a stellar cast including Alysia Reiner (Orange Is the New Black), Tovah Feldshuh (Nobody Wants This), Jackie Hoffman (Only Murders in the Building), Joel de la Fuente (Walking Dead), Bob Ari (Law and Order SVU), and Lexi Perkel (Sack Lunch Bunch). It premiered this summer at the SF Jewish Film Festival.

Just For Us – Alex Edelman’s one-man-show had an acclaimed Broadway run last summer in a production co-produced and funded by Reboot Studios. The one-man comedy special that got a special Tony Award and an Emmy this year is now streaming on HBO and Max! The show centers on the true story of Edelman infiltrating a gathering of white nationalists in New York, and tackles issues of empathy, Jews and whiteness, and antisemitism in thoughtful and hilarious fashion. Learn more about our involvement in the New York Times Critic’s Pick below and don’t forget to download our discussion guide to deepen your engagement with the show.

Israel Therapy – From Libby Lenkinski (VP for Public Engagement, New Israel Fund) and produced by The Forward and Reboot, this podcast helps guests sort through their complicated feelings about Israel/Palestine. Read the Israel Therapy column from Lenkinski in The Forward here.

We’ve Been Here Before is a short documentary film by filmmaker Jacob Kornbluth and civil rights strategist Eric K. Ward, produced with Reboot Studios. The film connects mass shootings, rising antisemitism, and hate violence in America through the lens of Ward’s experiences in the punk rock subculture of the 1980s and 90s, highlighting the subculture’s fight against White Nationalists and neo-Nazis. The film was shown at the San Francisco Jewish Film Festival this summer and is screening around the country.

The 700 Year Gap, a documentary by Marval Rex, chronicles his journey from Catholicism to embracing his identity as a transmasculine Sephardic Jew. The film explores themes of identity, resilience, and the impact of historical persecutions on contemporary Jewish life.

Mashhad, a film from actress and writer Sarah Solemani. For more than 200 years, a close-knit Jewish community led double lives in the holy city of Mashhad, Iran. Unable to practice their faith openly, they created underground synagogues – living publicly as Muslims and privately as devoted Jews. Solemani’s grandparents were Mashhadi Jews and her grandmother inspired the story of Mashhad. A suspenseful thriller set in 1940’s Iran, a little girl Fatima tries to find her friend and her family fear for their safety – will their secret be exposed? Regarded as one of the most insular and close-knit Jewish communities in the world, Mashhad will be the first cinematic depiction of this secret slice of Jewish history.

Hot Chain, is a salon series by writer Mireille Silcoff at the Museum of Jewish Montreal with live, artsy, philosophical all-ages round table discussions. Hot Chain is Jewish in theme and spirit has been instrumental in bridge-building between influential Jewish and non-Jewish communities in Montreal. Silcoff will soon release “DIY salon kits,” to allow the Hot Chain salons to be replicated by anyone in their own homes or institutions.

Untitled Jewish Bollywood Project – Set in Bollywood’s golden age, this project delves into the Jewish influence on Indian cinema through the life of Nadira, a trailblazing actress who challenged patriarchal norms. From producer Naz Haider, the series highlights the contributions of Jewish talents in India and their impact on the cultural mosaic of Bollywood.

The first round of project funding in 2022 included:

The Anne Frank Gift Shop is a dark comedic short from author and journalist Mickey Rapkin (Pitch Perfect, Theater Geek) about a Gen Z design firm pitching their new take on the gift shop at The Anne Frank House in Amsterdam, sparks a darkly comic debate about collective trauma, the Holocaust and tote bags. The film was named to the Oscar shortlist for the Best Live Action Short category.

The Amtlai Tapes – From artist, activist and award-winning creator Joey Soloway (Transparent), this podcast explores the mysterious story of Amtlai, mother to Jews, Christians, and Muslims, who was written out of history.

Kitchen Radio is hosted by Regine Basha (Tuning Baghdad) and Nathalie Basha (The Travel Muse). The podcast explores the Jewish culture of the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region for intergenerational stories of community life and ritual practices with guests who are part of a rising renaissance of creative food projects exploring their oft-overlooked Jewish history and heritage. Listen to the first season here.

Just The Tip by Jessie Kahnweiler humorously examines male circumcision, touching on religion, identity, masculinity, and bodily consent. The film was inspired by Kahnweiler’s relationship with her non-Jewish boyfriend and their discussions on the topic. The film is now streaming on the Documentary Channel.

The Borscht Belt Pop Up Museum & Arts Festival – From New York Times reporter and filmmaker Andrew Jacobs, The Borscht Belt Pop Up Museum is a dynamic, multimedia project that illuminates and explore the golden age of the Jewish Catskills era and its outsize impact on mainstream American culture. Find out more here and learn about the 2024 Borscht Belt Festival here.

Boom – From #1 New York Times best-selling author (Go The Fuck To Sleep), cultural critic and humorist Adam Mansbach, this feature screenplay (based on his memoir in verse, I Had A Brother Once), tells the story of a rapper’s evolving relationship to his Judaism on the first anniversary of his brother’s suicide.

Sammy Cohen’s Big Day – From Black/biracial Jewish queer non-binary playwright and screenwriter Benji Kahn, who grew up as a total outsider in an all-white family, this YA novel in journal form relays the innermost thoughts, feelings, and adventures of Sammy Cohen, a young Jewish, biracial, non-binary queer kid.

Tribe – From Emmy Award®-winning writer/producer Noam Dromi (Dolphin Tale 1 & 2, The Walking Dead: Red Machete) and Toronto Metropolitan University filmmaking professor and screenwriter Lia Langworthy, this is a scripted TV series inspired by true events about an HBCU in Jim Crow-era Baltimore that sponsors a Jewish professor on the verge of being deported back to Nazi Germany and the relationship he forges with the college’s female African American President as they transform the school and its students.

Untitled Lacey Schwartz Delgado Project – From award-winning writer, director, producer, Lacey Schwartz Delgado (Little White Lie), this project takes a comprehensive look at how the Jewish and Black communities each came to be such iconic American communities and how anti-semitism and racism have intersected in America and beyond.

Miss Flamingo (Working Title) – From Emmy®-nominated producer and creative director Melissa Eccles, this scripted series explores the beginnings of Las Vegas, the Jewish mafia families building an oasis in the desert and the juxtaposition of Jewish life and organized crime under the same roof. All through the lens of her then sixteen year-old grandmother.

Untitled B-Mitzvah Project – From Grammy and Emmy-winning Broadway actor and producer Adam Kantor, and co-produced by Charly Jaffe, this laugh-out-loud podcast features our favorite Jewish celebrities reliving the high-pressure, hotbox of a pubescent dumpster-fire known as their B Mitzvah.

Jews Without Money – From Davy Rothbart, bestselling author, Emmy Award-winning filmmaker, creator of Found Magazine and journalist, this narrative series is sparked by storylines and uniquely indelible figures from Michael Gold’s acclaimed, bestselling 1930 autobiographical novel, which documents life in the tenement ghettos of New York’s Lower East Side, where immigrant Jews landed upon arriving from Eastern Europe.

Fania in the Forest – From award-winning LA-based screenwriter, playwright, and producer Lisa Kenner Grissom, this fictional, limited TV series inspired by true events explores the story of Fania, an outspoken Jewish tomboy with big dreams who narrowly escapes the Vilna ghetto and joins a partisan brigade of male resistance fighters in the surrounding forest. Her commitment to disrupt the Nazi war machine and seek revenge is complicated by her personal mission to find and rescue members of her dispersed family.

Origin Story – From TV, film and stage actor and writer William DeMeritt, this one man play explores the themes of multiculturalism, belonging (or the lack thereof), and grief and loss through the lens of a young(ish) Blewish (Black & Jewish) man growing up in NYC.

Shanda –  From New York Times bestselling author Jillian Lauren this historical crime drama series set in 1919, Buenos Aires, is about a young girl from a Russian shtetl who’ discovers a new life in the Jewish criminal underworld with a network of gangs and corrupt officials trafficking a steady stream of girls, guns, and narcotics through streets equal parts grit and glitter.

Zamosc: A Love Story of Memory and Migration – From Los Angeles-based journalist and professor Daniela Gerson, this book is about Ukrainian Refugees, famly, and romance as Gerson and her partner explore a shared past that went back generations to a Polish town called Zamosc. This reported memoir—part gripping historical narrative, part travelogue investigation— traces the origins of their love story through eight countries, mass and very personal murders, fabricated identities, and transforming social norms.

Heimish: Jewish Wisdom for Happy, Hearty, and Resilient Living – From community builder Lauren Hoffman, this pop-anthropology non-fiction book, with Jewish rituals, traditions and aesthetics will have broad application for designing a happy and meaningful life and community. The book posits that Heimish is the next Hygge: a set of lifestyle and aesthetic choices that account for the unusual resiliency and connectedness of Jewish communities all over the world.