Jon Reiss

Jon Reiss is a critically acclaimed filmmaker, author and media strategist who has produced and directed four feature films, including most recently Bomb It 2, the follow-up to the acclaimed documentary Bomb It about graffiti and the battle over visual public space throughout the world. His experience releasing Bomb It with a hybrid strategy was the inspiration for writing Think Outside the Box Office: The Ultimate Guide to Film Distribution in the Digital Era, the first step-by-step guide for filmmakers to distribute and market their films. Jon has worked with numerous filmmakers, companies and organizations that are looking to connect with audiences and distribute their work in the digital landscape. He has worked with and consulted for Paramount Pictures, Screen Australia, Film Independent, Creative Scotland, The South Australian Film Corporation and numerous film schools and festivals. Jon was the Senior Lab Leader at the IFP Filmmaker Labs for ten years from 2010-2019. Reiss also contributes to Filmmaker Magazine, Huffington Post, Indiewire, Screen Daily, Moviemaker Magazine and other publications. He also co-wrote Selling Your Film Without Selling Your Soul. Prior to Bomb It, Reiss produced and directed the documentary feature film was Better Living Through Circuitry, featuring Crystal Method, Roni Size, and Moby, among others. The film played at such festivals as RESfest, Rotterdam, Sao Paulo, Copenhagen, Los Angeles Independent, Seattle, Vancouver, and Sheffield International Doc Festival before being released theatrically in the United States and on Showtime. Reiss' first film, Cleopatra's Second Husband, is a dark psychological drama, which screened at the Los Angeles Independent, Seattle, Montreal World, Hamptons, Houston, Sao Paulo and Bangkok film festivals. The movie won Best First Feature at Cinequest before being released theatrically in the United States and on IFC An award-winning music video director, Reiss has directed videos for Nine Inch Nails, The Black Crowes, Danzig, Slayer, and the Kottonmouth Kings. Reiss' "Happiness in Slavery" video for Nine Inch Nails received awards at the Chicago and San Francisco film festivals and was voted Top Ten by the Village Voice Critics Poll for Best Music Video. In 1995 the Toronto Film Festival curated a retrospective of Reiss' music videos. Jon's shorts have screened at festivals throughout the world, including Sundance, Berlin, New Directors/New Films, Edinburgh, and Chicago. Reiss received his MFA from the UCLA Film School. Reiss received his MFA from the UCLA Film School and teaches in the Film Directing Program at the California Institute for the Arts. He guest lectures at universities around the world including UCLA, USC, NYU, Tisch Singapore, AFTRS in Sydney and Melbourne, among others. Jon Reiss got his start in filmmaking and distribution at the infamous San Francisco documentary collective Target Video. Reiss not only shot seminal bands such as Black Flag, Iggy Pop, Throbbing Gristle, The Cramps, TSOL but was one of the first - if not the first person to conceptualize and execute video tours throughout Europe, carting 500 lbs of video deck and projector in a VW Bus across 15,000 miles.