Jeremy Kagan

Jeremy Paul Kagan (born December 14, 1945) is an American film and television director, screenwriter, and television producer.

Early life Kagan, the son of a rabbi, was born into a Jewish family in Mount Vernon, New York. He received his B.A. from Harvard University in 1967. He went on to attend the newly formed New York University Graduate Institute of Film & Television and was in the first class at the AFI Conservatory.

Film and television career Kagan's feature film credits include the box-office hit Heroes (1977); The Big Fix (1978), a political comedy-thriller starring Richard Dreyfuss;

He has also been a prolific television director, starting already in 1972 at the age of 26, directing "The Most Crucial Game", an episode in the second Columbo

Kagan produced and directed the ten-part series The ACLU Freedom Files in 2006 and 2007 which received a number of awards and was shown on Link TV, Court TV and PBS. Kagan has made a number of short documentaries and advocacy dramatic films for NGOs including The Doe Fund which works with the homeless and formerly incarcerated, and The Democracy School a movement developing local governance, and Bioneers which advances achievements in environmental and social justice.

Other ventures Kagan is a full tenured professor at the University of Southern California where he teaches the graduate courses in directing and has recently created the Center for Change Making Media which is a hub for research and training in advocacy cinematic genres. His production company ACTransformative Media has made numerous shorts including three for VaccinateLA.

He has served as artistic director at the Robert Redford's Sundance Institute and is on a National Board Member of the Directors Guild of America and chairperson of its Special Projects Committee which provides cultural and educational programs for the 19,000 members. In 2004 he was honored with the Robert Aldrich Award for "extraordinary service to the guild."

In his capacity with the Directors Guild of America, Kagan also moderates the group's annual roundtable discussion featuring that year's five nominees for Outstanding Directing – Feature Film.

Kagan is also the author of three books Directors Close Up and a "living" eTextbook Keys to Directing.

Personal life Kagan was previously married to Elaine Goren in 1974. His daughter from that marriage, Eve Kagan, is an actress and licensed professional counselor; she holds an Ed.M. from Harvard Graduate School of Education and an M.A. from Northwestern University.

Kagan's wife, Anneke Campbell, is a Dutch-born author, editor, and filmmaker. She co-wrote the script for his film Shot and co-produced the series The ACLU Freedom Files.

Filmography Film Year TitleDirectorWriterProducer 1972 The Love Song of Charles Farberman 1977 Scott Joplin Heroes 1978 The Big Fix 1981 The Chosen 1983 The Sting II 1985 The Journey of Natty Gann 1989 Big Man on Campus 1991 By the Sword 2007 Golda's Balcony 2017 Shot Television

Awards and nominations