Jack Silberman

Jack Silberman has a BA from Middlebury College, studied documentary film production at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (in a program run by Ricky Leacock, the great cinema verite pioneer), and earned a Master’s degree from Harvard University (1985).

He has been producing, directing, and writing films for more than 3 decades and has extensive international experience, having worked on location in more than 20 countries around the world.

He has produced, directed, and/or written more than 45 documentaries for Canadian, American (PBS), British (Channel 4), French (ARTE) and Japanese (NHK) television networks, as well as for National Geographic, Discovery Channel, the National Film Board of Canada, United Nations agencies, and others.

His documentary films have won more than 60 awards and have been distributed around the world.

He was the producer and writer of a dramatic tv series for children and produced a feature-length animated version of The Jungle Book which was licensed to HBO Kids.

He is also on the faculty of the School of Motion Picture Arts at Capilano University in North Vancouver, British Columbia.

• Phoolan: feature-length documentary about Phoolan Devi, India’s infamous Bandit Queen.
  (Producer). 2018
• Primates of The Caribbean: one-hour documentary about the monkeys living on a tiny island in Puerto Rico and the scientists studying them to reveal the roots of our own human behaviour. Pre-licensed by ARTE
  (Producer, Co-Writer). 2013.
• The Graduates: one-hour documentary about the history of higher education in British Columbia. Produced for Knowledge Network. (Producer/Director). 2008.
• In Search of Nirvana: one-hour documentary about Buddhist meditation. Filmed in Sri Lanka and Burma.
  (Producer). 2008.
• Raised To Be Heroes: one-hour documentary about selective conscientious objectors in the Israeli army. Produced for the National Film Board of Canada. Licensed to CBC – Passionate Eye.
  (Director, Writer). 2006.
• Polio Hunters: one-hour documentary about the effort to eradicate polio in India. Produced for Canadian tv networks, Rogers Documentary Fund, and the Canadian International Development Agency.
  (Producer,Director,Writer). 2006.
• The Vanishing Tattoo: one-hour documentary about the disappearing tattoo traditions of the Iban people of Borneo. Produced for the Aboriginal People’s Television Network and National Geographic.
  (Producer, Director). 2003.
• Bombies: one hour documentary about the U.S. secret war in Laos and its legacy of unexploded cluster bombs. Produced for ITVS (PBS), Canadian television networks, CIDA, The Rogers Documentary Fund, and the MacArthur Foundation. Broadcast on PBS and winner of first place awards at 10 international film festivals.
  (Producer, Director, Writer). 2002.
• Champions of The Wild: 3 half-hour films about sharks, orangutans, and dolphins and the wildlife biologists who are working to protect them. Produced for the Discovery Channel Canada and the National Film Board of Canada.
  (Director of 3 half-hours). 1997- 98.
• The Adventures of Mowgli: English language version of an animated feature length production of “The Jungle Book”, originally made by Soyuzmiltfilm – Russia’s leading animation studio. Voices by Charlton Heston, Sam Elliott, and Dana Delaney. Licensed to HBO KIds. (Producer). 1996.
• Nature Walk: 10 half-hour episodes of a series about the animals and plants in national parks in Canada, the U.S., and Central America. Produced for the Life Network.
  (Director of 10 half-hour episodes). 1995-97.
• Battle For The Trees: one-hour documentary about the struggle to protect British Columbia’s disappearing rainforest. Produced for the National Film Board of Canada, Channel 4 (U.K.), and Canadian television networks. Winner of 7 awards.
  (Producer). 1994.
• Island of Whales: one-hour documentary about the whales of Vancouver Island. Produced for the National Film Board of Canada, Canadian television networks, and PBS (Nova). Winner of 17 awards, 1992.
• Bowl of Bone: feature-length documentary about the relationship between a troubled young woman and a First Nations healer. Produced for the National Film Board of Canada.
  (Executive Producer). 1992.
• Aga Khan Series: 5 half-hour documentaries about rural development, health, education, culture, and economic development in the developing world. Produced for the Secretariat of His Highness the Aga Khan.
  (Producer, Writer, of 5 half-hour episodes). 1985 – 89.
• First Harvest: one-hour documentary about innovative community development projects in Northern Pakistan. Produced for the Canadian International Development Agency and the Aga Khan Foundation.
  (Producer, Director, Writer). 1987.
• Valleys in Transition: one-hour documentary about rural development in the remote high mountain valleys of northern Pakistan. Produced for the Aga Khan Foundation.
  (Producer/Director/Writer). 1983.
• International Development: 13 documentaries about various aspects of international development, made for UNICEF (Sri Lanka), UNDP, World Food Program, etc.
  (Producer,Director,Writer). 1979 – 83.
• Jataka Tales: half-hour children’s television series based traditional Buddhist folktales.
  (Producer, Screenwriter). 1979 – 82.

Reviews For BOMBIES and RAISED TO BE HEROES

“Just when I thought I was immune to another surge of outrage, I watched BOMBIES, and succumbed to a wrench of emotion that left me tearful and determined to keep on doing whatever I can to counteract the inhumanity characterizing war in this century.”

Wilson (Woody) Powell, National Administrator, US Veterans for Peace

“In a cohesive, well-documented approach, BOMBIES beautifully captures the history and effects of the U.S. carpet bombing in Laos…The fresh material, beautifully filmed, made us want to watch from start to finish again and again.”

Jury Citation, San Francisco International Film Festival

“Informative, vivid and moving, this film challenges us to put aside stereotypes and think more deeply about human dignity and justice.  RAISED TO BE HEROES manages to be both intimately personal and incisively political. Along the way, it transcends any culture or conflict to address fundamental matters of conformity, complicity and conscience.”

Norman Solomon, Executive Director, Institute for Public Accuracy

“This documentary is a powerful, gripping examination of citizen-state obligations in a democracy. RAISED TO BE HEROES is a superb addition to courses concerned with Israel, the Arab-Israeli conflict, ethics, or state-society relations.”

Daniel Lieberfeld, Center for Social and Public Policy, Duquesne University

• BEST OF FESTIVAL, Grand Prize, International Nature Film & Television Festival; Tromso, Norway
• BEST OF FESTIVAL, Northwest Film and Video Festival; Portland, Oregon
• BEST OF FESTIVAL, Atlantic International Film Festival; Halifax, Nova Scotia
• BEST OF FESTIVAL, Yorkton Film Festival; Yorkton, Saskatchewan  (won twice, for both ‘Island of Whales’ and ‘Bombies’)
• BEST OF FESTIVAL, Vermont International Film Festival  (won twice, for both ‘Island of Whales’ and ‘Bombies’)
• BEST OF FESTIVAL, Outdoor Writers Association of America Film Festival; Missoula, Montana
• BEST OF FESTIVAL, Western Psychological Association Film Festival; San Diego, California
• FIRST PLACE, Gemini Award (Canadian ‘Oscar’), Best Documentary, Academy of Canadian Cinema & Television; Toronto, Ontario
• FIRST PLACE, Adult Division, The Japan Prize; Tokyo, Japan
• FIRST PLACE, Golden Gate Award, Best Current Affairs Documentary, San Francisco International Film Festival
• FIRST PLACE, Best Independent Film, International Wildlife Film Festival; Missoula, Montana
• FIRST PLACE, Golden Apple, U.S. National Educational Film & Video Festival; San Francisco, California
• FIRST PLACE, Gold Plaque, Best Social Documentary, Chicago International Television Awards
• FIRST PLACE, Special Prize for Environmental Education, Ökomedia Film Festival; Freiburg, Germany
• FIRST PLACE, EarthVision Environmental Award, Santa Cruz Film Festival; Santa Cruz, California
• FIRST PLACE, Best Nature Film, Houston Film Festival
• FIRST PLACE, Swiss Prize, Basel-Karlsruhe Film Festival; Karlsruhe, Germany
• FIRST PLACE, Gold Plaque, Columbus International Film Festival; Columbus, Ohio
• FIRST PLACE, Golden Sheaf Award, Best Science Film; Yorkton Film Festival
• FIRST PLACE, Golden Sheaf Award, Best Social Issue Film, Yorkton Film Festival
• FIRST PLACE, Best Environmental Film, Vermont International Film Festival
• FIRST PLACE, Best Film on War and Peace, Vermont International Film Festival
• FIRST PLACE, Best Adventure Film, Whistler Film Festival; Whistler, BC, Canada
• AUDIENCE AWARD, Hot Docs Film Festival; Toronto, Ontario
• AUDIENCE AWARD, Amnesty International Film Festival; Vancouver, BC