Biography

B.A. Temple University

M.F.A. Temple University

Jonathan Olshefski is an artist and documentary filmmaker.

His feature documentary Without Arrows premiered at the Big Sky Documentary Festival in 2024 and won a special jury award at the RiverRun Internation Film Festival. It will broadcast on PBS as part of the Independent Lens documentary series.

His debut feature documentary QUEST was nominated for two News and Documentary Emmys. The film premiered in competition at the 2017 Sundance Film Festival and went on to screen at over 75 festivals across the world prior to broadcast on the PBS series American Documentary | POV and BBC Storyville. He was named as one of 25 New Faces in Independent Film by Filmmaker Magazine and mentioned in the New York Times as one of “The 9 New Directors You Need to Watch.” In 2018 he received the “Truer Than Fiction Award” at the Independent Spirit Awards and was selected for a Pew Artist Fellowship.

Olshefski strives to tell intimate and nuanced stories that honor his protagonists’ complexity by employing a production process that emphasizes collaboration, dialogue, and relationship in order to amplify their voices and reflect their points of view in an artful way. He teaches New Media at Rowan and serves as the New Media Minor coordinator.

Research Interests

New Media, Documentary Filmmaking, Photography

Professional Activity

Without Arrows ©2024, Documentary Film, 92 minutes

QUEST ©2017, Documentary Film, 104 minutes

QUEST: Portraits of an American Family ©2016, Photography Exhibition

Depaul USA: We Believe in You ©2015, Documentary Film, 5 minutes

After the Sound: PJ’s Story ©2014, Documentary Film, 24 minutes

Punk Rock Mommy ©2014, Photography/Transmedia Exhibition, Interactive Website, Animation Installation

Closer: A Journey with Charles ©2012, Interactive Video Installation