Jamie Kastner is a renowned Toronto-based filmmaker and writer, whose work has garnered international recognition and acclaim. His most recent feature documentary, The Skyjacker's Tale, premiered at the Toronto International Film Festival (TIFF) in 2016, and has since been broadcast on Netflix, Super Channel, Canal D, and ZDF/Arte. The film has also been distributed by Strand Releasing in the United States and C7 INTL internationally.
Kastner's previous documentary, The Secret Disco Revolution, premiered at TIFF in 2012 and went on to play at festivals worldwide. The film was pre-sold to Bravo!, ZDF/Arte, Canal D, and Knowledge, and is distributed by Entertainment One.
Recessionize! For Fun And Profit!, a sold-out hit at Hot Docs in 2011, was commissioned by TVO and has been sold internationally to several countries, including the Netherlands, Belgium, and Israel.
Kastner's first feature-length documentary, Kike Like Me, premiered as a Special Presentation at Hot Docs, where it became the top-selling and most talked-about film of the festival. The documentary went on to screen and win awards at various international festivals, including the Audience Award at the Munich Dokfest.
In addition to his work through Cave 7 Productions, Kastner has also written and directed Strange Tales of the Flesh (Barna Alper) for Discovery, for which he also composed and performed satirical songs.
Kastner has directed episodes of the top-rated History TV/Global series Ancestors in the Attic (Primitive Entertainment) and co-written Comedy Gold (Insight Productions),a three-hour documentary on the history of comedy for CBC.
Before transitioning to full-length documentaries, Kastner hosted and produced kastnerkulture for three seasons on CBC-Newsworld's play. He also produced and directed current affairs and cultural programs at CBC, TVO, and MuchMusic, including Undercurrents, Studio 2, Big Life with Daniel Richler, and On The Arts with Laurie Brown.
Kastner was co-host and producer of Mr. Jones, a live pop culture program on TVO, and has followed in his family's footsteps by working on two black-comic CBC documentaries directed by his uncle, John Kastner: Chickens are People Too and Somebody's Gotta Do It.
As a writer, Kastner's work has appeared in The Guardian, Globe and Mail, National Post, Toronto Star, Toronto Sun, NOW, eye, and Saturday Night magazines. He has also written and directed theatre productions.
