JJ Goldberger

About

JJ Goldberger is a graduate of the American Film Institute in Los Angeles. Before attending AFI, JJ attended Sarah Lawrence College, where she studied dance and choreography and spent twelve years in New York as a professional dancer and choreographer. As an AFI graduate student, JJ made eight short films, and her thesis script won AFI's Martin Ritt Award, a $10,000 production grant. She was also the only African American recipient of AFI’s 2003 Women in Film Scholarship.  JJ's independent short film, Stone Mansion, was one of Showtime’s 2004 Black Filmmakers Short Film Showcase winners and was licensed to the network, airing in February 2004 in honor of Black History Month. JJ's AFI thesis film was also sold in 2004 to HBO and is currently in rotation. Stone Mansion was sold to American Public Television (PBS) in 2005 and is currently airing in 45 US markets. Both films have screened in over fifty national and international festivals.   JJ is a recent recipient of a Paul Robeson Fund for Independent Media Grant to develop a feature-length documentary on a landmark racial discrimination case. She is also currently part of the production staff of Damon Wayons’ new Showtime comedy sketch series, “The Underground.”  She lives in Los Angeles with her husband, Joe, a master drummer and film music composer.