Jesse Elias Shamata is a versatile, International Emmy nominated, CSA-winning director/writer with a unique vision of seamlessly working between the worlds of film and TV. He is currently developing the scripted, single-camera comedy series Feltworth starring Jason Schwartzman, the gothic sci-fi thriller, The Woods, and directed on the upcoming series, I Woke Up A Vampire for Netflix.
Jesse’s most recent short film, the DGC Award-nominated, A Simple F*cking Gesture, described by Directors Notes as “a hilarious takedown of white middle-class entitlement”, and FilmThreat called "…anthropologically informative, troubling, and most importantly, superb”, will continue its international festival run into 2022 and have its broadcast premieres on HBO and CBC. His previous short film Break A Leg, premiered at New York's MoMA and Lincoln Center for the prestigious New Directors/New Films, and has screened at festivals internationally including Palm Springs, Milan, Vancouver, Toronto, London, and JFL. IndieWire praised Jesse’s writing and direction stating, “he deserves kudos for manipulating the audience so shrewdly from the start, and then rewarding us with an unexpected payoff.”
Jesse’s diverse work in television includes creating and show-running the genre-bending kid’s comedy series Gaming Show (In My Parents Garage) for Family Channel and DisneyXD, co-creating CBC’s scripted adventure/gaming series Game Savers, directing CBC’s Long Story Short starring Martin Short, DisneyXD’s The Grizzly Cup (which garnered him a Canadian Screen Award nomination for directing), Tom Saunders (Larry Sanders, Arrested Development) series Raising Expectations, and writing and directing the single-camera comedy Bajillionaires for Universal Kids
With a gift for working collaboratively with high-profile actors, athletes, and well-known personalities, Jesse produced CBC's late-night George Stroumboulopoulos Tonight (The Hour), where he co-wrote, directed hundreds of comedy shorts featuring actors, athletes, and musicians including Morgan Freeman, Foo Fighters, Snoop Dogg, Alan Alda, Ted Danson, David Cross and many more. Jesse was instrumental in the show’s several award nominations and wins.
In addition to TV and film, Jesse is an accomplished commercial director, where his knack for working with celebrities and athletes has garnered attention, including campaigns for Cadbury featuring NHL star Alexander Ovechkin, and for Ford featuring NFL quarterback Aaron Rodgers. His commercial projects have appeared in Creativity’s Top 20, BestAdsOnTV, Shots, and more.
Jesse is an alumnus of Queen’s University Film program, the Berlinale Talents, a member of the DGC & WGC, and a holder of US O1 Visa.