Zack Bornstein
I know him as Uncle Nathan. As my Nana’s stoic, kind-eyed brother-in-law, whose name was sewn into the lining of my Bar Mitzvah suit. But to Colonel Mendel Marshak, the Soviet overseer of defeated Germany, Nathan Freisinger is the only tailor in East Berlin fit to fashion his leather jacket. And the suit maker Stalin […]
Laurel Gans
Natalie knows that time is valuable, and she is determined to not waste a moment. A top efficiency expert, she has helped hundreds of businesses succeed through her time management techniques. She swears that if she had been with the Maccabees, she could have made the oil last for way longer than eight days. Unfortunately, […]
Victoria George
Adina Jacobs, a recently turned 13-year-old biracial teen who would love nothing more than to fade into the distance and forget the utter embarrassment she endured at her Bat Mitzvah, is forced to attend J-Camp, a.k.a. Jewish sleepaway camp, where she comes face to face with her archenemy, all while trying to navigate new friendships, […]
Emil Stern & Sigmund Stern
Brothers Emil and Sigmund Stern, originally from Sydney, Australia, have established themselves as accomplished writers across different media, with both individual achievements and collaborative projects. Emil’s screenwriting credits include the thriller LIFE BEFORE HER EYES (directed by Vadim Perelman, starring Uma Thurman and Evan Rachel Wood), which was based on his Black List script IN BLOOM, and TENDERNESS (directed by John Polson, starring Russell Crowe). Sigmund Stern has built his reputation as a longtime contributor to renowned satirical publications The Onion and McSweeneys. Together, they were co-creators of comedy noir audio series KING OF THE EGG CREAM with Justin Bartha, starring Richard Kind, Michael Stuhlbarg and Melanie Lynskey, among many others. Emil has also written for Tablet, Jewish Review of Books, and the Washington Post.
Arnon Shorr
Arnon is a filmmaker, screenwriter and author of comics and graphic novels. He is known for crafting tales that blend Jewish characters, stories and themes with the tropes of popular and fantastical storytelling. He gained widespread attention with José and the Pirate Captain Toledano, a swashbuckling graphic novel about Jewish pirates in the 16th-century Caribbean, which expanded on his award-winning short film, The Pirate Captain Toledano. Shorr’s creative work frequently delves into Jewish identity, blending action-packed narratives with deep reflections on heritage. His talents have earned him a 2024 Fellowship with the JWI Screenwriters Lab and a 2024-25 Fellowship with the PJ Library Sephardic Stories Initiative. He lives in Massachusetts with his wife, three children, a goofy dog, and the ghost of a dead, grumpy cat.
Jessie Kahnweiler
Jessie’s films have been featured everywhere from the New York Times to
the Cannes Film Festival. Jessie wrote, directed, and starred in ‘The Skinny’, a dark
comedic series based on her 10-year relationship with bulimia. ‘The Skinny’ was
produced by Joey Soloway and Refinery29. It premiered at Sundance and won a
Webby for best series. Jessie also developed ‘Viagra Diaries’ for CW, ‘Bump’ for ABC,
and staffed on ‘Skam AUSTIN’ for Facebook Watch. Fox commissioned Jessie to write
and direct the comedic thriller Retreat which premiered on Hulu in 2020. Jessie’s short
film, ‘He’s The One,’ premiered at Sundance and her series of the same name sold to
Topic Studios. She is an alumnus of the Sundance Labs, Six Points Fellowship, and the
Jewish Writer’s Initiative.
Currently, Jessie is directing a documentary about circumcision for Reboot Studios and
writing the verticals ‘Pregnant by the Boss’ and ‘Royally Screwed’ for Interactive Films.
IG: @jessie_kahnweiler
Iris Bahr
The Guilt Trip is a dramedy about two sisters, Maya and Abby, who are sent to Poland by their ailing grandmother, Chana, to trace her journey from the Warsaw Ghetto to the camps. Chana hopes this trip will heal the girls’ strained relationship, and perhaps her own wounds as well. Armed with a briefcase and […]
Danielle Berrin
Danielle Berrin works at the intersection of Jewish spirituality and social impact, helping lead development and philanthropic engagement for Or HaLev, a global center for Jewish mindfulness dedicated to personal and collective transformation through contemplative Jewish practice.
An award-winning journalist and storyteller, Danielle spent over a decade as a senior reporter and columnist for the Los Angeles Jewish Journal, where she explored the interplay of Jewish identity, politics and culture. Her writing has appeared in The New York Times, The Atlantic, The Guardian, Yedioth Ahronoth, The Forward, Hadassah Magazine, and the Los Angeles Review of Books, and she has provided commentary on CNN, MSNBC, and major Israeli media outlets.
In 2017, the Los Angeles Press Club named her Journalist of the Year for her groundbreaking reporting on sexual harassment—published a year before the #MeToo movement emerged. She later served as California Jewish Outreach Director for the Bloomberg 2020 presidential campaign and was named one of The Forward’s most influential American Jews.
Danielle is a recipient of the David Twersky Journalism Award. She served as a Global Justice Fellow with American Jewish World Service and currently serves on the committee for the Baruch Link Scholar-in-Residence Program in Los Angeles, a weekend of deep exploration of Hebrew literature and culture.
Most recently, she was a 2023–2024 fellow of the Jewish Writers’ Initiative screenwriting program and is currently in her third year of advanced study to teach Jewish mindfulness meditation.
In 2025, Danielle received a first-place Rockower Award for a personal essay she wrote about naming her first child in honor of murdered Israeli hostage Hersh Goldberg-Polin.
Brett Melnick
Brett Melnick is an award-winning comedy writer, director and producer, currently on the support staff of Hulu/FOX’s King of the Hill reboot.
He began his career in the writers’ room of TBS’s The Last O.G., writing digital shorts for the TBS platform while serving as the show’s writer’s assistant. His additional support staff credits include the first two seasons of FX’s Dave.
Brett’s writing credits include ABC’s 2021 reimagining of The Wonder Years, where he penned the critically acclaimed episode “The Valentine’s Day Dance” in its Peabody Award-winning first season. His feature comedy script Yom Kippur was an official selection of The Black List in 2020.
In the digital space, Brett wrote and created the vertical news desk series What’s Up North with Trevor Tordjman, in partnership with Buzzfeed & Instagram. Most recently, he co-wrote and co-directed the sci-fi audio drama Faraway, starring Xochitl Gomez and Melonie Diaz. The series debuted at #4 on Apple Podcasts’ Sci-Fi charts and earned two 2025 Ambie nominations, including Podcast of the Year.
A graduate of Chapman University’s Dodge College of Film and Media Arts, Brett now teaches specialized TV writing courses at his alma mater part-time.
David Lombroso
David is a Brooklyn-based writer and filmmaker whose work mines the humor and heartbreak at the intersection of identity, inheritance, and assimilation. As a 2023–24 Jewish Writers’ Initiative Fellow, David developed and wrote PERPETUITY, a horror feature that satirizes the insidious spread of antisemitism through the outbreak of a bloodthirsty mind-virus at a summer camp in the Catskills. His debut feature NEXT YEAR IN JERUSALEM is slated for production in early 2026, and his comedy series SHTICK is currently out to streamers.