Press

Finding North to have its world premiere at 2012 Sundance Film Festival
—Indiewire

“Sundance 2012: Thinking Big,” Sundance Programmer David Courier highlights 5 hot docs
—RealScreen

Will Sundance 2012 Docs Influence Debate on Poverty, Hunger, Economic Inequality?
—Indiewire

2012 Sundance Docs in Focus: FINDING NORTH

Finding North: A Documentary With a Great Message Makes It to Sundance
—DeSantis Breindel

America’s struggling economy commands center stage in the lineup for the 2012 Sundance Film Festival announced Wednesday.
—USA Today

Documentary Filmmakers at the 2012 Festival Explore the Deterioration of the American Dream
—Sundance Film Festival

100% on Rotten Tomatoes
            
 “A first-rate portrait…a rare exception… Cheers to Ms. Jacobson for keeping alive the memory of New York nightlife’s golden era, and a man who embodied it.”  
—NY Times review
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“You see Toots, and you wish you had been there…A fascinating documentary.”
—Chicago Sun Times review by Roger Ebert

“A Pal to Stars, Mobsters and Other Crumb Bums”
—NY Times feature, by Jody Rosen
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“Toots Shor’s Sweet Sanctuary”
—The Wall Street Journal, by Allen Barra
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“A stick-to-the-ribs tribute… meticulously researched, full-course meal from granddaughter Kristi Jacobson…”
—Variety review by Eddie Cockrell

“Marvelous…Jacobson revives not just Toots, but what he stood for.. It’s a cinematic happy hour.”
—“Critics’ Pick”, New York Magazine
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“Jacobson’s nonfiction form also seems harmoniously entwined with her content… The film sidesteps easy idolization for something more endearing: a multifaceted character study that recognizes that success and failure are often byproducts of the very same impulses.”
—Slant Magazine

“Toasting Toots: a new film celebrates a sports bar where real athletes hung”
—Sports Illustrated
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“Director Kristi Jacobson, Shor’s granddaughter, crafts a gin-soaked valentine to the era, aptly described by one interlocutor as “a simpler time—not a more innocent time.”
—“Critics’ Picks,” Time Out NY Review

‘Toots’: The man who knew every celebrity in America”
—LA Times review by Patrick Goldstein

“Glorious…An evocative portrait of a vanished era…Jacobson’s portrait, while loving, does not shy away from dealing with the darker aspects of her subject’s life…”
—Hollywood Reporter Review, by Frank Scheck
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“Where Everybody knows your Name”
—NY SUN Review

“Jacobson’s camera seems to understand Toots better than he ever understood himself.”
—Gael Greene, The Insatiable Critic

“A deeply human, surprisingly heartbreaking look at a long and bitter ongoing strike.”
—Kenneth Turan, LA Times

“A powerful work.”
—Nicole Keeter, Time Out New York

“A stirring labor chronicle.”
—Anthony Kaufman, Village Voice

“’American Standoff’ has enough heroic risk and complex political
undercurrents for an epic novel…”
—Noel Holston, New York Newsday
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“…one of the best-received films at the 2002 Sundance Film Festival.”
—Movieline

“…packs an emotional wallop, dwelling effectively on the pain and confusion of strike organizers as they run out of options… an amazingly coherent report.”
—Variety

“Director Kristi Jacobson has crafted a compelling and informative look at the modern labor union…the film is a raw and brutally honest look at the state of unions today. A remarkable tale of resilience and passion.”
—Film Threat

“A captivating film… Jacobson’s not content to merely toss about pat slogans and instead gives you the opportunity to meet and connect with the people caught in the trenches… Jacobson proves that cinema can still be a relevant tool for social activism and her film’s success is largely steeped in the very palpable humanism she exudes.”
—CinemaSpeak

“Eye-opening…  Archival footage and superb fly-on-the-wall camera work vividly highlight the workers’ dilemma and the uphill battles unions face today.”
—The Independent

“It’s a poignant story about working class Americans, real people who have made deep sacrifices for a cause. With the film in the Sundance Documentary Competition, Jacobson is poised to be an important voice in the non-fiction arena.”
—IFC-TV

“Thank God for HBO, the network dedicated to showcasing great documentary features like this heart-wrenching story of a union strike against the Overnite Transportation company.  Produced by Oscar-winner Barbara Kopple and directed by Kristi Jacobson, the trust and access to these people’s lives makes for a powerful David vs. Goliath struggle.”
—Dennis Dermody, Paper

“May be the most thoughtful, thought provoking docudramatic series PBS has brought us since the Loud family’s sunny California Shakespearian saga An American Family aired three decades ago.”
—The Atlanta Journal-Constitution

“In many ways, Colonial House is the best reality series yet in the PBS line. The program, filmed last year on the Maine coast, looks gorgeous and should boost tourism. The narration supplies fascinating nuggets about the past as a counterpoint to what’s unfolding on the screen.”
—Sentinel Communications

“Painstakingly researched, beautifully photographed, and it effectively debunks myths about the colonists as a bunch of dour, buckle-shoed squares.”
—Slate

“The Colonial House has been assembled as something of an epic but it’s never dull and it is beautiful to look at, photographed with an eye for detail and composition and colour that rivals feature film, and imbues the series with a double air of reality and of mystery appropriate to the subject and the setting.”
—The Times Mirror, Los Angeles

“Colonial House is one of those true stories that couldn’t be scripted, because it’s too crowded with strange conflicts, strong characters, plot twists and surprises.”
The Sunday Oregonian.

“Every reality TV producer in Hollywood is looking for a hot concept that can be spun off into endless variations, a la the Survivor franchise. PBS has one better, showcasing a whole genre of reality television based on a boundless source of drama and history.”
—VV Publishing

“A mesmerizing, fish out of water drama.”
—Bangor Daily News