Jeff Kaufman directed, produced, and wrote the Emmy-nominated American Masters’ documentary “Terrence McNally: Every Act Of Life” (with Angela Lansbury, Meryl Streep, Nathan Lane, Christine Baranski, Billy Porter, and Bryan Cranston), and the Critic’s Choice-nominated “Nasrin” (narrated by Olivia Colman)...
Read MoreJeff Kaufman directed, produced, and wrote the Emmy-nominated American Masters’ documentary “Terrence McNally: Every Act Of Life” (with Angela Lansbury, Meryl Streep, Nathan Lane, Christine Baranski, Billy Porter, and Bryan Cranston), and the Critic’s Choice-nominated “Nasrin” (narrated by Olivia Colman) about Iranian human rights activist Nasrin Sotoudeh. Other documentaries include “The Savoy King: Chick Webb and the Music That Changed America” (with John Legend, Janet Jackson, Billy Crystal, Tyne Daly, and Jeff Goldblum), “The State Of Marriage” (with Rep. John Lewis), “40 Million: The Struggle For Women’s Rights in Iran,” (for Time Magazine), “Father Joseph,” and “Brush With Life,” plus several short films with Amnesty International. He also contributed cartoons to The New Yorker and illustrations to The Los Angeles Times and The New York Times, has written for The Washington Post, CNN International, and Ms. Magazine, edited and designed a book based on "Every Act Of Life,” hosted an Associated Press Award-winning live daily radio talk show in Vermont, and exhibited paintings in several Los Angeles galleries.
He has continued to paint privately while doing other work. For the last few years, many of his paintings have featured a personal version of the Nahuatl (Aztec) rain God Tlaloc. Most recently, this has evolved into a series on the war in Ukraine.
This year he also created and helped launch a global human rights campaign (#FreedomButton) that expresses solidarity with the women’s rights movement in Iran . . . and beyond. It is sponsored by Amnesty International, PEN America, Right Livelihood, Robert F. Kennedy Human Rights, and The Feminist Majority Foundation, (among others).
