Short Film & Documentary Production

Short films and documentaries, directed by Jacob Willett.

Character-driven stories and documentary work that go beyond the music video — surreal comedy and queer anti-romance are the specialty, alongside long-form artist documentaries. We also produce for other creatives trying to get their film made — bring us the script.

Short films are where we live right now, with feature-length work already taking shape. Producers and investors interested in our upcoming feature work are always welcome to reach out.

SHORT FILM | QUEER ANTI-ROMANCE

Our Place

Jacob Willett's first SDSU project, made in his first semester of SDSU's film program. He pitched and developed the idea, then brought in writers Amanda Harper and Wren Jordan before directing. A devious romance emerges in the midst of a tragic breakup — a queer anti-romance starring Jordan Davenport, Angel Huerta, and Lucien Escarguel, inspired by John Waters and Divine's "Female Trouble." Winner, Best Original Song at the San Diego Short Film Festival's Q3 showcase. Scored with a fully custom-composed piece for live brass, organ, piano, and clarinet — the lead actress came into the studio to record vocals over it.

COMEDY SHORT FILM

Hang-Ups

Everybody has their hang ups. Anticipating a date at his overly messy apartment, a man frantically cleans and rearranges everything in sight — and unravels when his date doesn't show by 7:00, in a montage cut entirely to John Waters and Divine's "Female Trouble." A companion piece to DEFICIT, shot the same scrappy way: Willett writing, directing, and starring, Zendejas as DP, editor, and colorist, all on a budget under $200 — together, the two shorts are what got Jacob into SDSU's film production program.

SHORT FILM | SURREAL COMEDY

DEFICIT

Late-night bus-stop surrealism: while waiting for the last bus of the night, an eccentric, socially awkward server tries to make conversation with the mysterious suited man beside him — and things get increasingly bizarre in this deadpan surreal comedy, set to a custom-composed score performed by real session musicians. Written, directed, and starring Jacob Willett on a budget under $200, with Gabe Zendejas behind the camera as DP, editor, and colorist. DEFICIT and its companion short, Hang-Ups, are the two student films that got Jacob into SDSU's film production program.

SHORT FILM | SURREAL COMEDY

86'd

A fine-dining chef cashes in on his bad luck — a silent, surreal comedy about ambition and consequence, directed by Jacob Willett and starring musicians Riston Diggs as the chef and Primo Dirty as the thief. Told without dialogue and scored entirely with Riston Diggs' own music from his EP "People of The World," alternating between the lyrical and instrumental versions of "Nothing to Prove," "Soldier," and "Signs of Time." Shot one week before "Stuck in the Desert."

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DOCUMENTARY

Black Star Polo Bene-Fest: Year 4

A short documentary about the Black Star Polo Bene-Fest, raising funds to help prevent drowning-related deaths in African and African-American communities and featuring multiple San Diego Music Award-winning artists. It's also where Jacob Willett first met The Gravities and many of the artists JWMedia still works with today.

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DOCUMENTARY

A Warrior's Love of Flowers

A documentary capturing Fish and the Washroom Acoustics as they create their first album — five years in the making — shot against the backdrop of Atlanta's surf-rock scene. The band broke up during filming, turning a portrait of promise into a meditation on music, friendship, and the space in between.

DOCUMENTARY

Fasting for Faith

A short documentary about Ramadan, made in partnership with the Islamic Center of San Diego — one of Jacob's earliest projects, made to help earn his spot in SDSU's film production program.

Have a story worth telling?

Whether it's a short film or a full documentary, let's talk about what it takes to make it.

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