Jesse Elias Shamata is a versatile, International Emmy nominated, CSA-winning director/writer whose work spans film, tv, and commercials. Jesse’s original short films have been praised by IndieWire, Film Threat, and Director’s Notes, and have had successful international festival runs and premieres at the MoMA and Lincoln Center for New Directors/New Films, and broadcast débuts on HBO and CBC. His diverse work in television includes directing I Woke Up A Vampire (Netflix), creating and show-running Gaming Show In My Parents Garage (DisneyXD), directing CBC’s Long Story Short starring Martin Short, writing and directing the single-camera comedy Bajillionaires (NBCU) and directing Tom Saunders (Larry Sanders, Arrested Development) series Raising Expectations. He also served as Comedy Producer for George Stroumboulopoulos Tonight (The Hour), where he co-wrote, directed, and edited hundreds of comedy shorts featuring actors, athletes and musicians including Morgan Freeman, Juliette Lewis, Foo Fighters, Snoop Dogg, Alan Alda, David Cross and many more. He is currently developing the scripted comedy series Feltworth starring Jason Schwartzman and Sam vs The Machine starring Sam Bee. 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, BestAds On TV, Shots, and more.
Jesse is an alumnus of Queen's University Film program, the Berlinale Talents, and a member of the DGC & WGC