Fiction, Screenwriting
Services:
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Bio
Jacob Potashnik has spent the last 40 years as a producer and line-producer of documentaries, television series, commercials, web content, and films of every genre. In 2019, Jacob co-produced the feature documentary Berlin Escape Artists, line-produced the Radio Canada documentary, Vue de l’Hôtel, and co-produced Pink Lake, a feature film screened at international festivals in Vancouver, Hamilton and Durban. Jacob won the WGC award for the best screenplay for Stardom, co-written and directed by Denys Arcand. He is the author of The Golem of Hampstead, and Other Stories, a collection shortlisted for the 2017 Concordia University First Book Prize.
Jacob has served as an external evaluator and jurist for Telefilm and SODEC.
Recently, Jacob has been mentoring emerging talent through Black-on-Black Films, Black Screen Office, and the Quebec Writers’ Federation.
Services Offered
Script consultant, script doctor, script editing, production and funding strategies, coaching with an emphasis on dramatic structure, character- building, and dialogue.
If you are stuck in your second act, or facing beginner’s anxiety about starting or have been unable to solve a tricky script problem, if you are questioning the validity of your premise, uncertain about how to resolve your drama, or if your drama isn’t dramatic, your crime story is criminally dull or your comedy isn’t funny, I can probably help.
Editing of novels prior to publishing. Ghostwriting.
Special Interests
Screenplays for all media, all genres and lengths.
Testimonial
I have been working with Jacob ever since—either formally, as a hired script consultant, or informally, in phone conversations and email exchanges. I rarely embark on a screenplay without first checking in with Jacob. He’s smart, and he has good ideas. Endless ideas. Jacob knows books, and he knows movies, and he knows people. And he writes beautifully. I’ve read
his screenplays and short stories and they’re great.
Beyond his exceptional talent as a writer, Jacob is a remarkable human being. He is smart, soulful, and profoundly caring and generous. His sense of humor is delicious. Working with him has not only enhanced my writing but also enriched my life.
I wholeheartedly endorse Jacob Potashnik for any endeavor involving writing and storytelling. He is a wonderful asset to the literary and cinematic community in Montreal, and I remain deeply grateful for our enduring collaboration.
I worked with him elbow to elbow for two years (he was editing one of my books) during which he turned five hundred pages of ordinary text into a sparkling, stylish and inspiring oeuvre full of moving, gripping passages.
He achieved this because he is well-read and has a masterfully profound knowledge of the English language, not to mention a soul full of rich feelings.
His sense of humour and theatrical background as a film-maker who has traveled widely help him to “visualize” what he is writing, thus enriching greatly his ability to describe.
