Elliot Jokelson tells a mean story, whether it’s in music videos or answering prying questions. The 33-year-old, Philly-born director crafts stories that are as rich and varied in style as they are in narrative. From the comic puppet campfire songs in the best festival promo we’ve ever seen for Outside Lands to a multi-media fable for Pinback, “Fortress”, or his epic sculptural live action/CG encounter, “Dreams” for TV On The Radio, Jokelson draws on a vastly varied technical arsenal to deliver endearing, engaging tales.

How old were you when you started making films?
My high school art teacher had been a navigator on a nuclear submarine during the ’60s. When he was discharged, he convinced the Navy to donate a half dozen Bolex cameras and a couple of hundred Navy instructional films to my high school. The films ranged from “Surviving On The Open Sea” to “Thermo-Nuclear Warfare”. Our first assignment was to cut together a narrative from the donated footage. My film “Is It Hot In Here Or What?” was about a couple of jovial chaps navigating through the apocalypse in their mini-sub.

Craft seems to play a huge part in your work: can you explain where that drive for handmade creativity comes from?
My middle and high school art teacher Randy Granger was a huge influence. He was a craftsman’s craftsman. By his mid-fifties he had mastered the arts of calligraphy, wood block printing, color photography, watercolor painting, illustration, wood joinery and figurative sculpture. In addition to all this he could work leather, smith metal and engrave glass.

Do you think advertising can become a personal expression for a director?
Of course! Some of the finest examples of modern avant garde filmmaking can be found in commercials, web virals, and interactive websites. Advertising exists at an intersection of art and commerce, and because of this commercial directors, more than anyone else, are forced to work under creative constraints. What could possibly be more creative than transcending constraints?

How did you celebrate your most recent birthday?
For my Larry Bird birthday I ate mushrooms with some friends and ran through the woods.  I was wandering around and came across a bunch of medieval role players in the middle of a battle. I held my hands to the sky and offered these soldiers the word “Peace” and they ate from my hands. Q
 
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