Andrew Jarecki (born March 24, 1963) is an American filmmaker, musician, and entrepreneur. He is best known for the Emmy-winning documentary series The Jinx. He is also known for the documentary films Capturing the Friedmans (2003) and The Alabama Solution (2025), both winners and nominees at several festivals and awards ceremonies, earning both of them an Academy Award for Best Documentary Feature Film nomination.

Career

Jarecki graduated from Princeton University in 1985. He is the co-founder and CEO of Moviefone, which provides film schedules over the Internet and telephone and was sold to AOL in 1999. With producer J. J. Abrams, Jarecki co-wrote the theme song to Felicity, "New Version of You", in 2000.

Jarecki's 2003 documentary about a family, Capturing the Friedmans, his first feature, began as an offshoot from a short film he was making about birthday party clowns, which was titled Just a Clown and released in 2004. It earned him his first Academy Awards nomination for Best Documentary and recognition by the National Board of Review Award for Best Documentary Film.

Jarecki went on to direct the narrative feature All Good Things starring Ryan Gosling, Kirsten Dunst, and Frank Langella. The film, inspired by the life of millionaire Robert Durst and the unsolved disappearance of his wife Kathie, was released in 2010.

Along with filmmaking partner Marc Smerling, Jarecki also produced the 2010 documentary film Catfish, and co-produced and directed the documentary series The Jinx, which aired on HBO in 2015. Jarecki plays the drums and sings backing vocals on Bikini Robot Army's single "Joe Strummer's House".

Jarecki directed the 2018 Netflix comedy series Bumping Mics with Jeff Ross & Dave Attell.

In 2025 he produced, directed and write the documentary The Alabama Solution about the prison system in Alabama, being praised by critics and being nominated at the Academy Award for Best Documentary Feature Film.

Personal life

Jarecki is the son of financier-philanthropist Henry Jarecki, the brother of documentary filmmaker Eugene Jarecki, finance executive Thomas A. Jarecki, and the half-brother of filmmaker Nicholas Jarecki.

Jarecki lives in New York City with his wife, Nancy Jarecki, and their three children.

Filmography

{| class="wikitable"

! rowspan="2" width="33"|Year

! rowspan="2"|Film or TV series

! colspan="4"|Credited as

! rowspan="2"|Note

|-

! width=65 | Director

! width=65 | Producer

! width=65 | Writer

! width=65 | Composer

|-

| 2000

| Felicity

|

|

|

|

| TV series - theme music composer

|-

| 2003

| Capturing the Friedmans

|

|

|

|

| Documentary feature

|-

| 2004

| Just a Clown

|

|

|

|

| Documentary short

|-

| 2010

| All Good Things

|

|

|

|

| Narrative feature

|-

| 2010

| Catfish

|

|

|

|

| Documentary feature

|-

| 2013

| Catfish: The TV Show

|

|

|

|

| Executive producer, episode: "Derek & Kristen"

|-

| 2015–24

| The Jinx

|

|

|

|

| HBO documentary miniseries

|-

|2018

|Bumping Mics with Jeff Ross & Dave Attell

|

|

|

|

|Netflix three-part series

|-

| 2025

| The Alabama Solution

|

|

|

|

| Documentary feature

|}

Accolades

Academy Awards

{| class=wikitable

|-

! scope="col" style="width:5em;" | Year

! scope="col" style="width:26em;"| Category

! scope="col" style="width:25em;"| Work

! scope="col" style="width:5em;" | Result

! Ref.

|-

!scope="row" |2004

|rowspan="2"|Best Documentary Feature Film

|Capturing the Friedmans

|

|

|-

!scope="row" |2026

|The Alabama Solution

|

|

|}

Emmy Awards

{| class=wikitable

|-

! scope="col" style="width:5em;" | Year

! scope="col" style="width:26em;"| Category

! scope="col" style="width:25em;"| Work

! scope="col" style="width:5em;" | Result

! Ref.

|-

!colspan=5| Primetime Emmy Awards

|-

!scope="row" rowspan="2"|2015

|Outstanding Documentary or Nonfiction Series

|rowspan="2"|The Jinx: The Life and Deaths of Robert Durst

|

|rowspan="2"|

|-

|Outstanding Directing for a Documentary/Nonfiction Program

|

|-

!scope="row" rowspan="2"|2024

|Outstanding Documentary or Nonfiction Series

|rowspan="2"|The Jinx: Part Two

|

|rowspan="2"|

|-

|Outstanding Writing for a Nonfiction Programming

|

|-

|}

Other awards and nominations

{| class="wikitable sortable plainrowheaders"

|-

! scope="col" | Award

! scope="col" | Year

! scope="col" | Category

! scope="col" | Work(s)

! scope="col" | Result

! scope="col" class="unsortable"|

|-

! scope="row"|Critics' Choice Documentary Awards

|2025

| Best Director

| The Alabama Solution

|

|

|-

! scope="row"|Directors Guild of America Awards

|2003

| Outstanding Directing for a Documentary

| Capturing the Freidmans

|

|

|-

! scope="row" |International Documentary Association

|2025

| Best Production

|The Alabama Solution

|

|

|-

! scope="row"|Los Angeles Film Critics Association

|2003

| Best Documentary Film

| Capturing the Freidmans

|

|

|-

! scope="row" rowspan=2|National Board of Review

| rowspan=2|2003

| Top Five Documentaries

| Capturing the Freidmans

|

| rowspan=2|

|-

|Freedom of Expression Award

| Himself

|

|-

! scope="row" |New York Film Critics Circle Awards

|2003

| Best Non-Fiction Film

| Capturing the Freidmans

|

|

|-

! scope="row" rowspan="2"|Producers Guild of America Award

| 2016

| Outstanding Producer of Non-Fiction Television

| The Jinx: The Life and Deaths of Robert Durst

|

|

|-

| 2026

| Best Documentary

| The Alabama Solution

|

|

|-

! scope="row" |Satellite Awards

|2026

|Best Documentary Film

|The Alabama Solution

|

|

|-

! scope="row"|Seattle Film Critics Society

|2025

| Best Documentary Feature

| The Alabama Solution

|

|

|-

! scope="row" |Sundance Film Festival

| 2003

| Grand Jury Prize

| Capturing the Friedmans

|

|

|-

! scope="row" |TCA Awards

| 2015

| Outstanding Achievement in Movies, Miniseries and Specials

| The Jinx

|

|

|-

|}

References

  • An interview with Jarecki
  • British Film Institute interview
  • NPR interview