Q&A with NYFA Alum Janek Ambros, producer of the Sundance Grand Jury Prize Winner "In The Summers"

NYFA MFA Producing Alum Janek Ambros is a writer, producer, and director based in LA. He is also the founder of the international production company, Assembly Line Entertainment, that has produced numerous films which have premiered at festivals such as Venice Film Festival, Sundance Film Festival,  Toronto International Film Festival (TIFF), DTLA Film Festival, and Shanghai Film Festival.

His latest producing project “In The Summers” won the Grand Jury Award at Sundance for 2023. Jenek spoke to the NYFA Alumni Network about his  career, producing "In the Summers", and his upcoming projects.

NYFA Alumni Network: Can you tell us a bit about yourself, where you're from, and what brought you to New York Film Academy?

J.A: I work as a writer, producer, and director under the umbrella of my company, Assembly Line Entertainment, which I actually founded in 2011 in a "Create Your Own Production Company" class at NYFA. While most of my credits are for producing, including “In the Summers”, I primarily write under development deals and produce the projects. The past few years, I've shifted my focus from producing to writing and directing. 

I'm originally from Albany, New York and, while I was always writing scripts and had the desire to make movies, I studied economics for undergrad. Then for my MFA I decided to come to NYFA because I heard it was more of a "hands on '' approach to learning filmmaking, especially when it came to producing. Producing was something I wanted to learn so that I can produce my own projects and help other filmmakers' projects become a reality.

NYFA AlumnI Network: Tell us more about “In the Summers” & how did you get involved in the project?

J.A: "In the Summers" is a wonderful movie written and directed by Alessandra Lacorazza. The movie focuses on a journey of two sisters who navigate their loving but volatile father during their yearly summer visits to his home in Las Cruces, New Mexico. It spans multiple decades and is a really touching, bold, and poetic piece of art that only Alessandra could make. As a director herself, she's truly someone I admire for doing such a wonderful job with such tough subject matter when it comes to themes of alcoholism, trauma and family dynamics. Alejandro Mejía, the cinematographer, and Adam Dicterow, the editor, really got to show their skills with this, too.

I have a development deal with Exile Content, which is run by my dear friend and brilliant studio head Nando Vila. Nando is incredibly talented at picking the right scripts and was enthusiastic about Alessandra's script, so I began producing the film with them and another company, Lexicon, which is run by Alex Dinelaris and Rob Quadrino. Over the course of nearly two years we just all - as a team - gradually helped Alessandra make her visionary movie and, alas, it got into Sundance then won the Grand Jury Prize. We had an amazing crew, team of producers, and cast. I'm just lucky and grateful to be a part of it.

"In the Summers" Sundance premiere

NYFA Alumni Network: What projects have you worked on since graduating? What are some accomplishments you'd like to share?

J.A: With my development deal with Exile, I wrote a project called War Game which I'm really excited about. It's a biopic on General Paul Van Riper, a general who took part in the largest war game in US history. Ukrainians in Exile is a movie I directed which I'm focusing on now as it releases 2/22. And, most importantly, I am directing an adaptation of Rusell Lees' Nixon's Nixon, which chronicles a surrealistic look at Nixon and Kissinger on the final night before his resignation.

NYFA Alumni Network: Tell us about the film's festival run? Did you submit it to other festivals prior to Sundance?

J.A: Sundance was the only film festival we submitted to up until that point. We're now veering into other festivals.

NYFA Alumni Network: "In the Summers" won the Grand Jury Prize at Sundance. Congratulations! How was the road to Sundance? What was that experience like and what was your reaction winning this prestigious award?

J.A: I was so happy for everyone. Many people worked way more on this than I did - whether it be the crew working tireless hours on set in the extreme heat in Las Cruces, or people who have been with the project before I came on. Just overall great for everyone. And, of course, for Alessandra! 

NYFA Alumni Network: What did you learn at NYFA that you applied directly to this project and others?

J.A: I had so many great teachers (Lydia Cedrone, Jaime Burke, Adam Finer to name a few) and I guess there wouldn't be one exact thing that I could point to. That's why they were such great teachers; they really taught how to produce a film overall - every aspect is as important as the next. Beyond that, they really taught me to just try to have a calm head. I always get nervous before a production starts - I'm talking generally now - and can't really fathom it actually getting to the point where cameras are rolling. I always remember Lydia saying "relax, it just happens." I always think of her saying that when I fear something will make the entire project collapse before it starts (or during).  

NYFA Alumni Network: We hear you have a new short documentary coming out? Tell us about this project? 

J.A: Ukrainians in Exile is a short documentary I directed when I went to the border of Ukraine and Poland in the outbreak of the war in March of 2022. While I was there, I found time to simply shoot what I saw.  The news cycle drove me to make a documentary that would actually be a propaganda film to help refugees (the good kind of propaganda) instead of an art piece where I can do something stylistic or even journalists. When I returned, I had 30 hours of footage. I wanted to stick to making a brief “one reeler” that would make people want to help refugees. I decided that, instead of the typical interviews with the refugees, I wanted a different perspective. Someone who was still there. I kept thinking, ‘what would it be like for someone who stayed? What would they think of people leaving? Are they worried their fellow countrymen and women will be persecuted in Europe?' So I found a woman to talk about this and she sent me the recording. I thought it was the perfect narration to both answer those questions, but also make the story from the perspective of her, despite the audience watching the footage of the refugee camps.

Janusz Kaminski was kind enough to lend his name and it played at festivals for a year and it didn't seem like anyone really wanted the film because it was so short. I, through luck, met Steven Spielberg and got to talk to him about it briefly. Naturally, I was inspired to see it through and pushed to make a release that would accomplish the goal of making people want to help refugees after they see it and tie it to charity. I teamed up with Liev Schreiber's co-founded BluCheck Ukraine and am doing it so they can raise as much money as possible. It will be released through The Nation on 2/22.

While we're at it, please donate to: https://www.bluecheck.in/donate

NYFA congratulates Janek on all his success!