Andrew Jarecki

Andrew Jarecki (born March 24, 1963) is an American filmmaker, musician, and entrepreneur renowned for his documentaries exploring themes of crime, family dysfunction, and deception. His breakthrough work, the 2003 documentary Capturing the Friedmans , which examines the child abuse allegations against a Long Island family through home videos and interviews, earned an Academy Award nomination for Best Documentary Feature and won multiple international prizes, including the Grand Jury Prize at the Sundance Film Festival . Jarecki's career also includes co-founding the pioneering movie ticketing service Moviefone in 1989, which he led as CEO until its $388 million sale to AOL in 1999, revolutionizing access to film showtimes via phone and early internet .

Prior to his filmmaking prominence, Jarecki pursued music and entrepreneurship after graduating from Princeton University in 1985 with a degree in English literature. He co-wrote and performed the theme song "New Version of You" for the WB series Felicity alongside J.J. Abrams, contributing to its soundtrack across multiple seasons. Transitioning to narrative and documentary filmmaking, Jarecki directed the 2010 thriller All Good Things , a fictionalized account inspired by the disappearance of Robert Durst's wife, starring Ryan Gosling and Kirsten Dunst.

Jarecki's most acclaimed project, the 2015 HBO miniseries The Jinx: The Life and Deaths of Robert Durst , a six-part investigation into the real estate heir's suspicious life and multiple murder cases, won two Primetime Emmy Awards , including Outstanding Documentary or Nonfiction Series, and prompted Durst's arrest hours after its finale aired. The series' impact extended to influencing Durst's 2021 conviction for the 2000 murder of his friend Susan Berman . In 2024, Jarecki released The Jinx: Part Two , continuing the saga with new revelations about Durst's widow and estate, which premiered to critical praise and further Emmy nominations. Born in New York City to psychiatrist and investor Henry Jarecki and brother to documentarian Eugene Jarecki , Andrew has drawn on his affluent background to fund and shape his introspective storytelling. His latest project, the 2025 documentary The Alabama Solution co-directed with Charlotte Kaufman, critiques prison privatization and abuse in Alabama 's correctional system. It received an Academy Award nomination for Best Documentary Feature Film and screened at the Sundance Film Festival .

Andrew Jarecki was born on March 24, 1963, in New York City to Henry Jarecki, a Yale-trained psychiatrist who later became a highly successful commodities broker and investor, and Gloria Jarecki, a former film critic for Time magazine.

Jarecki grew up in Rye, New York, within a dynamic family environment characterized by intellectual rigor and cultural engagement, often described as a "brainy group of serial overachievers" committed to film and social justice . His father's dual career in mental health and high-stakes investments exposed him early to the principles of entrepreneurship and financial strategy, shaping his later business pursuits in the media sector.

The family's affinity for storytelling was reinforced by his mother's professional background in film criticism and the creative endeavors of his siblings: brother Eugene Jarecki , an acclaimed documentary filmmaker known for works like Why We Fight and The House I Live In , brother Thomas Jarecki, a finance executive, and half-brother Nicholas Jarecki , a screenwriter and director whose credits include the film Arbitrage . This shared interest in media and narrative , combined with the vibrant arts scene of the New York area, provided Jarecki with foundational exposure to both creative expression and commercial innovation during his formative years.

Andrew Jarecki attended Princeton University , where he earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in English literature in 1985.