Azazel Jacobs’ latest film, His Three Daughters, had its world premiere at the 2023 Toronto International Film Festival, where it was acquired by Netflix in a worldwide deal. Written, directed, edited, and produced by Jacobs, the film stars Natasha Lyonne, Elizabeth Olsen, and Carrie Coon, alongside Jovan Adepo, Jay O. Sanders, Rudy Galvan, José Febus, and Jasmine Bracey. It was released by Netflix in select theaters on September 6, 2024, followed by a global release on September 20, 2024, and quickly became one of the most acclaimed films of the year.

The film topped numerous Best of 2024 lists—including #1 placements from the Boston Globe, Washington Post, and Rolling Stone—and was named one of the Top Ten Independent Films of 2024 by the National Board of Review. Among its many honors, it received Best Screenplay at the Gotham Awards and the Robert Altman Award at the Film Independent Spirit Awards, and has since entered the permanent collection of The Museum of Modern Art (MoMA).

Previously, Jacobs’ film French Exit premiered as the Closing Night selection of the New York Film Festival and had its international premiere at the Berlin International Film Festival. Released domestically by Sony Pictures Classics on April 2, 2021, and internationally by Sony, the film earned a Golden Globe nomination for Michelle Pfeiffer, whose performance Variety called “the role for which she will be remembered,” and which The New York Times described as “sensational.” Pfeiffer stars alongside Lucas Hedges, with Valerie Mahaffey (Independent Spirit Award nominee), Imogen Poots, Danielle Macdonald, Susan Coyne, and Isaach de Bankolé. The screenplay was written by Patrick deWitt, based on his internationally bestselling novel.

Jacobs wrote and directed The Lovers for A24, which opened to critical acclaim and led the specialty box office upon its May 5, 2017 release. Starring Debra Winger and Tracy Letts, the film earned Jacobs an Independent Spirit Award nomination for Best Screenplay. In 2024, an official reimagining of the film—the first-ever remake of an A24 title—Do Aur Do Pyaar, set within a different culture and perspective, was released theatrically across India.

From 2014 to 2015, Jacobs directed both seasons of the groundbreaking SKY/HBO series Doll & Em, also serving as a writer and producer.

His film Terri, also written by Patrick deWitt and starring John C. Reilly, premiered in competition at Sundance 2011, with international competition screenings at Locarno and the BFI London Film Festival. The film received the Youth Jury Award at Locarno, along with Gotham and Independent Spirit Award nominations for acting and screenplay.

Jacobs’ award-winning film Momma’s Man premiered at Sundance 2008 and was widely celebrated as one of the year’s best films, appearing on Best of lists from The New York Times, Artforum, Salon, Time Out New York, Entertainment Weekly, and others. Upon its release by Kino International, The New York Times’ Manohla Dargis called it “independent film defined.”

The son of filmmaker Ken Jacobs and artist Flo Jacobs, Azazel Jacobs was raised in New York City immersed in a community of influential artists. He earned his BA in Film from SUNY Purchase and his MFA from the American Film Institute. Additional credits include directing episodes of Sorry for Your Loss (starring Elizabeth Olsen), Mozart in the Jungle—on which he also served as a consulting producer during its final season—and, most recently, an episode of The Better Sister, starring Elizabeth Banks and Jessica Biel, featuring a Critics Choice–nominated performance by Biel.