by Mat Dirjish
Receiving a fellowship from O’Shaughnessy Ventures LLC, an investment firm that helps creators, San Francisco filmmaker Donald Jewkes will produce original documentaries and narrative shorts exploring how technology is reshaping human life. His documentaries profile researchers and founders working in their diverse fields. Jewkes plans to continue what he calls “world-building for the near future,” producing new works across fiction and nonfiction formats.
Jewkes was a founding engineer at a since-acquired startup building software for biopharma before leaving to make films full time. In 2025, he directed Waves, a consumer hardware launch video shot with a crew of friends who had never been on a film set. The video drew more than 30-million views on X. Jewkes then went on to make films with the Physical Intelligence robotics company, Cursor AI coding tool, and over a dozen early-stage companies before turning his focus on stories no one else was telling.
OSV’s founder and CEO, Jim O’Shaughnessy, said, “Donald has a rare combination of an engineer’s understanding of hard problems and a storyteller’s instinct for what makes them human. He is, in other words, an ideal fellowship recipient.” Jewkes responded, “I’m grateful to Jim and the team for the opportunity to be supported in independent creative work.”
For deeper details about Donald Jewkes, visit his website. And for more information about the fellowship program, visit the O’Shaughnessy Ventures website.
Mat Dirjish Online 