Joel Jay Blacker is a British writer, director, and editor based in Los Angeles. He began his career as a production assistant in his teens in lieu of film school and has since built over a decade of experience across all stages of film and tv production.

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As a director, Joel is best known for the dark comedy series 'Who You Are' (SXSW 2019, Vimeo Staff Pick). His other directing work includes short film 'Shoes Off', which was featured on Short of the Week, and the Facebook Watch comedy series 'ASS: Airport Security Squad', which has generated over ten million views.

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As an editor, Joel recently cut the feature film 'The Leader' (2026), directed by Michael Gallagher and starring Tim Blake Nelson, Vera Farmiga, and Jim Parsons. Post-production on the film was completed through Zappy Bear, the post-production company Joel co-founded.​

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In 2021, Joel and Aubrey Blacker founded Zappy Bear, a post-production company focused on editorial and finishing for narrative and commercial projects. Zappy Bear has overseen post-production on feature films 'The Leader' (2026) and 'Exposure' (2024) and delivered work for commercial clients such as MotorTrend, KILZ Paints, Porsche, and The Cheesecake Factory.