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"It´s a Time When Brotherhood and Interfaith Dialogue are More Important Than Ever" - Interview with Jake Huberman
September 10, 2026
Joe Martin, Paul Cantz, and Jake Huberman - Photography by Eirini Alligiannis
By Bessy ADUT
Jake Huberman grew up in Peoria, Illinois, and studied film at Bradley University under Dr. Bob Jacobs, an Emmy-winning documentarian. It was there, starting in 2000, that he met Paul Cantz and Joe Martin — the two producers with whom he would later found Kid Rushmore Productions, LLC.
He went on to the Florida State University College of Motion Picture Arts, graduating in 2006. In his admissions interview, he told Reb Braddock — now Dean of the program — that he wanted to make documentaries like Michael Moore. He had just seen 'Bowling for Columbine' and was drawn to films that braided together many human voices and put the filmmakers themselves inside the story. He later found the same impulse in William Greaves's 'Symbiopsychotaxiplasm', and in the French New Wave, both of which continue to shape his work.
After film school, Jake spent a year at the Mayanot Institute of Jewish Studies in Jerusalem, a Chabad yeshiva. He had met his wife, Elena, on Birthright in Israel on the way there.
In Los Angeles, he worked for five years with the Society of Camera Operators, producing behind-the-scenes documentaries alongside some of the industry's leading directors, cinematographers, and camera operators, and cutting pieces for Clint Eastwood and Penny Marshall, among others. He then co-founded Kid Rushmore Productions. He has also trained more than 200 editors across Egypt, Saudi Arabia, and Dubai for MBC Academy/EEI Creative Arts.
Jake is now in his tenth year teaching editing full-time at the University of La Verne. He and Elena have four children: Gavriel, Rosie, Ezra, and Lilah. Gavriel, 12, has already started shooting his first film — the same age Jake was when he began making movies with his best friends, a tradition he hasn't broken since.
Where are you located?
Encino
What are your current projects?
"Following Tupac", which is:
Short Documentary
Genre: Music | Culture | Faith
Duration: 27 minutes
Language: English
Shot on RED + 8mm film
The film asks a deceptively simple question: “Did Tupac walk a righteous path?” To answer it, Following Tupac weaves together interviews with those who knew the rapper personally – friends and business associates - as well as contemporary artists and fans deeply influenced by his music, message, and mission.
This film sheds new light on Tupac, uncovering how he was a good person. This emerges in a compelling narrative arc that is personal, even Biblical. The film meets a unique community of personalities who echo the Abrahamic traditions of Judaism, Christianity, and Islam. The film explores the spiritual dimensions of Tupac’s life and art, and culminates at the memorial celebration for the late, slain Nipsey Hussle, another transformative hip hop figure hailed by some as the “next Tupac.”
From "Following Tupac"
Director Jacob Huberman adds, “It’s visually layered, with the film crew included on screen as the story unfolds. Directors like William Greaves and Michael Moore inspired that approach. We mixed formats, cutting RED digital footage with 8mm film, adding cassette tapes and vinyl into the mix too. It’s a throwback, but Pac is timeless and impossible to fit in a box. So our film includes themes that you could never find in a story about any other rapper. As the movie gains momentum, it goes to unexpected places.”
Producer Paul Cantz explains, “As storytellers, we wanted to explore not just society’s preconceived notions - its mythos - about Tupac, but his moral and spiritual resonance, how he moved people toward reflection, community, and integrity.”
As three religious men exploring themes of faith and cultural influence through the lens of hip hop, Jacob Huberman (Director), Paul Cantz (Producer), and Joe Martin (Co-Producer) represent a new and unique voice in spiritual and cultural criticism, bridging communities through shared moral inquiry.
Paul Cantz, Jake Huberman, and Joe Martin - Photography by Eirini Alligiannis
How did you get started and what led you to where you are today?
I am an editor, documentary director, and college professor, assembling "emotion concentrate" from scripts or documentary footage.
I began on Avid, then moved to Final Cut, and now Adobe and DaVinci. Machines aside, I appreciate the opportunity to collaborate with great filmmakers and friends.
I've been making movies with my friends since age 11. I have a drawer full of VHS tapes of movies I made with my friends from my childhood in my office at the University of La Verne. I'm still doing that today with my students and with my friends of 25 years at my production company.
I live in LA with my wife Elena, our daughters Rosie and Lilah, and our sons Gavriel and Ezra. I teach editing and digital media at The University of La Verne. I had the honor of training 200 talented editors based in the heart of the Arab world for EEI Creative Arts and MBC Academy. My production company is Kid Rushmore, LLC.
From "Following Tupac"
Has it been a smooth road?
Making a documentary about a figure like Tupac was a passion project, but also a challenge. To make this movie, we called in every favor with every talented filmmaker we knew. Our composer, for example, is Kathie Talbot. She's also Jewish and lives in Mexico. She composed 8 original songs for our film. Her IMDb page speaks for itself:
https://www.imdb.com/name/nm1720468/
This is a project we've been working on since 2019. A lot has happened since then. Nipsey Hussle was slain during our production, as we were talking about him in on-screen interviews. We had to follow this documentary as we were making it. It took us to Crenshaw, where we ended the movie shooting his hearse in the streets as thousands said goodbye to their king. Greeting a king is a Mitzvah in the Torah, which is also in our film.
Jake Huberman at Austin Under the Stars Festival, where "Following Tupac" won the Best Documentary Award and the Audience Choice Award
Could you tell us more about your life and career?
I am the co-founder of Kid Rushmore, an independent production company based in Chicago and Los Angeles. I earned my MFA from Florida State University and have taught post-production at the University of La Verne since 2011, training more than 200 editors internationally through MBC Academy in Egypt, Saudi Arabia, and Dubai.
I am an editor with a focus on behind-the-scenes storytelling. I served as lead editor for the Society of Camera Operators, honing his craft in biographical documentary work.
Kid Rushmore takes its name from its founders' favorite underdog films — “Rushmore” and “The Karate Kid” — a cue taken from Tarantino, who named his production company after a French New Wave classic. That lineage of inspiration shaped my creative voice.
From "Following Tupac"
What do you think goodness is?
That's the film our question asks about Tupac! As Pac would say, "Only G-d can judge me." On the other hand, the Torah does give us a way to measure someone's G-dliness. Pirkei Avos and the Baal Shem Tov teach that you can measure how close someone is to G-d by how close they are to the fellow human being.
In this way, we measured Tupac's goodness in our film.
Who are you outside of your professional life?
I am a husband and father. I am involved in the Chabad community in Encino. My son Gavriel is 12 and already making his own movies. After film school in 2008, I studied at Mayanot Yeshiva in Jerusalem for a year. I used to play Tupac in the Zal for other Chasidim. I'd put headphones on them and ask them what they thought of the lyrics in "Ghetto Gospel", a posthumous Pac track produced by Eminem:
If I upset you don't stress, never forget/That G-d isn't finished with me yet/I feel his hand on my brain/
When I write rhymes I go blind and let the Lord do his thang/
But am I less holy/'cause I chose to puff a blunt/And drink a beer with my homies?
Are you interested in environmental issues?
I am inspired by filmmaker Michael Moore, who is the reason I went to film school. I don't agree with all his politics, but his advocacy on the environment is proof that filmmaking is powerful. "Fahrenheit 11/9" (his movie from 2018) has a great scene about the water in Flint. He returns to Flint, covers the lead-poisoning crisis, and Governor Snyder's and President Obama's roles in letting that environmental crisis happen and go unchecked. Watching that sequence will change your perspective.
Do you think the world is not a good place right now?
It's a time when brotherhood and interfaith dialogue are more important than ever. Israel is the heart of the world.
How do you make the world a better place?
My role as a teacher gives me the opportunity to do Mitzvahs every day.
How can we all make the world better?
My grandfather, a Jewish boxer from the Lower East Side who fought in WW2, used to quote Horace Mann: "You should be ashamed to die until you have won some victory for humanity." That's also Pac.
How can science and spirituality coexist?
This film is made possible by a complicated production and post-production process, but the message is spiritual. Creating a dwelling place for G-d, with the tools available to us, is what being human is all about.
If you could go anywhere, where would you go (and why)?
I'm headed to Trento, Italy, in September— the Religion Today Film Festival, where Following Tupac is an official selection. They are writing the Italian subtitles right now!
Pitching "Following Tupac" to distributors at the Hip Hop Film Festival
Is there anything else you'd like to share with us?
At the Hip Hop Film Festival in New York last week, after we had a successful pitch deck proposal for our project, the three of us (Producer Paul Cantz, Co-Producer Joe Martin, and myself, Director Jake Huberman) all went up to our hotel room. Immediately after the pitch went well and we presented our film project, we prayed together. We said Tehillim and then freestyled our own prayer.
Please provide shareable links (website, social media)...
Our LLC:
https://www.kidrushmore.com/
My website:
jacobhuberman.com
The movie (and password below):
Watch the film: https://vimeo.com/1101720703?fl=pl&fe=sh
Password is: 312
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