Frank Stiefel
Frank Stiefel is an American filmmaker and photographer. His film Heaven Is a Traffic Jam on the 405 won the Oscar for Best Documentary Short Subject at the 90th Academy Awards.
Frank Stiefel
- Name
- Frank Stiefel
- Occupation
- Director, screenwriter, editor, actor, producer, photographer
- Born
- 1950 · New York City.
- Nationality
- United States
- Education
- City College of New York
- Honours
- Academy Award for Best Documentary (Short Subject)
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Frank Stiefel is an American filmmaker and photographer. His film Heaven Is a Traffic Jam on the 405 won the Oscar for Best Documentary Short Subject at the 90th Academy Awards.
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Frank Stiefel (born 1950) is an American film director, filmmaker and photographer, among other activities. The film director was born in New York City. Frank Stiefel studied at City College of New York. The film director received Academy Award for Best Documentary (Short Subject).
Composed from admitted, traceable facts · 26 September 2026
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wikidata · Q48910446 · wikipedia · Frank Stiefel
In this article
Key facts
Key facts
• Name — Frank Stiefel • Alma Mater — City College of New York • Occupation — Director, screenwriter, editor, actor, producer, photographer • Years Active — 1970–present • Website — www.frankstiefel.com/
Career
Career
Stiefel was born to a Jewish family in New York City and attended The City College of New York. Stieifel spent most of his career as an executive in the commercial production industry. As an executive producer at Stiefel & Company (and later at RadicalMedia), Stiefel oversaw the production of thousands of TV commercials. He made his directorial debut in 2009 with the movie Ingelore, a short film about his mother, Ingelore Herz Honigstein, a deaf Holocaust survivor. The documentary, which he dedicated to his mother, tells the story of how she survived being raped by two Nazis and eventually managed to flee to the United States. The film premiered at the Berlin Film Festival in 2010 and aired on HBO in 2011. At that point, Stiefel retired to concentrate on non-fiction filmmaking full-time. Heaven is a Traffic Jam on the 405, his second film, won both the 2017 Full Frame Audience Award & Full Frame Jury Award for Best Short. It was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Documentary Short Subject soon after Stiefel's 70th birthday. The film won the Oscar for Best Documentary Short Subject at the 90th Academy Awards.
Personal life
Personal life
Frank Stiefel is married to artist BJ Dockweiler.
Filmography
Filmography
• Producer • 2017: Bose Angelo (Short) (executive producer) (completed) • 2016: Heaven is a Traffic Jam on the 405 (Documentary short) (producer) • 2009: Ingelore (Documentary short) (producer) • 2008: Two Roads to the Taupo 1000 (TV Movie documentary) (executive producer) • 2007: Two Roads to Baja (TV Movie documentary) (executive producer) • 2002: A Stoner's Life (Short) (producer) • 1999: Two Weddings (Documentary short) (executive producer) • Director • 2016: Heaven is a Traffic Jam on the 405 (Documentary short) • 2009: Ingelore (Documentary short) • Cinematographer • 2016: Heaven is a Traffic Jam on the 405 (Documentary short) • Other • 2009: Ingelore (Documentary short) (camera operator) • 1980: Mr. & Mrs. Dracula (TV Series) (assistant to the producer - 1 episode) • 2011: Stage 5 (TV Series, himself)
Primary material
Documents and archives
reference work
- “Frank Stiefel”, English Wikipedia, consulted as further reading
Reputable secondary · Wikipedia
authority record
- Wikidata, structured authority record Q48910446: Frank Stiefel
General reference · Wikidata
Notes from the source article
Cited by Wikipedia
Notes from the source article
These works are cited by the source article, in its own numbering. They are recorded as its citations, not as sources VALÉORINE has verified.
- 1.Film producer/director Frank Stiefel to speak at SMC commencement. smdp.com. 5 June 2017.
- 2.Oscars 2018: The list of nominees in full. BBC News. January 23, 2018.
- 3.Bloom, Nate. The Jews go to the Oscars, 2018. J. The Jewish News of Northern California. February 26, 2018.
- 4.Film producer/director Frank Stiefel to speak at SMC commencement. smdp.com. 5 June 2017.
- 5.How a Commercial Exec Became an Oscar-Nominated Director…at 70 No Film School. nofilmschool.com.
- 6.Star-Advertiser, Honolulu. Ingelore Herz Honigstein « Honolulu Hawaii Obituaries - Hawaii Newspaper Obituaries. obits.staradvertiser.com.
- 7.Oscars. "Heaven Is a Traffic Jam on the 405" wins Best Documentary Short Subject. 2018-04-17.
- 8.5 Things to Know About the Inspiring Outsider Art Documentary That Just Won an Oscar. Artnet News. 2018-03-05.
References
Citations
References
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reference work
Secondary witnessauthority record
General reference
The Encyclopedia exists whether or not anything is for sale. Corrections are recorded rather than overwritten, and every version of this record is kept. Published 17 August 2026.
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