Oscar-Nominated Filmmaker Jonathan Heap Returns to Short-Film Arena with Ghosts of ’45 at LA Shorts
Jonathan Heap at LA Short with Ghosts of ’45
Los Angeles, CA (August 12, 2026). Could lightning strike twice for Academy Award-nominated filmmaker Jonathan Heap? Heap acclaimed short film 12:01 PM earned an Oscar nomination. He returns to the short-film arena with his provocative new drama Ghosts of ’45. An Official Selection of the LA Shorts International Film Festival, one of the world’s leading Oscar-qualifying short film festivals.
Ghosts of ’45 screened August 4 to a full house and an enthusiastic reception at the festival. Which runs July 30 through August 12 in North Hollywood. Awards will be announced August 13. In Ghosts of ’45, a man’s past begins to unravel, forcing him to confront his role in the Holocaust. A horrifying truth he can no longer escape or deny.
The film stars Sal Landi (Bosch: Legacy), and Caroline Lagerfelt (Sweet Magnolias, Gossip Girl). Jennifer Olsberg (The Haunting of Hollywood) and Gemma Adams. Directed by Heap, Ghosts of ’45 is written by Gary Landi. It is from a story by Ben Maccabee and produced by James Chalke. Heap, Landi and Maccabee serve as executive producers, with Maccabee’s Tiberia Pictures Studio.
About Jonathan Heap Jonathan Heap is an award-winning filmmaker whose career spans feature films, television, music videos and shorts. Heap began his career in New York City directing comedy sketches before joining The Canned Film Festival, a late-night television series starring Saturday Night Live alum Laraine Newman that used original comedy segments to introduce classic B movies.
Determined to move into narrative filmmaking, Heap relocated to Los Angeles, where he co-wrote and directed the short film 12:01 PM. The film earned an Academy Award nomination for Best Live Action Short Film and proved to be a turning point in his career.
On the strength of the short, Heap was hired to write and produce the feature-length adaptation, 12:01, for New Line Cinema. The film, starring Helen Slater and Martin Landau, subsequently aired on the Fox network.
Heap went on to direct Benefit of the Doubt, a dark thriller starring Donald Sutherland, Amy Irving and Graham Greene, followed by the science-fiction action film Past Perfect, starring Eric Roberts, Nick Mancuso and Saul Rubinek. He later directed Hostile Intent, starring Rob Lowe, and the ecological thriller Greenmail, starring Stephen Baldwin and Tom Skerritt. Both films premiered on HBO.
As a screenwriter, Heap has developed numerous projects across a range of genres, with three of his screenplays produced to date. He is currently developing several new projects, including a Jekyll-and-Hyde-inspired thriller with writer-producer Jason Piette.
With Ghosts of ’45, Heap returns to the short-film format that first brought him Academy recognition—this time with a haunting story about guilt, memory and the consequences of a past that refuses to remain buried.
Awards for the 2026 LA Shorts International Film Festival will be announced August 13.
