A little bit about us
We're Jake & Jerry
We both grew up shooting home videos a few short miles from each other in the suburbs of Dayton, Ohio – never realizing we’d be shooting our first independent feature film together in that very same town years later. Making that film was a life-altering experience for us and pushed us to our limit in what we could achieve with little money, a skeleton crew, and lots of heart. And so afterward, we started Heartful Films as a way to continue that same stripped-down, story focused, indie filmmaking approach to wedding films, marketing videos, and legacy documentaries.
Jake Striebel
Jake has ten years in professional audio & video production and has won awards for his work. He graduated with a Bachelor of Arts in Film & Television from Columbia College Chicago. He met Jerry shortly after and the two went on to make a feature film with only a shoe-string budget (check out the award-winning indie movie here).
Jerry Ankenbauer
Jerry also has seven years in professional audio & video production and won awards for the same work. He graduated with a Bachelor of Fine Arts in Motion Picture Production from Wright State University. It was there that he received training from Academy Award winning documentarian Steve Bognar (American Factory). He uses his storytelling sensibilities and formal training to shape the films he makes today.
awards
