In 1997, Jonathan Walls graduated from St. Bonaventure University in his hometown of Olean, New York. It was there where he made his first documentary titled, The Legacy Project: Preserving Life. Upon graduation, Jonathan continued his path of education and attended the New York Film Academy in New York City that not only propelled his craft, but also his career. While at NYFA he met Rehina Periera, founder of Verite Productions in Singapore who collaborated with Jonathan on an historical documentary for the National History Museum of Singapore. While shooting in Malaysia, he directed a reality-based series called It’s My Life for MTV Asia where he won and Asian TV Award for editing.

In 2001, Jonathan Walls joined forces with Grammy winner, Mark Johnson, and Producer, Whitney Burditt, on the feature documentary, Playing for Change. PFC won the Best of Fest Award in York, England and the Best Documentary Award at the American Independent Film Festival in Agen, France.

In 2004, Jonathan ventured out of the documentary realm and into the dramatic, narrative world. He teamed up with writer/producer, Jay Thames, and actor/producer, Travis Schuldt on a feature film titled, Automatic. Automatic premiered at the SXSW film festival in 2005 and continued its successful festival run, ending with the top award at the Peniscola International Film Festival in Spain.

Jonathan Walls Director Statement
Playing for Change: Peace Through Music is not only a film, but also an ever-long quest of discovering inspiration through music. Since its creation in 2001, Playing for Change has evolved into an exhilarating movement toward peace. Being involved in this journey and sharing it with the world has brought not only a tremendous amount of joy and celebration into my heart, but also an insight into humanity that revealed a common hope toward global unity and acceptance. It is my wish that audiences around the world can absorb this musical essence and become inspired to participate, and to ultimately celebrate its manifestation.

Filmography
(2003) Playing for Change
(2005) Automatic
(2007) Playing for Change: Peace Through Music