Jost, Jon

Jon Stephen Jost (born 16 May 1943) is an American independent filmmaker from Chicago. Born in Chicago to a military family, Jost grew up in Georgia, Kansas, Japan, Italy, Germany and Virginia. He began making films in January 1963 after being expelled from college. In 1965 he was imprisoned by US authorities for 2 years and 3 months for refusing to cooperate with the Selective Service System. On his release, he engaged in anti-war activities primarily by working for the draft resistance, Chicago Mobilization, and helped found the Chicago branch of Newsreel, the New Left Film production and distribution group.