Rob lost his father at an early age and spent the remainder of his youth discipling behind an array of idiosyncratic oddballs in Berkeley, California. That unexpected series of missteps led to a devotion to his community, an addiction to storytelling and an MFA in Directing at Columbia Film School. Rob co-wrote and co-produced Plan B and A24’s The Last Black Man in San Francisco. The film premiered at Sundance ‘19 where it garnered Special Grand Jury Prizes for Best Directing and Creative Collaboration, was listed as one of President Barack Obama’s Favorite Films of 2019, and earned him a Gotham Awards nomination for Best Screenplay.
Rob’s short films have played at Telluride, Sundance and SXSW, screened on PBS and won back to back Faculty Honors at Columbia University. He is a former SFFILM FilmHouse Resident, a 2019 Cine Qua Non Screeners Lab Fellow, and a UC Berkeley Poetry for The Peoplealumnus. Rob is also an educator, who has taught filmmaking and screenwriting at California State Northridge, Diablo Valley College and Mount Tamalpais University, a college accredited program within the walls of San Quentin. He has gone on to support the incarcerated community as a co-creator and co-instructor of the inaugural 2024 SFFILM and Pollen Initiative supported short film production program at the San Quentin Rehabilitation Center. The program is embarking on its sophomore year, with last year’s students winning two best short awards at the SQ Film Festival and garnering write-ups in Variety andThe New York Times.
Rob currently directs ads and is an Adjunct Film Professor at Cal State Northridge. He is Producer on the Sundance Institute supported documentary, The Impossible Dream, and isProducer and Story Advisor on the upcoming Element Pictures backed production, The Governesses.