Emmy-nommed James Huber "Jaime" Kibben, documentary filmmaker who for six years was a sound engineer with the "MacNeil-Lehrer NewsHour" and recently was working on a film about the Middle East, died Saturday Jan. 11 in a car accident in Tel Aviv, Israel, on his way to catch a flight home to San Francisco. He was 55.
He had been working on "Holy Land: Common Ground," a documentary intended to further the peace process in the region.
Rapid City, S.D., native began his career in 1965 as a professional musician, touring nationally with groups including Sonny & Cher and Spanky & Our Gang. He moved to San Francisco in 1980 and started working in film as a sound recordist.
A decade later, he received an Emmy nomination for his musical composition work on "Thanh's War," a documentary about a Vietnamese-American man who returned to his old village.
He directed many of his own projects in recent years particularly about the environment and indigenous cultures, including a film about sustainable farming in Chiapas, Mexico.
His recent films included "The Will of Dean Snider," about a filmmaker friend with Parkinson's disease, and "The Greening of Cuba," about organic farming in that country following the collapse of the Soviet Union.
From 1990 to 1996, he worked with Elizabeth Farnsworth, senior correspondent for the "MacNeil-Lehrer NewsHour," and filmmaker John Knoop, on 27 reports in 10 countries.
He is survived by his wife, actress Jeri Lynn Cohen; two daughters including a 3-year-old; two grandchildren; a sister; and a brother.
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