Born in Bavaria to Czech-American parents. Now lives in Berlin. Studied acting at the age of seventeen. Applied to all German directing schools; got rejected several times. In 2007 made a short mocumentary about a fictitious lifeguard at a real swimming pool. BADEMEISTER PAUL won several prizes, brought Jakob on to Berlinale Talents, the Filmarche Kreuzberg and, in 2009, the acceptance to study directing at Filmuniversität Babelsberg. 
One year later, against the will of his professors made his first feature FRONTALWATTE starring Franz Rogowski. His second feature LOVE STEAKS won every prize in the New German Cinema section at the Munich Film Festival and was nominated as „Best Film“ for Deutscher Filmpreis. 2017 TIGER GIRL premiered at Berlinale Panorama followed soon thereafter by SO WAS VON DA / RIGHT HERE RIGHT NOW hitting cinemas in summer 2018.