Today we’d like to introduce you to April Grace Lowe and Craig Jessen.
Hi April Grace and Craig, can you start by introducing yourself? We’d love to learn more about how you got to where you are today?
We met as undergrads at Southern Oregon University and fell in love. After we got married, we started Doubtless Dreamers and produced theater in Oregon, New York, and Los Angeles. In 2013, we transitioned from theater to film production. Our first feature film, “A Promise of Time Travel,” was released in 2016. Together we tackled every aspect of filmmaking: cinematography, sound mixing, editing, sound design, and even catering our own craft services. We dove in with a sink or swim attitude, and our efforts have been rewarded with success. We have won several film festival awards (including Best Feature, Best Sci-Fi, Best Director, Best Actress, and Best of festival). Our latest movie, “Beyond Methuselah,” is finishing up its festival run, most recently taking home the Best Feature prize at the 2022 Nevada Women’s Film Festival. Our current project is the web series “Jaw Recorder,” a romantic comedy about an audiobook narrator and her struggles with her noisy neighbor. It is on track to be released in February.
I’m sure you wouldn’t say it’s been obstacle free, but so far would you say the journey have been a fairly smooth road?
When you are a low-budget producer, you are constantly trying to stretch resources. As a married couple, that means we are constantly bringing work home. It has taken many projects to establish good boundaries for our marriage and also for our creative egos; it is a constant work in progress. However, the joy of creating together brings amazing intimacy and love. And the daily challenges become great stories to laugh about and strengthen us.
Thanks – so what else should our readers know about your work and what you’re currently focused on?
We specialize in character-driven speculative fiction that grounds strange ideas with fiercely relatable human conflict. Both “Beyond Methuselah” and “A Promise of Time Travel” are films that have a shift in paradigm and make the audience consider a new perspective. Our comedic web series “Jaw Recorder” is about the oh-so-common neighbor struggle, a relatable topic and yet parodied in the serious format of Law and Order. And this past year, we returned to the stage for the Rogue Valley Symphony’s production of America’s Journey, which Craig directed and April was one of the performers. That production allowed us the space to explore the true stories of immigrants as well as the founding of this country. We love that we have the ability to tell stories in different mediums, whether the stage, the cinema, or the written page.
How do you think about happiness?
The constant reinvention that happens as creators. The joy of creating and collaborating keeps us married not only to each other but to the artistic process. Through each project, we grow and change. There is something so magical and beautiful about that moment of discovery when you are creating. When you see what started as a spark of an idea transform into a finished presentation that entertains, provokes, and connects, the joy is immense!
Contact Info:
- Website: www.doubtlessdreamers.com ; www.jawrecorder.com
- Instagram: @beyondmethuselah
Image Credit:
Doubtless Dreamers Productions
