Today we’d like to introduce you to Jill Demby Guest.
Hi Jill, so excited to have you with us today. What can you tell us about your story?
I’m a writer, producer, director in the entertainment industry. My passion is to tell stories that make you feel; that elicit some emotion, that opens windows into different worlds, that elevate and challenge the status quo. How did I get here? I didn’t know as a youngster that I wanted to be a filmmaker. I thought I would be a writer as I spent a lot of my pre-teen and early teen years writing love stories about my obsessive crushes on the boys in my school, many of who didn’t know who I was! Then I saw the movie, Blow Up, and it rocked my world, the way it played with time and emotion resonated with me even though then I couldn’t say why. But so many images unconsciously stuck with me. When I was in college, studying Russian and Psychology, I took a film 101 class and saw “Last Year at Marienbad,” a French film by director Alain Resnais. Here again was a story all mixed up in time and flashbacks but filled with emotion and it just mesmerized me.
And then the films of Jean Luc Godard. Vivre Sa Vie, its black and white images filmed almost documentary style and the main character breaking the fourth wall, letting you peek into her psyche. Then the Maysles Brothers “Gimme Shelter” about the Rolling Stones and the murder that occurred at a rock concert blew me away with its filming of real life as it was happening. It was just a medium I fell in love with so I changed my major to film and was the only woman in my film school graduating class. After graduating, I went to New York to earn money to get myself through graduate school at the London Film School where I had been accepted. While working for the director of productions at Madison Square Garden, I met the tour director and lighting designer for the Rolling Stones. He loved helping young people and I told him I was looking for a place to edit my thesis film. He called the Maysles Brothers (my idols!) and connected me to them. They let me use their editing rooms at night. I met everyone there and developed great relationships and the Maysles ended up giving me my first job in the business and training me as a film editor. A gift from the heavens! The people I met there are still some of my best friends today. I worked on the famed “Grey Gardens” before it became “Grey Gardens,” a great story.
From there, I went on to public television (WNET-NY) and worked with the film critic Richard Schickel for ten years as his editor and then producer until I moved to Los Angeles to fulfill my dream of working in feature films, which I did, first in editorial (The Long Riders, Trading Places, The Twilight Zone, The Bell Jar) then in development and post production. It’s been a long and winding road and I’ve found it’s never a straight path. I made my way into producing and directing, again in public television in Los Angeles (KCET) and was Emmy nominated for one of my first short documentaries. From there, I worked in multiple areas, commercials, television promotions, documentaries on DVD releases for Warner Brothers and Disney and produced a superbowl TV spot with Tony Hawk for Disney for the release of the Tarzan DVD. I’ve also done biographies for Lifetime Television (Intimate Portrait: Cindy Williams) and interviewed George Lucas, Henry Winkler, Ron Howard, Garry Marshall, Penny Marshall, Ed Begley and others. At one point, I started an audiobooks company (Soundelux Audio) and licensed bestselling books read by celebrity talent. I’ve even worked inside the film studios at both Warner Bros. and Disney. It’s been a wild journey filled with creativity and interesting people along the way.
In 2015, I had the good fortune to meet the subject of “And Now, Love,” my latest documentary, Dr. Bernard Bail, a Jewish WWII veteran who had been captured by the Nazis and fell in love with his German nurse and later became a pioneering doctor and psychoanalyst in the area of transgenerational transmission of trauma. I was captivated by his story and got the opportunity to tell it in my documentary, “And Now, Love,” which is now available on Apple TV+ and Amazon prime. His exceptional life and work is an inspiration to all to follow your dreams and make the world a better place when you leave it. So that’s a little bit about my path. Miracles happen so stay tuned for them. Serendipity may be just around the corner.
Would you say it’s been a smooth road, and if not, what are some of the biggest challenges you’ve faced along the way?
The road has been both smooth and rough. Light and dark, shadows and sun, like life itself. No peaks without valleys and it’s the valleys that show you who you are. I chose the freelance life which is not always a smooth path. And as a women coming up in a mostly male-dominated industry, there were challenges along the way in terms of what opportunities were available to me. I was once told in a job interview that they don’t hire women because we get our periods and are moody. Yes, someone actually said that to me. Thankfully, things have changed and will continue to get better. And gratefully, I had some wonderful men who believed in me and championed me along the way. My struggles as a single mother in this business were definitely challenging and production schedules often grueling while raising a young child. I recall times at public television where the only editing session I could get was from 8pm-4am in the morning. It took a lot of organizing, many of it last minute due to unforeseen changes.
And there were periods where work wasn’t so abundant and you had to ride out those times and that was a struggle. But overall, I had enough skills to ride out the storms. And as luck would have it, some little miracle would happen every seven years that would boost me to a new level. The important thing I want to mention is about finding the right people to work with and you will stumble and fall along the way. I wish I’d realized that earlier. The environment you work in is paramount. Your well-being should be at the top of the list. I didn’t know that then and said yes to everything and I’d find myself with people who really didn’t have my best interests in mind and that made work very stressful and difficult, stripping the joy out of it. It didn’t happen often but it put me on alert when I was interviewing for subsequent positions. And it takes time to find what is really right for you. I’ve spent a lifetime evolving, learning from one experience to the next. Stay open but know your boundaries. And if you get in bad position, leave or know that this, too, shall pass.
Alright, so let’s switch gears a bit and talk business. What should we know about your work?
As a filmmaker, I like to tell stories that make you feel, Stories that elicit some emotion, elevate you, open windows into new worlds and challenge the status quo. I am known for that as it’s been a part of everything I’ve produced and directed, from my Emmy-nominated public television piece on African American sculptor Charles Dickson and the intricate process he used to sculpt from his dreams to going behind the scenes on The West Wing set to follow the process of the actors and production team as they produced the live debate episode with Alan Alda and Jimmy Smits, to working with Yoko Ono and the process of making the film John Lennon: Imagine to my current film, “And Now, Love,” on the life of Dr. Bernard Bail, a Jewish WWII veteran who was shot down by the Nazis and imprisoned in a German hospital where he fell in love with his German nurse, Irmgard, who not only saved his life but changed his life to become a doctor and psychoanalyst whose pioneering work was at the forefront of transgenerational transmission of trauma. He was a disruptor who after experiencing the horrors of war became devoted to ending all wars, beginning with the wars within ourselves.
A strong advocate for women, he believed we’ll never have peace until women have a place at the table. I am most proud of this film and its subject matter is of the most timely importance. I think what sets me apart is the way I choose to tell stories, using impressionistic images to evoke emotion and feelings. Because at the end of the day, to me, that’s what it’s all about. Revealing the truth of a person in all their vulnerabilities or investigatingly digging into subject matter or complex processes or theories in a way that gives the audience some sort of opening, an “aha” moment where they reflect, “I’ve never thought about it this way before.” A shift in the radar, a new possibility opens up before them and resonates in their gut. That’s what I do best. Make movies you can feel in your gut.
What does success mean to you?
Great question! In work, success is diving into something you’re passionate about, giving it your all and sending it out to the universe. After that, it’s up to the world to decide. You’ve done your job. You can’t look back. It’s the joy you experience along the way; that’s true success.
In life, it’s having someone to love, great friends and family you love to connect with and hold you accountable. Making great meals together – I’m a foodie! Being able to have intimate conversations and have the ability to hear different points of view or opinions even when you don’t agree. Being able to be your fullest and most self-expressed. That’s success too.
Contact Info:
- Website: andnowlovethemovie.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/jilldembyguest/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/jilldembyguest
- Twitter: https://twitter.com/jilldembyguest
- Youtube: https://bit.ly/andnowloveYT
- Other: https://jilldembyguest.com
Image Credits
Billy Yates, Julia Guest, Brian Denny
