Rock Mama

Jackie Weissman and I met years ago at Agency.com where she was an Avid editor. I have always been interested in film-making and Jackie is in the process of making a new documentary called Rock N Roll Mamas. I connected with her again to see how it was going:

What inspires you? I am inspired by a lot. I usually get inspiration when I am by-myself, walking or running outside, listening to music. Nature inspires me quite a bit, as does art, music, and reading. I also get a lot of ideas when I am chatting with interesting, creative, people. Creativity in general is inspirational for me. How and why did you get into editing and film-making? I have always loved all types of movies. I went to a liberal arts college for undergrad, majoring in American Studies and African-American Studies. As I was finishing college, I decided that I wanted to channel my interests in pop-culture, history, anthropology, and sociology into the more accessible medium of film. I took a film production class after college and realized that I loved the entire process especially directing and editing which are the parts of filmmaking where the story comes together. The storytelling piece is the part of filmmaking I love the best. Why did you choose documentaries as your story-telling medium? Real people’s lives contain the most interesting stories in my opinion. I have always been drawn to individuals, subcultures, and groups stories as opposed to creating fictional ones. Through documentary, I want to get these stories out to the general public so they can see and hopefully identify with some part of them. Showing people other folk’s stories shows us that we are not alone in our feelings, actions, and pursuits, and is very validating and therapeutic. How did the idea of Rock N Roll Mamas come about? I began making this film seven years ago when my own son, Lyle, was three years old, as a vehicle to better understand how to balance my own inner needs with the needs of my child. After the birth of my son, I knew it was also very important to maintain my “previous” creative life so I looked to other artists for inspiration and guidance. When I read an article on Salon.com about rock star mothers and their struggles to balance careers and children, I knew I had found the story I needed to tell. You mentioned that you are in post-production of Rock N Roll Mamas now, when will it be complete and what is the plan when it's done (both showing the film and any new projects on the horizon)? I am on track to finish Rock N Roll Mamas in 2011. When I am done with it, I will have a big party, take some time off and then get on with trying to get the film distributed. Getting distribution is a big job in itself. I’m also involved some other projects currently that will keep on going into the future. I’m on the founding board of Women in Film-Portland where I’m head of the programming committee. In doing so, I am planning useful panels, events, and workshops for the film community here. I’m also committed to the documentary film community here in Portland and am on the planning committee for a documentary retreat in its second year called Doc Farm. Our hope is that Doc Farm will grow bigger every year and I am dedicated to helping it grow.

Check out Jackie's Rock N Roll Mamas website. I'll check back next year for more details!