Welcome to the Truly Amazing Women Show: A Note from Hope Katz Gibbs, creator of TrulyAmazingWomen.tv, and publisher of Inkandescent Women magazine — What a pleasure it was to interview filmmaker Jennifer DeLia, a rising star in the movie business.
Who she is: Jennifer DeLia is a writer, director, and producer born on September 30, 1979, in Ypsilanti, Michigan. Her films include Billy Bates (2013), Why Not Choose Love: A Mary Pickford Manifesto, and My Blueberry Nights (2007).
What she does: In 2014, Billy Bates was released digitally nationwide with theatrical releases across 10 major cities. It played at the Tribeca Film Festival, among other festivals and showcases. Jennifer also directed an off-Broadway show written by Scott Organ called Phoenix, starring Julia Stiles and James Wirt. She has directed many music videos with acclaimed artists such as Amadou & Mariam featuring Kyp & Tunde of TV on the Radio, Ebony Bones, Esseri, Blinddog Smokin’, and musical legends Dr. John and Bobby Rush. Her’s podcast chat series, Humanizing the Icon, reveals global leaders’ and artists’ perspectives on Identity, Image, and Iconization — and explores the danger and beauty of the current zeitgeist.
Why she does it: About her upcoming feature film Mary Pickford: Why Not Choose Love? Jennifer says: “I wanted to shine a light on the fact that Mary Pickford was not only the co-founder of United Artists but the only businesswoman in early Hollywood. Mary was first known as The Girl with the Curls and later became our first America’s Sweetheart.”
Jennifer says she also loves sitting down with creative visionaries on her podcast and chat series Humanizing the Icon to deconstruct who they are behind their revered artistic work. The show has guests such as director Adam Schomer, DJ Whoo Kid, Ben Stewart, Sean Stone, actor, writer, and director Yolonda Ross. Perception Artist Celio Bordin collaborates with Jen on the show by transforming the energy of the chat into Live Perception Art.
On this episode of the Truly Amazing Women show starring Jennifer, we discuss:
- When Jennifer knew she’d become a filmmaker
- What inspires her to pick the topics of her films
- What she loves about her new film Why Not Choose Love: A Mary Pickford Manifesto,
- What she hopes people will learn about the Hollywood legend
- The top 3 things she’d tell other budding female filmmakers
- What she’s looking forward to next
Watch more:
- Click here to check out Jennifer’s film, Billy Bates
- Watch the video she directed: Amadou & Mariam
- This one features Dr. John and Bobby Rush with Blinddog Smokin’ — “Another Murder in New Orleans”
Learn more about 8 female filmmakers like Jennifer who are living the life of their dreams in the May 2021 cover story of www.InkandescentWomen.com.