A Journey of Passion and Perseverance
Jacqueline Christy, a first-time feature film director fresh out of film school, faced a difficult decision on set. The crew had a permit to shoot in an alley in Tribeca, but nearby tenants wanted them to leave. Should she pack up the entire cast and crew and move? Or try to keep filming despite the challenges?
Time was money on a film set, and Christy couldn’t afford to lose any more time. After careful consideration, she decided to cut her losses and relocate 20 blocks north to an alley in SoHo. The crew packed up and hauled their gear, while the actors took a cab to the new location.
It was yet another moment when Christy questioned whether her dream—something she had been chasing for years, pouring her life savings into, and giving up a successful career for—would ever materialize.
I met Christy in 2016 at a writers’ colony in Eureka Springs, Arkansas. I was intrigued by the colored index cards she tacked on a bulletin board in her suite. She explained that it’s a common technique used by screenwriters to organize plots and scenes. She was working on the screenplay for her MFA thesis.
Christy had run a successful off-off Broadway theater in New York City for two decades before deciding to enroll in the Graduate Film Program at the Tisch School at New York University in 2012. The program accepts less than 2% of applicants.
After decades of supporting the work of other artists, Christy decided to take the plunge to do what she had long dreamed of: making movies. Her feature-length script, “Magic Hour,” is a fictionalized account of what happens when a middle-aged woman, filled with self-recrimination and doubt, puts her dream of going back to film school to the test.
Was her art imitating life or vice versa? It’s likely a combination of both. Christy says she felt she needed to fix an endless list of things in her life before she was allowed to pursue what she really wanted. She told herself she ought to get her finances and romantic life in order first. She really should organize her closet and deal with all the stuff she was putting off.
She finally realized it was never going to be the perfect time to make such a leap of faith. So, she took the plunge.
In the decade she’s been working toward this project, she learned a valuable lesson. “The transformation happens while you live your dream,” she said. “All the personal demons are in your face, and you grapple with them every day. You can’t hide from them anymore.”
After she had completed her script, through endless rounds of revisions and workshopping, she had to raise the money to actually make the thing. She was an older film school graduate with no proven track record, and she wanted a top-notch cast of talented actors and crew for her first feature project.
One of the participants in her writing group, Patrick Breen, a well-regarded character actor, agreed to play a small role. Once he signed on, it was easier to convince other established actors to take a chance on her.
Actress Miriam Shor plays the lead character. One of Christy’s NYU faculty members, filmmaker Spike Lee, gave her notes on the project.
Christy had to venture far outside her comfort zone and ask for big favors to get the film made: They shot some of the scenes in her sister’s house, the cast and crew worked well below their normal rates, and friends lent props — including a car. This was in addition to seeking private investors and crowdsourcing funding.
“I’m definitely taking ridiculous financial risks with this film,” she said. “I’m not advising that anyone else do that, but I’m giving it everything I have.”
Christy’s goal is to get the film distributed and shown in theaters across the country. Eventually, she wants it to live on a streaming site. During the years-long process, she’s worked on a number of other productions, including directing my first narrative short in St. Louis in 2017.
Last week, she returned to the city to screen “Magic Hour” at the St. Louis International Film Festival — the last leg of a yearlong festival circuit. It was remarkable to see how far her vision had come from scribbles on note cards on a cork board.
I did a question-and-answer with her for the audience after the screening.
An older woman in the audience raised her hand. She said she doesn’t watch — or like — many films, but this was the best film she had ever seen.
I looked at Christy’s face at that moment. For a second, she looked stunned. She smiled and thanked the woman.
I know she has so much more she wants to accomplish with this film, and her career, before she feels like she’s achieved that dream. But maybe she already has.
