Conversations with Jaimey Groot

Today we’d like to introduce you to Jaimey Groot.

Hi Jaimey, it’s an honor to have you on the platform. Thanks for sharing your story with us – to start, maybe you can share some of your backstories with our readers.
My name is Jaimey Groot. I am a documentary filmmaker from The Netherlands. I directed and filmed the music documentary “I Do Matter” about singer-songwriter Judy Blank. Judy Blank caught my eye because of her modesty behind the scenes. I met her during a music festival in The Netherlands in 2013 when she was 19. I recorded her gig, and she invited me to shoot backstage. Since then, I have been following her closely with a camera for seven years. Judy was going through many changes musically and, most importantly, personally. Getting famous at a young age dramatically impacts the sensitive Judy. We decided to capture her road to fame.

Judy left for The States in 2015 with her last savings. At that time, she faced the difficult choice of giving up or continuing in the music world. Her first record did not go well in the Netherlands, and her self-confidence dropped. Her second album took so long that I didn’t get curious to know if it was coming. She was so dissatisfied with her first album that she didn’t want to be reminded of it anymore. Fortunately, the self-critical Judy found her love and passion for music at her own pace in Louisiana and Nashville. She managed to play in all kinds of places and took a different road. Her music changed from superficial jazz-pop to sensitive folk/Americana. Then she flourished at open mic nights and in the studio with American musicians. That can be heard on the album Morning Sun.’ From then on, Judy seems to be more confident on stage, but backstage she is often agitated. She finds the crowd’s reaction necessary, and a negative message can easily upset her. She wants to connect with her audience but can easily be overwhelmed by it.

She often returned to Nashville, where she felt most comfortable. I promised her I’d go after her with the camera if she might break through in The States. In the summer of 2019, Judy called me excitedly with the news that she would be the first Dutch person ever at the largest Americana music festival in the world, Americanafest in Nashville. It was inconceivable that this project would end any other way than with her gigs at the world-famous Americanafest. Without a doubt, I said, “Of course, I’m going with you!” Judy got the chance of a lifetime. But how did she control her fears and insecurities as she prepared for this ultimate opportunity? I traveled with her to where she found her style between her strength and vulnerability. I asked her about her ‘road to fame. How does she deal with this fame when she’d rather stay small? What is behind the urge to show her music to the world?

In the documentary, we come across Judy’s thoughts and feelings during the peak of her music career. Many scenes in the documentary will be recognizable to young people who feel that they have to perform at all times, that their careers don’t just happen, and that they must seize every opportunity. And that they have to do everything themselves because they believe all their responsibilities lie within themselves. The documentary gives a clear insight into the norms and beliefs of today’s young people.

Alright, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall, and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
The whole project was a challenge for Judy and me. Initially, we didn’t have any money, so we financed the documentary alone. I always believed in Judy’s potential and music and, of course, in the documentary. We have set up a crowdfunding campaign to fund the trip to Nashville. Fortunately, within three weeks, more than a hundred people worldwide supported the campaign, and we went to Nashville with a small crew. During filming, deciding whether we should continue or stop filming was the most challenging for me. I sensed Judy’s mood all the time, but she sensed everybody’s mood also all the time.

Because of this, Judy was constantly overstrung when we filmed in the USA. It was challenging to keep our connection, and I was getting overstrung myself. We laughed and cried a lot. I found myself crying in the middle of the crowd after Judy’s showcase in The Basement East (Nashville), just after we wrapped up the filming part. I felt that a weight was fallen off my shoulders. And I didn’t know this weight or pressure was there all this time. I felt responsible for finishing the project and making a high-quality documentary with limited resources. We finally finished filming the documentary after seven years of intensive filmmaking while studying and working. Judy and I cried again while watching the documentary together for the first time. For Judy, it was extraordinary to see my point of view on her road to fame. She could see herself and the proceeds of all her work and behavior from a distance. This was helpful for her personal growth. She realized she didn’t want to be this overstrung person and didn’t feel connected anymore to her’ old self’.

Alright, so let’s switch gears a bit and talk business. What should we know about your work?
I am a documentary filmmaker dedicated to education, mental healthcare, and (performance) art. From the beginning of my career, I made films from the child’s perspective. For me, this is the most exciting perspective. I graduated from the University of Arts, Utrecht, in 2018 with the documentary Look Before I Leap (or Dutch: Pin me er niet op vast). It is a coming of age about the division of levels in the last grade of elementary school. The main character is at the beginning of puberty, with one foot in her childhood and one foot in maturity. The division affected her calm and childish state of mind and being. This documentary significantly impacted parents, teachers, and educational professionals. The documentary became the best-viewed debut of 2018, ranked ninth among the best documentaries of 2018 in The Netherlands, and was shown at several film festivals worldwide. Much of the documentary takes place in the head of the main character; a child called Britt (11 years). Her childlike reality is mixed with reality; this is partly staged.

It is important as a maker to address a societal problem and ultimately to change something with a film. I prefer to do this through a documentary because I can directly support people in the documentary. Participating in a documentary can be therapeutic. Because of this therapeutic characteristic of a documentary, the audience could also experience a transformation in their minds. The choice to make a documentary about education’s ‘side effects stems from the fascination for children. Children look at the world with a pure and expressive view and do everything by feeling natural. They do what they want and find happiness in small things if they can. They live in the moment, and they have a great imagination. In public schools, this is different from the education programs. I’m 29 years old now and feel like I’m still dangling between being a kid and an adult, and I am not ashamed about it. It is beneficial for your art and well-being. Pure happiness is looking at things from a child’s point of view. To understand children’s experiences, you must ‘tune in’ with them and be at their level. This gives you a glimpse of the child’s domain. As you grow up, that childish view of the world gets increasingly in the background, and that’s a shame.

I want to share a quote that inspires me every time I read it; it’s from the video essay; ‘Why you need awe in your life’ – by Jason Silva:

‘The only state for me is the state of cosmic wonder, the state where cognition and dream fuse. When we experience something for the first time, we enter the child’s perception. It goes back to our capacity to spotlight attention. And when we get there, there is a sense of awe; there is a sense of gratitude, we find what we are looking for, we finally taste that grace.’

When I make a documentary, I want to get people in this state of wonder or the child’s perception. At the documentary’s end, I want them to think differently about a subject or person. I also choose the main character with whom people can recognize themselves. I want to achieve this by being present in real-time with the main character’s development, just as I did with Judy. I strive to make documentaries as immersive as fiction films, preferably from the child’s perspective. In this way, the involvement and tension are most strongly felt. I amplify this even more through the subtle use of subjectivity in image and sound. With this method, I balance the border of fiction and documentary, which I strive for in my work. I got an intuitive feel for documentary stories, and I combined this with a strong passion for cinematography.

What do you like and dislike about the city?
What I like about Amsterdam is that the visible history gives a lot of depth and wonder while strolling or cycling in the city. What I don’t like about the city is that it’s crowded everywhere and you have to pay so much for simple things. It can take you out of the delusion of the day.

Contact Info:

• Website: www.idomatterfilm.com
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/idomatterfilm/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/idomatterfilm
• Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC0Wd-YXc6m30snvGNzQ5emA
• Other: https://filmfreeway.com/JaimeyGroot

Image Credits
Portrait of Jaimey Groot: All rights reserved to Nikki Van de Poel –  stills from the documentary “I Do Matter.” All rights reserved to Jaimey Groot