Meet Jaime Leigh Gianopoulos | Director, Producer, Editor, Workshop Facilitator, Speaker

We had the good fortune of connecting with Jaime Leigh Gianopoulos and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Jaime Leigh, what led you to pursuing a creative path professionally?
I never thought it was possible to pursue a career as an artist; however, one of my leadership teachers from an international leadership program I was part of in high school had an interesting process of assigning projects. He would observe the gifts that he saw within people and assign something based on that. I was assigned a documentary film, and that was the first time I realized my childhood dream of filmmaking was an actual possibility that could become a career. I never underestimate the power one person can have on the direction of our lives.

Can you open up a bit about your work and career? We’re big fans and we’d love for our community to learn more about your work.
I believe everything sets us apart from others because we are all on a unique journey and path. What I can say is that I have allowed myself to dive deep into an internal journey alongside my artistic path. I believe that delving into those wounds, ancestral healing, and deep interior discovery connects me to the unique perspective I want to share with the world. I find that the more connected and aligned I am with myself in that way, the more my work transcends the sense of self and connects to the collective. I believe we are all interconnected, and I am interested in using storytelling as a tool to find those interconnected threads, to plant seeds for new ways forward, and to explore the nuance and complexity that can sometimes be oversimplified into a black-and-white polarization, which is dangerous, just like monocrops are dangerous to any biodiverse region.

Transitions fascinate me, and I love mythology, nature, and indigenous perspectives and ceremonies. I am most excited about the unlearning I have been doing and continue to do, the growth that can come alongside creative endeavors, and the dedication and community that is built within small production teams when we have a common goal and mission. It has taken a lot to get to where I am today, and I am still evolving into where I want to be, but I am celebrating and grateful to be at this peak and moment. I have had to sacrifice and surrender to the unknown, including money and job security, in order to dedicate myself to projects I believe in.

It’s a catch-22 because you need a body of work to secure funding, but you can’t get funding without a body of work. So, as a filmmaker, there comes a time when you have to follow your intuition, risk it all, be open to growth, fail, accept rejection, and eventually secure your first funding, building higher and higher project by project. You overcome this challenge through consistency, belief, effort, listening, openness to learn and receive feedback, and deep trust in yourself.

I want the world to know that my production company, Her Stories Inc., goes beyond entertainment. We are here to rediscover what it means to be a storyteller in modern times and remember the role of the village storyteller and how we can bring that sacred role back into its rightful place. We are dedicated to exploring and experimenting with what decolonial pedagogy and equity can look like. This is an imperfect journey, but it is something we believe is important to pursue in a genuine way. There is so much performative empty action when it comes to reconcillation, so we are here to show up without answers but with lots of questions that guide us.

Alongside creating films, I am passionate about inspiring others to reclaim their sovereignty and voices as artists. I offer presentations, workshops, and talks where I present the films and dive into inspirational workshops that touch on many of the themes woven within the films. I am passionate about building community with our audiences and using the films as tools for spiritual, social, and environmental justice, change, and empowerment.

If you had a friend visiting you, what are some of the local spots you’d want to take them around to?

I would surf with the sunrise, ride ATVs through the jungle, hike to waterfalls, bring our cameras, and experiment with video or photos. We would also stop at spontaneous places we find along the way and enjoy food together. In the evening, we would celebrate the sunset by dancing and listening to Afro beats. We would pray together and continue to solidify and share our visions. The goal would be to fully immerse ourselves in the present moment and in our bodies, with fewer thoughts and no small talk, just pure presence.

The people and places that remind you of home and allow you to be yourself are so important. Freedom, spontaneity, loyalty, consistency, beauty, acknowledgement, listening, creativity, and intimate connections are everything to me.

Shoutout is all about shouting out others who you feel deserve additional recognition and exposure. Who would you like to shoutout?
I have to first shout out my parents and my family for believing in me and, even through some of the hardest struggles, helping me to remember that I am free to pursue anything in my life that makes me happy. I am very grateful for that. I am grateful to my ex-partner and dear friend, Claudio Cruz, for working together in the early days to hustle together to self-fund and explore our craft and love of storytelling. I am so grateful to my producer, Shelby Manton, and the entire team at Boldly for their endless support and belief in me. It’s been such a pleasure to work and co-produce alongside such powerful creators. I am also grateful to all of the people who have trusted me with their stories and the deep relationships that have been built over time while creating those projects. I am grateful to my ceremony family and all those who have helped guide me in my life. Additionally, I am grateful to all the authors, filmmakers, musicians, and artists whose work inspires me and teaches me so much. Above all, I am grateful to be alive at this time and have an opportunity to follow my calling in life and fall in love with my career as not just work but as passion and purpose.

Website: www.jaimegianopoulos.com

Instagram: @jaimebeijaflor