”How Do You Measure a Year?” with Jay Rosenblatt

Top Docs: Award-Winning Documentary Filmmakers

It says something about filmmaker Jay Rosenblatt that if you go to his website (jayrosenblattfilms.com) and click on “Contact”, the page guides you to “16mm / 35mm rental information”. Jay is that kind of filmmaker — for over 40 years, he’s been making personal, finely crafted documentaries that, regardless of format, have the look and feel of a bespoke 16mm film. Following the success of last year’s touching short “When We Were Bullies”, which was nominated for an Oscar, Jay is back with another nomination in the Best Documentary Short category, this time for the poignant and universally-relatable “How Do You Measure a Year? In this short, Jay films his daughter Ella every year on her birthday, from age two to 18, answering the same set of basic questions that he poses. Joining Ken on the podcast to discuss how the project started out and the challenges, surprises and joys along the way, Jay sheds light on the evolving relationship between a father and daughter as seen through the magical medium of film.

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