Jenny Lee-Gilmore

Watch LITTLE MISS SLEEPY On YouTube

Watch This Episode On YouTube

At 21, Jenny Lee-Gilmore was diagnosed with narcolepsy. In her film LITTLE MISS SLEEPY, she explores what it's like to live with a neurological disorder that's misunderstood and often misdiagnosed.

In this conversation, we explore how she made that decision to turn one of her most personal life stories into a documentary and what advice she has for other filmmakers.

The film recently screened at GEMFest 2025 in Vancouver.

In this episode, Jenny and I talk about:

• what it was like to make something so personal and then screening it;
• how she decided to tell the story of narcolepsy through filmmaking -- "originally, no, I never wanted to make a film about this. I never thought I'd about my experiences";
• how her mom's story in OVERTIME (2023) made her comfortable releasing this film;
• what kind of concessions she made about what she couldn't share;
• advice she has for other documentary filmmakers starting on such a personal journey -- "surround yourself with a great crew";
• the ability to connect through vulnerability with other people;
• how she was able to find a crew for such a personal story?;
• how she sees documentary filmmaking going forward -- "people usually aren't going to watch documentaries, but so many more documentaries are being more cinematic";
• how she developed the unique hook for this film;
• what it is like as a filmmaker in British Columbia and why they don't get as much funding as the East Coast of Canada;
• does she ever feel pigeonholed as a documentary filmmaker, especially with her interest in narrative filmmaking;
• what's next for her --- she just finished a narrative short film and working on her first feature.

Jenny's Indie Film Highlight: MY OLD ASS (2024) dir. by Megan Park

Links:

Follow Jenny On Instagram

Watch LITTLE MISS SLEEPY On YouTube