Hi!
I’m Jessie. I’m a filmmaker. A writer/director, Sundance fellow, Half Initiative alum (Ryan Murphy directing program), and teacher of acting and screenwriting. I make films, write plays, teach fearless weirdos, and scream with joy (and fear) in post-production more times than I can count.
I write about cinema, culture, and the messy, magical human-ness that lives under it.
My tone? Somewhere between punk rock and poetry. My taste? Equal parts Gilda Radner and Jane Campion—don’t make me choose. I’m obsessed with performance, storytelling, desire, vulnerability, ambition, collapse, reinvention.
The light and the shadow.
What is GIVE ME MORE?
This newsletter is a cornucopia of simple pleasures and soulful obsessions because let’s be real — we’re living in a slow-motion nightmare and sometimes the only thing that helps (besides crying in the tub to Dolly Parton) is another fucking substack. You’re welcome.
I write this newsletter because I want to connect with folks who are as obsessed with the emotional guts of storytelling as I am.
Expect essays, rants, dispatches from the creative trenches, film and TV takes (hot and otherwise), interviews, and love letters to art that punches us in the heart.
Subscribe if you’re into cinematic deep dives, cultural chaos, and some tender anarchy. Or just if you love great stories and weirdos.
More about me and my work at JessieBarr.com. Thanks for being here.
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If you like GIVE ME MORE a lot — or even if you just read it to see what the hell movie I recommend so you don’t spend hours doom scrolling — please subscribe and consider becoming a paid subscriber!
Free subscribers receive
“What to Watch” film recommendations and reviews
Craft tips and creative pep talks for artists and filmmakers
Interviews with fellow creatives on their process
Curated lists of things that are bringing me joy: poems, playlists, reading recs, and artist features
* CURRENTLY PAUSED - Paid subscribers receive the free Friday post AND Monday’s private post, which includes
Sneak peeks at new projects, including video/audio notes.
Pick-my-brain Q&As, community conversations, and in-depth interviews with other creative folks I admire
My gratitude—ad infinitum—because being a paid subscriber means you’re directly supporting me and my work
Either way, welcome, and thank you! I’m glad you’re here.
Housekeeping
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Finally, I’d love more folks to hear about GIVE ME MORE. If you know someone who would dig what I’m doing here, please tell them about it.
More Things
I'm on Instagram, Threads, and Twitter—X can keep dreaming, I’m not calling it that.
Check out my debut feature, Sophie Jones, on Showtime. Rent it, buy it, and blast that soundtrack.
Looking for my Letterboxd? The legendary Cumming-of-Rage list is waiting for you.
More about me and my work at JessieBarr.com
