THE FILMMAKERS
Co-Directed & Produced by Aaron Bear & Skylar Nielsen.
Aaron Bear is a documentary filmmaker whose work explores identity, human connection, and the capacity for change. He directed Finding Kim and Yes I Am - The Ric Weiland Story, which received a 2024 GLAAD Media Award for Special Recognition, and co-produced Shelly’s Leg. His current projects include A Light in Cañon City. He brings research-driven storytelling and a commitment to the complexity of people’s lives to Steele Crazy.
Skylar Nielsen is a director and fashion photographer with an eye for the moment a polished image lets its guard down. His long-running relationships with Sundance and Adobe span the worlds of independent film and creative production. He brings a fashion photographer’s feel for gesture, light, and presence to Steele Crazy.
AARON’S NOTE
I first encountered Jahna in a photograph of the Crazy Girls leaving a club. I wanted to know who these women were. I showed the image to Skylar while we were on a work trip in Italy, and we began talking about a documentary following their lives. Once I started researching Jahna, the film became hers.
Her talent drew me in. Learning about her warmth and sensitivity made the commitment personal. My work begins with the belief that getting to know someone can change how we see the world. I want audiences to experience the pleasure of spending time with Jahna, alongside an honest understanding of what she lived through.
The archive keeps opening into new discoveries. So do conversations with her family. I arrived with assumptions about rejection and encountered love and support. Making this film means continuing to listen when the evidence changes the story I thought I understood.
I want to give Jahna the attention and care a full life deserves. Her ambition, humor, work, and relationships belong together. The film should leave room for all of them.
THE STORY IS STILL UNFOLDING
Did you work with Jahna, see her perform, share a friendship, or know her through family? We would love to hear from you. Photographs, recordings, letters, programs, and the details that never made the papers may help us understand her life more fully.