Private Project

In the Zone: Rick Kilburn

From Canada to New York City, performing with jazz greats like Dave Brubeck to Mose Allison, here's a glimpse into the zone with multi-award winning, Vancouver Island Bassist and Producer Rick Kilburn.

Producer/Editor: Kerilie McDowall
Camera: Doug Tombe / Stas Bobkov
Technical and Production Support: Todd Jones

  • Rick Kilburn
    Key Cast
  • Kerilie McDowall
    Director
  • Kerilie McDowall
    Writer
  • Kerilie McDowall
    Producer
  • Kerilie McDowall
    Host/Narrator
  • Kerilie McDowall
    Editor
  • Doug Tombe
    Credits
    camera
  • Stas Bobkov
    Credits
    camera
  • Todd Jones
    Credits
    Technical assistance
  • Photo by Clifford Anderson
    Photo
  • Project Type:
    Documentary, Short, Television, Web / New Media
  • Runtime:
    10 minutes 36 seconds
  • Completion Date:
    March 10, 2020
  • Production Budget:
    0 USD
  • Country of Origin:
    Canada
  • Country of Filming:
    Canada
  • Language:
    English
  • Shooting Format:
    Digital
  • Film Color:
    Color
  • First-time Filmmaker:
    Yes
  • Student Project:
    No
  • Independent Shorts Awards
    Hollywood
    United States
    Honorable Mention Best Web and New Media
  • Independent Shorts Awards
    Hollywood
    United States
    Official Selection Best First Time Director (Female)
  • Jelly Fest Film Festival
    Hollywood
    United States
    Finalist
  • Montreal Independent Film Festival
    Montreal
    Canada
    Best Short Documentary Official Selection
  • Montreal Independent Film Festival
    Montreal
    Canada
    Offical Selection First-Time Filmmaker
  • Toronto Women International Film Festival
    Toronto, Ontario
    Canada
    Official Selection
  • Indie Short Fest
    Hollywood, Los Angeles
    United States
    Oustanding Achievement Best Web and New Media
  • IndieX Film Fest
    Hollywood, Los Angeles
    United States
    Best Web and New Media Winner
  • Beyond the Curve International Film Festival
    Paris
    France
    Finalist
  • Tokyo International Short Film Festival
    Tokyo
    Japan
    July 20, 2021
    Pemiere in Japan
    Finalist/Official Selection
  • Roma Short Film Festival
    Rome
    Italy
    August 7, 2021
    Premiere in Italy
    Finalist/Official Selection
  • London International Monthly Film Festival
    London
    United Kingdom
    Best Documentary
  • Toronto Independent Film Festival of Cift
    Toronto, Ontario
    Canada
    Best Canadian Documentary
  • Seoul International Short Film Festival
    Seoul
    Korea, Republic of
    July 5, 2021
    Best Director
  • New York International Women Festival
    New York
    United States
    Finalist
  • World Cinema Milan
    London
    United Kingdom
    November 11, 2021
    Best Editing of a Documentary
  • Tokyo International Monthly Film Festival
    Tokyo
    Japan
    Honorable Mention
  • Vegas Movie Awards
    Las Vegas
    United States
    Official Selection
  • Swedish International Film Festival
    Arvika
    Sweden
    Official Selection
  • Vegas Movie Awards
    Las Vegas
    United States
    Best Documentary Short
  • Vegas Movie Awards
    Las Vegas
    United States
    Best Inspirational Film
  • Tokyo International Monthly Film Festival
    Tokyo
    Japan
    Honorable Mention
  • Filmhaus Berlin
    Berlin
    Germany
    Selected
Director Biography - Kerilie McDowall

Multi-Hollywood-award-winning short film director and US award-winning past radio host/producer and global Rhythm’a’ning jazz podcast host Kerilie McDowall is a Nanaimo, Canada online guitar instructor business owner and has been a music critic contributor for the globe's prestigious top American jazz magazine DownBeat (2016-20). As a former volunteer live radio host, producer/on-air engineer, she listened to thousands of creative, jazz and improvised Canadian, US and global recordings during her 18 years in the radio industry. As a #1 globally ranked jazz podcast radio host on Player FM, McDowall interviewed Canada’s elite jazz and creative music artists including JUNO winners and Order of Canada recipients.

A professional jazz guitarist, instructor and music composer in the 90’s in Vancouver, McDowall is a York University Bachelor of Fine Arts music graduate. Her area of study was New Music Composition and Classical and Jazz Guitar Performance. McDowall has 17 years of guitar instruction experience and 35 years of music industry expertise. McDowall sits on the Polaris Music Prize jury, judged the JUNO Awards recently and in 2016-18, and has judged the DownBeat Critics Poll for several years.

In 2016 McDowall won the Black Women & The Arts Awards Stiletto Woman of Distinction Award and was Nanaimo Magazine’s Celebrity of the Month in 2016 and 2021. She volunteers hosting on SHAW Spotlight television programs and just completed five years of volunteer television directing training pre-COVID in March 2020, including working on a mini-documentary short film project as a director/producer training with SHAW staff mentor Producer Todd Jones in directing, filmmaking and film editing. The end result was McDowall's first short mini-jazz documentary - In the Zone: Rick Kilburn, Vancouver Island Bassist and Producer, made possible by SHAW Spotlight TV with much grateful thanks to Todd Jones and the wonderful SHAW Spotlight volunteer and staff team.

The team received an honorable mention at the Independent Shorts Awards that led to an invite and to 2021. The short doc placed as finalist in jellyFEST Film Festival, #Hollywood, #USA. It is a selection of the Montreal Independent Film Festival, Toronto International Women's Film festival, Tokyo International Short Film Festival, Beyond the Curve International, Independent Shorts Awards, IndieX Film Fest and Indie Short Fest. The short was an honorable mention award winner and an official selection of the Independent Shorts Awards and later won Outstanding Achievement, winning its category, Best Web and New Media at Hollywood, LA's Indie Short Fest. Since then the short has had a third Hollywood win and won Best Web and New Media at the IndieX Film Fest, and in June 2021 won five awards, winning Best Canadian Documentary at the Toronto Independent Film Festival of Cift, Best Documentary at the London International Monthly Film Festival, and most recently Best Director at the Seoul International Short Film Festival. The film has screened in Tokyo and Seoul and will be screening soon in Rome. After screening in Seoul and Japan Kerilie's IMDB Pro STARmeter reached over 6.3 million in July 2021.

Kerilie enjoys her passions of composing, playing guitar and volunteering in local television work residing on scenic Vancouver Island on the far west coast of Canada.

You can view and enjoy the short film here:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=koV7F42KO0U&feature=youtu.be

To reach Kerilie or the team email: keriliemcdowall(at)gmail(dot)com.

Add Director Biography
Director Statement

Hi Friends,

I just released a jazz short mini-documentary In the Zone: Rick Kilburn Vancouver Island Bassist and Producer as a volunteer director/producer and host at Shaw Spotlight TV. It's a positive story and you are welcome to watch the mini-doc and subscribe to the free Shaw Spotlight YouTube channel if you like to take your mind off the pandemic crisis: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCG59mlkG3p4fdI0rX6vIjdA

This is the mini-doc film link: https://m.youtube.com/watch?feature=youtu.be&v=koV7F42KO0U

This link features an article l wrote that gives more background on Rick Kilburn from INSPIRED magazine: https://www.seniorlivingmag.com/no-limits/

It is my hope that you can just enjoy a momentary break and take your mind off things. The mini-doc was filmed on Vancouver Island in 2019 and was completed on March 10, 2020 and just released during the COVID-19 crisis on March 17, 2020.

It has been a challenge to place this short in a suitable category because it is somewhat of a new approach. The film was crafted for use for television AND YouTube at the same time. (This explains the use of those graphics; Re: a YouTube video can be stopped at any time to read graphics from any public domain photos). And yes, this film was created with almost a zero budget thanks to SHAW Spotlight.

Nanaimo SHAW Spotlight supervisor Cameron McLean has provided me many opportunities to develop my television hosting, directing, and filmmaking skills over recent years. I would like to thank Cameron and also my mentor SHAW Producer Todd Jones for his patient, excellent guidance with Television Director and filmmaking training. And much thanks to SHAW Producer Jocelyn Matwe for her continued assistance and valuable insights with production.

My cameramen SHAW's tech whiz Stas Bobkov, and volunteer Doug Tombe, are wonderfully skilled and creative and I can not thank them enough for their time, energy, and excellent skills and ideas. I am sending out much love to the dedicated SHAW Spotlight television staff team and volunteers for helping make this short film possible.

If you would like to reach me with any comments or thoughts or ideas for collaboration please email me: keriliemcdowall(at)gmail(dot)com.

Stay safe everyone.

Kerilie McDowall
Director/Producer

If you would like to read further information this is our latest press release:

February 9, 2021

“When I was 12 my father introduced me to Scott LaFaro and when my Dad asked me, ‘what do you want to do?’ I pointed at Scott and said, ’that,’” says jazz bassist/producer Rick Kilburn. "The pursuit of music is basically the pursuit of oneself...a very spiritual undertaking,” reflects the bassist. “I strive to occupy my physical body with my spirit body at a minimum ratio of 51% spirit, to 50% physical body. That’s a good starting point to strive for. The spirit runs the show and the higher the spirit percentage, the better. So you do what you can to achieve that goal.”

Past DownBeat magazine writer/critic contributor and Canadian jazz guitarist Kerilie McDowall has been awarded finalist status after being invited to Hollywood’s jellyFEST Film Festival for her recent short film entitled, In the Zone: Rick Kilburn.

Released in March 2020, from her work for the past five years as a volunteer community television director and TV host for Nanaimo’s Shaw Spotlight, the made-for-TV/YouTube jazz mini-documentary film features Qualicum, BC, multi-award-winning jazz bassist, arranger, and producer Rick Kilburn. The short first received an Honorable Mention at Hollywood’s Independent Shorts Awards and afterward, director/producer McDowall received an invite to the jellyFEST Film Festival. The mini-doc was also selected by the Montreal Independent Film Festival.

Praised by Guitar Player magazine as, “a very talented musician,” filmmaker McDowall is a former Vancouver jazz guitarist and was a live jazz radio host/producer/engineer for 17 years. Her US-award-winning radio jazz podcast, Rhythm’a’ning was #1 on Google through Player FM during 2013-2015. McDowall is a current Canadian Polaris Music Prize juror, a recent JUNO Awards judge, and was a critic for the DownBeat Critics Poll from 2016-20. She enjoys teaching the guitar, and experiments with composing and new hobbies like modern art and cooking.

“It is thanks to Cameron McLean, Todd Jones, and the Shaw Spotlight team that I had the opportunity to create this film and it’s with grateful thanks to them that the short was released just before prohibitive restrictions were in place in Canada due to COVID-19,” says McDowall. “The Shaw Spotlight team has been like a second family to me. Working with Shaw mentor Producer Todd Jones and the team has been a very valuable experience allowing me to develop my filmmaking, directing, producing, and television hosting skills.”

Canada’s Rick Kilburn, a former New York City resident, has received four Canadian JUNO awards, has formerly shortlisted for a Grammy, and has received other west and east coast awards for his extensive work with musicians as a jazz record producer. As a bassist, he has worked with the elite of the jazz world including Dave Brubeck, Chet Baker, Diana Krall, Paul Desmond, Lionel Hampton, Joe Lovano, Kenny Werner, Joanne Brackeen, Mose Allison, and countless others. Always with a recording project on the go as a record producer, bassist Kilburn performs currently through live streaming and online events. The short film documents Kilburn’s life and includes solo jazz improvisation, film clips of Kilburn performing, photographs, and stories.

An avid golfer, Kilburn jokes a lot in the short and compares playing the bass to golf. “It’s worse than golf actually. It’s kind of a love-hate relationship…I just close my eyes and go —like abstract painting.”

Director McDowall was initially inspired by filmmaker Director Judy Chaikin’s jazz documentary film, The Girls in The Band, and it led to her having the desire to experiment with local opportunities in filmmaking, television directing, and TV hosting. She has had many jazz and film mentors along the way and is inspired by Kilburn himself.

”Rick passes along deeply sensitive wisdom, and over the years amongst many Canadian interviews, he remains as one of my favorites. He is one of the most clever bassist and producers around. He has passed along masterful knowledge and has been admirable during our friendship working on this film over recent years. I created this short film during moments in my spare time in 2019 while running a business and I am thankful that he and his family were ultra-patient with the ten-month-long filmmaking process. It’s an uplifting and positive story that provides a temporary escape from too much overwhelming news out there. Explore Kilburn’s jazz world. It’s inter-generational and inspiring,” says McDowall.

Read more about Rick Kilburn in INSPIRED magazine: https://www.seniorlivingmag.com/2019/08/01/no-limits/ Watch In the Zone: Rick Kilburn here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=koV7F42KO0U

For additional information/interviews email Kerilie McDowall: keriliemcdowall(at)gmail(dot)com.