My conversation on the podcast today is with Jill Salvino, an accomplished commercial director and storyteller and the director of Between the Shades, her debut feature documentary that examines the power of labels and the transcendence of love with a deep dive into the LGBTQI experience.

So much of what Jill understands about life resonated with me. The idea of recognizing that our time here is finite, that life is made up of moments, some that are certain to pass us by if we don’t take the time to notice. Of creating a space for hearing one another’s stories with an open heart and the idea that listening can heal us. The reminder that diversity is a gift. “Diversity breeds innovation,” Jill says.

But most of all is the message that humans are wonderfully eclectic creatures that desire to be seen and accepted. To love and be loved. To be part of a community. To bring their full and complete selves to the world. As the film reminds us, there is no black and white to the human experience, and the sooner we understand that, the more peaceful our world will be.

Jill’s film, Between the Shades was screened and honored at dozens of film festivals and partnered with Passion River Films for distribution. It is licensed in over 300 schools and libraries and available on television as well.

Jill has collected over 200 industry awards, including an Emmy, and directed hundreds of commercials and long form content. She has directed four film shorts. Taking it for Granted has screened and won prizes in over a dozen film festivals across the US, including a special screening at NYC’s Downtown Film Festival after taking home Best Drama. The Sonnet Project #74 & #153, was presented by the New York Shakespeare Exchange,  and Lies People Tell which premiered in the San Pedro International Film Festival.  It was chosen by the New York Women in Film and Television as one of their Top Short Films of the Year.  Jill is a member of Promax, long-standing chair of the Telly Silver Counsel, and a Gold Member of the New York Women in Film and Television, Judge of The Emmy's as well as a recipient. She lives in Asbury Park, New Jersey with her wife Susan.

As our country struggles with the polarization that divides us, Jill’s film offers a way out. An opportunity to listen with an open heart to the experiences of those who may live lives that on the surface appear different from ours, but underneath, remind us that people are people, and we all have our own unique stories to tell, if we only take the time to listen.

You can listen to Jill’s episode here.