Alright – so today we’ve got the honor of introducing you to Melissa Davey. We think you’ll enjoy our conversation, we’ve shared it below.

Melissa, appreciate you joining us today. Did you always know you wanted to pursue a creative or artistic career? When did you first know?

I was 65 years old, sitting in a comfortable senior level corporate career for more than two decades when it hit me that I had reached a milestone age that many consider “retirement age.” It pushed me into questioning what I was doing and whether I should continue. There was no ageism in the national company where I worked, and I could have stayed as long as I wanted but something was pushing me to consider alternatives to what had been my career for so long. I didn’t feel old. I didn’t want to stop working but I also knew I was rather bored with the routine I had created for myself. That prompted me to start making a list of all the things I had fantasized about but never really took seriously. Could I learn to play the saxophone unable to read music? What about writing a book or starting a podcast? What floated to the top continuously as I had this discussion with myself was filmmaking. My love for film and curiosity about how films are made had existed within me since childhood.

While this inventory of my fantasies was happening, I spent a particularly boring day in Washington DC at a Congressional meeting. I was so bored I decided to leave after my early morning session and head home. But instead of going back to work I took a detour and ended up on a back road in Chester County, PA where I came across an outdoor film set and thinking I knew who it was, looked him up on my iPhone. Sure enough it was M Night Shyamalan making a micro budget film and there was a red button that said Charity Buzz on his website, Being the curious person I am I hit the button. Up popped a picture of the famous Director with a banner that said “win a day on the set with M Night Shyamalan!” So I started bidding pretty amazed that this opportunity showed up when I was contemplating a change and film was at the top of my list. I won the day on the set after a bidding war with a dentist in New Jersey. I justified the expense knowing all proceeds went to the Shyamalan’s education foundation.

So there I was, a 65 year old corporate VP hanging out with Shyamalan and his crew for more than 8 hours while he was filming The Visit. At lunch he asked me what I did for work. His eyes glazed over when I told him and he asked me, “what do you really want to do?” I answered immediately, “oh I want your job!” His response: “well you better hurry up.” So I did.

Great, appreciate you sharing that with us. Before we ask you to share more of your insights, can you take a moment to introduce yourself and how you got to where you are today to our readers.

I have been a filmmaker for 9 years. Prior to that I spent 14 years in the non-profit world in management and advocacy positions. Then I was recruited into the for-profit world and was in senior management for more than two decades. When I decided to take the risk of jumping ship to try my hand at filmmaking I was 65. As someone with no filmmaking background I was pretty honest with myself about what I thought would be the easiest type of film to make. I decided that a documentary, helping to tell someone’s story, which was up my alley, would be the most logical choice. In 2021 my first award winning film, Beyond Sixty, was distributed. The film shares the stories of nine women from different backgrounds, highlighting their life experiences and continued relevance as they age. Why I chose to film older women was easy. That is who I am, and I can relate to the invisibility that many women feel as they age. My goal was to show audiences that we remain relevant, interested in life and many of us are doing some pretty amazing things despite our age.

I caught the bug and made a second film, Climbing into Life, the life story of the oldest woman to climb El Capitan in Yosemite National Park. I am currently on the film festival circuit, and we have 6 awards under our belt.

Now at age 74, I am committed to helping to raise the voices of older women in order to challenge viewers to think about aging and what limiting beliefs they may have.

We are never too old to try something new

Do you think there is something that non-creatives might struggle to understand about your journey as a creative? Maybe you can shed some light?

This is an interesting question because I am beginning to think that we are all creatives, we just might not know it. We all create every day. At work, at home and in our communities. While those acts of creation may not be art or film or writing, to name just a few, they are creative in their own way.

When someone asks me how I could possibly make a film if I had no education or training in that field, I tell them I did it because I was curious. Did I have fear? Sure I did. What if I failed? But I could have asked the same question about every job I ever had. I was once brand new at each one of them and I had fear of failure then too. I see that many times we are sidelined with our fears or reluctant to jump into something completely different because people might tell us we are not supposed to wander off our life’s path.

I truly believe we all have a creative side waiting to be released. Maybe it is art or writing or playing an instrument…or making films! But if we don’t test ourselves we will never know if that jump into the unknown is exactly what we had always needed.

If I had failed at making films I suppose the next item on my list would be to learn to read music so I could attempt to play the saxophone. Maybe I will save that for my 80’s. For now, I will continue to help tell the stories of older women with all their glorious messages, through film.

What do you find most rewarding about being a creative?

The most rewarding part of being a filmmaker/storyteller is the feedback I receive from audiences who watch my films. I have received many emails, calls and in person conversations that have been very positive in regard to inspiring others to make a change and try something they always dreamed about but felt the dream was out of reach. To be able to create something that hits home with people is the most rewarding work I have ever been a part of.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.melissadavey.com
• Instagram: @gettingoldbutwhocares @cilmbing_into_life @beyond60project
• Facebook: htpps://facebook.com/melissajoandavey https://facebook.com/climbingintolife https://facebook.com/BeyondSixtyProject
• Linkedin: https://linkedin.com/in/melissa-davey–16484b6
• Twitter: @daveylissa

Image Credits

all credits my own