LEADERSHIP NARRATIVES
STORIES ABOUT PEOPLE AT THE TOP. AND THE MOMENTS THAT TEST THEM.
documentary + research
The power of listening.
TRADE SHOWS
Sometimes you just say yes …
LIVE + AV PRODUCTION
making complicated things work.
the way it all connects
I'm David Kalisher, a filmmaker, writer, director and founder of Jolly Road Productions.
I've spent much of my life trying to make sense of what's in front of me. That's filmmaking, right? Looking closer. Questioning what we think we know.
I search for the thread that connects moments, people, emotions. And if I get it right, I don't just tell an audience what happened. I bring them in. I let them experience it.
I've found myself doing that in unexpected places
In living rooms, listening to strangers talk about their hopes, fears, and choices. On film sets, trying to make a moment between two actors feel real. On trade show floors, surrounded by people trying to find their place in a crowded world. And in my own life, figuring out where I belong and what comes next.
The settings change. The questions aren't so different.
What matters to you? What are you really trying to say? What's the larger truth underneath the story you're telling?
I've learned that when you give someone your attention, when you put a lens on them and genuinely listen, you tell them that their experiences matter. And sometimes, something remarkable happens. They let you in.
That's where the best stories begin. All of them. With honesty.
I've discovered the same holds true in my own life.
Honesty doesn't tell me where to go. It opens my eyes to what's possible.