Jaye Davidson – The Lady Edison

We were able to chat with the Jaye Davidson, the filmmaker of The Lady Edison which will be screening at the Towne Hub in American Fork Utah as part of the Utah Film Festival. In 1870, Margaret Knight launched a patent dispute that would be the first of its kind. She is forced to prove in court that she the designer, is the rightful owner of the patent of the machine that puts bottoms on paper bags; not Charles Annan, the man who has already built it.

What was the inspiration to make The Lady Edison?

Taliesin Nexus, a nonprofit based in Los Angeles, had a grant opportunity to tell stories about historical inventors. We chose Margaret Knight because we found her compelling. Not only had she made an impact with her inventions, but her case against Annan was critical to United States IP law.

From idea to completion, how did The Lady Edison change?

The script was mostly the same, however we had to cut out a childhood flashback because it was not needed and cost prohibitive.

What was the biggest challenge in getting The Lady Edison made? 

Our challenges came in Post-production. We had a very impressive team but we were navigating how to connect with others during the global pandemic in Atlanta, Oxford, MS, Los Angeles, London England, and Vivavillencio, Colombia.

What do you think is the most important takeaway from your film?

This film was a labour of love for so many of the creators. Each shared the passion for bringing Margaret’s story to light. I found I was humbled by how great a process can be if you extend ownership to your team. They rocked it!

If you could have a do over with The Lady Edison, is there anything that you would have done differently? If so, what would you change?

In a perfect world, we would have had a bigger budget to create the perfect replica of Margaret’s machine! Alas, no :).  Other than that, I am extremely grateful.

What do you have in the works?

I am a co-producer on an upcoming feature film, THE FRENCH ITALIAN.

Jaye Sarah Davidson is the director, producer, and writer of “The Lady Edison.” She previously wrote and directed, “Missile Crisis” a short film that screened in over thirty festivals, and won thirteen awards; among them the Grand Jury Prize at the Gasparilla Film Festival and Best Student Film at the Los Angeles Women’s Film Festival. In 2011, she won a Student Emmy for her work as a producer on the “The Planeteer.” She has spent the last several years working in the film and commercial industry in Atlanta, Georgia.

Currently, she is an Assistant Professor in Film Production at the University of Mississippi. Jaye is also an Executive Producer for the upcoming featured documentary entitled SNOWLAND.