Documentary First Podcast

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Episode 264: Billy Joel: Telling the Story Behind the Musician (with Jessica Levin)

In this episode of Documentary First, Christian sits down with filmmaker Jessica Levin, co-director and producer of the Critics Choice Documentary Awards in the Best Music Documentary-nominated HBO documentary Billy Joel: And So It Goes. Jessica shares what it was like to tell the story of Billy Joel—not just as a legendary musician, but as a human being full of depth, contradiction, humor, and heart.

Together, they explore the craft of music documentary filmmaking: how to build trust during intimate interviews, how to follow emotional truth rather than timeline, and how music itself can become the spine of a narrative. Jessica opens up about the collaborative process behind shaping the film’s nonlinear structure, as well as the responsibility that comes with telling a story about someone the world already feels like they know.

Whether you are a filmmaker, a musician, or someone whose life has ever been held by a song — this conversation is creative, heartfelt, and filled with insights about storytelling, memory, and what it means to truly listen.

Links:

American Masters: American Masters (TV Series 1985– ) – Reference view – IMDb

Billy Joel: And So It Goes: Billy Joel: And So It Goes (TV Mini Series 2025) – Reference view – IMDb

Inventing David Geffen: “American Masters” Inventing David Geffen (TV Episode 2012) – Reference view – IMDb

Joni Mitchell: A Women of Heart and Mind: “American Masters” Joni Mitchell: A Woman of Heart and Mind (TV Episode 2003) – Reference view – IMDb

The Janes: The Janes (2022) – Reference view – IMDb

DocuView Déjà Vu

The Andy Warhol Diaries, 2022, Limited Series with 6 episodes, watch on Netflix, IMDB Link: The Andy Warhol Diaries (TV Mini Series 2022) – Reference view – IMDb

Time Codes

00:00 — Opening Reflections
02:54 — Early Relationships and Artistic Roots
05:31 — Balancing Myth and Humanity
08:19 — Creating Space for Vulnerability in Interviews
11:06 — Collaboration as Creative Strength
13:50 — Following Emotional Truth, Not Just Timeline
16:38 — How Personal Relationships Shape Art
19:15 — Challenges of Documenting a Cultural Icon
22:03 — Crafting a Nonlinear Story Structure
24:55 — The Reality of Producing a Major Music Documentary
27:42 — Audience Reaction and Cultural Memory
30:14 — Tracking Billy Joel’s Musical Influences
33:02 — What Makes His Music Resonant
36:46 — Lyrics as Self-Understanding
40:06 — Love, Loss, and the Songs Between
42:49 — Building Trust On and Off Camera
47:34 — Leadership in Storytelling
51:26 — Scoring the Emotional Arc
56:01 — Why Structure Matters
58:59 — Personal Growth Through Filmmaking
1:02:01 — Final Thoughts & Recommendations