“In this charming and profound portrait of artistic devotion, celebrated sculptor James Grashow embarks, at age 79, on a four year odyssey to complete his magnum opus: a gigantic, intricate wooden sculpture dubbed ‘The Cathedral.’”
— Tribeca Film Festival
ABOUT THE FILM
For over six decades, sculptor and artist James Grashow has transformed ordinary materials into extraordinary art. His work has been featured in museums and galleries throughout the U.S., on iconic album covers and in countless publications including Rolling Stone, Esquire, and The New York Times. Jimmy’s wildly inventive and irreverent works stand in contrast to his inner dark side and fear of mortality that have haunted him since childhood. At age 79, he devotes four years and all his strength to creating his spectacularly intricate magnum opus, The Cathedral.
"Director Cindy Meehl's intimate documentary follows the artist's multi-year struggle as he meticulously carves both horrifying demons and glorious angels. As Jimmy confronts his mortality throughout the project, the sculpture becomes a competition between light and darkness, a devotional tribute to life's joys and impermanence. Through patient observation, Meehl captures the physical demands of Jimmy's craft alongside his humor, philosophical depth and enduring love for his wife, Guzzy. What emerges is not merely a portrait of an acclaimed artist whose work has graced The Met and MoMA, but a celebration of creativity's power to confront life, as Jimmy does, 'one demon at a time’.” —Alexander Yan, 2025 Tribeca Film Festival.
PRESS HIGHLIGHTS
“The result is like being transported to a living storybook.”
“Grashow’s ability to manifest pure wonder is breathtaking.”
“JIMMY & THE DEMONS simultaneously feels like a nostalgic hug and a whimsical journey.”
“The story is very compelling and engrossing.”
“The human connection and the very personal journey that he goes on—it grabs you […] you’re hooked until the end.”
WASTELAND
REVIEWER
“...Equal parts funny and moving.”
FILM TEAM
Cindy Meehl
Director
Cindy Meehl is an award-winning director and executive producer known for her feature film documentary work. She founded Cedar Creek Productions in 2008 and directed Buck, her debut film about renowned horse whisperer Buck Brannaman. Premiering at Sundance in 2011, Buck won the U.S. Documentary Audience Award and was shortlisted for an Academy Award.
Meehl also directed The Dog Doc (2019), about Dr. Marty Goldstein, a veterinarian known for his unconventional healing practices, that premiered at Tribeca and was released in 2020. Her latest film, Jimmy & The Demons, which follows a celebrated artist passionately creating his magnum opus, is set to premiere at Tribeca 2025.
Cindy has been an executive producer on a range of critically acclaimed films including Fashion Reimagined (dir. Hutner, 2022), Rewind (dir. Neulinger, 2019), The River and the Wall (dir. Masters, 2019), For the Birds (dir. Miron, 2018), Trapped (dir. Porter, 2016), Unbranded (dir. Baribeau, 2015), and Dogs on the Inside (dir. Cunningham and Seirup, 2014). She’s also an executive producer on Natchez (dir. Herbert), set to 2025.
Meehl’s other directorial work includes the Telly Award-winning series 7 Clinics with Buck Brannaman and a music video for Templeton Thompson’s When I Get That Pony Rode.
Elizabeth Westrate
Producer
Elizabeth Westrate is an Emmy nominated filmmaker with over 25 years of production experience, leading complex international projects for a broad range of clients. Her work has been broadcast on PBS, HBO, Hulu, Amazon, NBC, CNN, Sundance Channel, Public Radio International and at major film festivals and museums around the world.
Westrate is currently the producer of Jimmy & The Demons for Cindy Meehl/Cedar Creek Productions and The Endless Frontier for Consequential Films and The Aspen Institute. She was recently a producer on Jamie Boyle’s feature documentary, Anonymous Sister, which was nominated for the Outstanding Social Issue Documentary Emmy and shortlisted for Best Feature Documentary by the International Documentary Association. Westrate was the director of the critically acclaimed documentary A Family Undertaking (PBS/POV), as well as The James Wolfenshohn Tribute Project, Passing on the Gift and many other films.
She is was series producer of I Contain Multitudes, a twelve-part science series for PBS Digital and HHMI, and also thirty episodes of the innovative ecological PBS series, E2: E2 Design, E2 Energy and E2 Transport. She has acted as line producer for high-profile documentary projects such as Alexis Bloom and Svetlana Zill’s Catching Fire: The Story of Anita Pallenberg (Cannes 2023), Derek Goldman’s Remember This (Great Performances 2023), Dror Moreh’s The Human Factor (Telluride 2019), Roger Ross Williams’ American Jail (CNN Films 2018) and multiple projects for Bruce Springsteen/Thrill Hill with director Thom Zimny.
Jennifer Wastrom
Associate Producer
Associate Producer Jennifer Wastrom began her rewarding work in inspiring documentary filmmaking with Director Cindy Meehl’s company Cedar Creek Productions, where she assisted with The Dog Doc (2020), Rewind (2019) and The River and the Wall (2019). Prior to Cedar Creek, she served in the publicity departments for Simon and Schuster and Little, Brown publishing houses, and in press relations at Lifetime Television. She lives in Redding, CT where she is active in the curatorial work for InSitu, a celebrated sculpture garden.
Toby Shimin
Editor
Editor Toby Shimin began her film career as a sound editor and switched to picture editing when she cut The Children’s Storefront, which was nominated for an Academy Award. Since then, she has edited numerous films that have premiered at Sundance, including, Peabody winner, How to Dance in Ohio, A Leap of Faith, Martha & Ethel, Miss America, Everything’s Cool. Her Sundance Audience Award winning films include, Out of the Past, This Is Home, which was also nominated for an Emmy award in editing, and Buck, which was short-listed for an Academy Award.
Toby received the prestigious Documentary Editing Award at the 2018 Woodstock Film Festival for HBO's 32 Pills: My Sister’s Suicide, Ernie & Joe: Crisis Cops won a Jury Prize at SXSW where it premiered in 2019 and garnered an Emmy for outstanding editing. In 2020 HBO’S Baby God was selected to premiere opening night at SXSW. The Return of Tanya Tucker: Featuring Brandi Carlile won the audience award at SXSW and also won the Documentary Editing Award at the 2022 Woodstock Film Festival. Her recent award winning doc short, The Quilters, was short-listed for the 2025 Academy Awards. Jimmy & The Demons is her latest completed film.
Toby is a principal of Dovetail Films, which she co-founded with Dina Guttmann in 2001. She has served as a mentor for the Edit and Story labs at the Sundance Institute and Chicken & Egg and is on the advisory boards of Full Frame and the Jacob Burns Film Center. She joined the faculty of the School of Visual Arts 9 year ago and is co-curator of the documentary film series, Depot Docs.
Scott Ruderman
Cinematographer
Scott Rudermanis a Connecticut-based cinematographer. With a portfolio spanning diverse genres and subject matters, his work has garnered recognition at prestigious film festivals worldwide and has been featured on prominent platforms such as Netflix, Paramount+, MTV, HBO, PBS, BBC, A&E, Hulu, and Discovery+. His recent feature documentary, Pay Or Die, premiered at SXSW in 2023, DC/Dox 2023, closed The Human Rights Watch Film Festival NY, and won 1st prize Best Documentary Feature at Flickers Rhode Island International Film Festival. Acclaimed for its verité style, his film, Pay Or Die, executive produced by MTV’s Sheila Nevins, sheds light on vital healthcare rights and is currently streaming on Paramount+. Its premiere received accolades from various esteemed critics, including Frank Scheck of The Hollywood Reporter. Film Inquiry recognized Pay Or Die as one of the most vital documentaries in the ongoing fight for healthcare rights.
Tyler Strickland
Composer
Tyler Strickland is an Emmy Award Winning film composer and music producer based in Los Angeles, CA. From 2004-2011, he traveled the world with a Capitol Records artist as a multi-instrumentalist; sharpening his skills in different genres. After deciding to leave behind the touring life, he quickly found his dream path of writing music for film and television. In the past decade, Tyler has scored over 70 films and series that have collectively received over a dozen Emmy nominations and have won numerous awards from the most prestigious film festivals around the world such as; Black and Blue (Sony), Hot Girls Wanted (Netflix), Audrie & Daisy (Netflix), The American Meme (Netflix), and Changing The Game (Hulu) to name a few. Tyler is also no stranger to television, having composed for Stephen King’s Castle Rock for Hulu, Netflix’s Chef’s Table universe, George Clooney-produced true crime series, Trial By Media, and more. Recently Tyler scored hit Peacock shows, “John Wayne Gacy: Devil In Disguise” and “Who Killed Robert Wone”, FX documentary series, “Pride” for FX, Adam McKay-produced The Oxy Kingpins, as well as HBO’s epic six hour series, “Edge Of The Earth”. In 2022, Tyler won an Emmy Award for his score to the six-part Netflix series, “Cat People.” Recent projects include Paramount+ Michael Jackson film Thriller 40, which hit #1 on the platform for weeks, HBO series “Class 57; Navajo Police,” the Netflix hit documentary, Sly on the life and legacy of Sylvester Stallone, as well as upcoming biopics on the life of pop music icon, Selena, as well as Faye Dunaway.
PHOTOS FROM FILMMING
Jimmy & The Demons was filmed in and around Redding, Connecticut, where James Grashow lives and his studio is located.
PHOTOS FROM OUR TRIBECA PREMIERE
Jimmy & The Demons premiered in June 2025 at the Tribeca Film Festival in New York City.
JIMMY VIDEOS
Behind-the-scenes clips and other videos of the one-of-a-kind artist James Grashow.
Watch Jimmy’s acceptance speech upon receiving the 2025 Artist of the Year Award from the Cultural Alliance of Fairfield County. Read more about the honor here. Note: Jimmy says, “This isn’t my first award…” before the video began capturing.
Behind-the-scenes footage of Jimmy Grashow learning that Jimmy & The Demons had been selected to premiere at the 2025 Tribeca Film Festival.
From the wrap party.
Behind-the-scenes footage of Jimmy Grashow.
UPCOMING SCREENINGS
Ridgefield Playhouse | September 13 | Ridgefield, CT
Special evening celebration of Jimmy Grashow at the Ridgefield Playhouse, featuring screening of Jimmy and the Demons and conversation.
2025 Port Townsend Film Festival | September 19-20 | Port Townsend, WA
Doctober Film Festival | October 2 | Bellingham, WA
Opening Night Film!
Rocky Mountain Women’s Film Festival | Oct 17-19 | Colorado Springs, CO
PAST SCREENINGS
2025 Woods Hole Film Festival | July 26 | Woods Hole, MA
2025 Tribeca Film Festival | June 8-15 | New York, NY
“Jimmy has an intoxicating ease and candor while expressing himself. He can be hysterically funny one moment and poetically muse over his insecurity and fear of mortality the next.”