Bottom of Your Belly

When Katy Guillen and the Drive approached me about creating a music video ahead of their album Another One Gained, they wanted more than just visuals, they wanted a reintroduction. Long celebrated in the blues scene, Katy and Steph were now steering into indie rock territory, and their lead single, Bottom of Your Belly, needed to set that tone.

The first time I heard the track in rehearsal, instrumental only, the sound alone conjured the image of tires spinning on gravel, dirt clouds rising in rebellion. That instinct led me to revisit the classic movie, Thelma & Louise. When I paired the film’s iconic climax with the song and sent it to the band, they were all in. That moment set the foundation: a cinematic homage reframed as a queer love story, rooted in grit, risk, and freedom.

This video became more than an aesthetic choice, it was about centering Katy and Steph’s real-life partnership in a narrative that both honored a classic and carved out new space for queer representation in rock.

Making the Video

The production was built on resourcefulness and community. I storyboarded directly from Thelma & Louise frames, worked with DP John Beatty to craft a shot list, and pulled together a crew of 15 seasoned professionals who all donated their time because of the reputation I’ve built for creating ambitious, collaborative sets. Every detail—from the wood-paneled Chrysler LeBaron borrowed from a friend, to the Butler, MO farmland offered up by an old classmate’s father, to the West Bottoms storefront I tracked down through Facebook sleuthing, was the result of relationship building and creative problem solving.

We leaned into natural light, shaping it with flags and reflectors, and styled the band from our own wardrobes. Even the iconic scarf came from my mother’s closet. The set was fueled by her home cooked Middle Eastern food, something I’ve come to see as essential to sustaining a crew working for love rather than pay.

Impact

Shot with heart and grit, Bottom of Your Belly became the perfect visual bridge between Katy Guillen and the Drive’s blues past and indie rock future. The video has garnered 20,000+ views and continues to resonate as a queer-centered reimagining of a classic American cinematic moment.

Every time I return to this project, I’m reminded that the power of filmmaking isn’t in the budget, but in vision, community, and the willingness to reimagine what’s possible with the resources at hand.

Credits

Director / Producer: Khitam Jabr

Cinematographer: John Baetty

Editor: Khitam Jabr

BTS Photographer: Travis Young

Two women outdoors, one with red hair wearing sunglasses and a denim jacket, the other with brown hair, a floral headscarf, and sunglasses, smiling and touching the shoulder of the first woman, with a large brown bag and a table or surface in the foreground.
Three women enjoying a sunny day outdoors near a vintage convertible car, with one woman sitting inside the car and two women standing outside, one of whom is playing guitar.
A vintage station wagon with a wood panel exterior parked on grass beside a road in a rural area, equipped with filming equipment on the roof, overlooking open fields and a clear sky.
A woman with red hair, sunglasses, and a black T-shirt running out of a convenience store with a black backpack.
Interior of a vintage car showing a wooden dashboard, steering wheel, and radio controls, with a gear shift and key in ignition.
A female musician passionately playing an electric guitar and singing into a microphone with her eyes closed, wearing sunglasses and a bandana. A drummer is in the background playing drums on a stage.
A woman with long red hair wearing sunglasses is playing drums outdoors near a green door and brick wall.
A film crew shooting a scene outdoors next to a white car with a 'Missouri Bean' license plate, in front of a white house during sunset.
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