film teaser
About the film
“In the Dim Light of Obscurity,” a feature-length documentary film, celebrates the art of the late Missoula, Montana ceramicist and printmaker, Jay Rummel. A self-described creator of “Mystical Histories,” Jay was a storyteller and graphic historian of the American psychedelic West. Revered yet enigmatic, Rummel was a husband, father, and legend of the local artist community. The film follows two present day characters: Jay’s biological son Dan Morton, also an artist, as he learns more about his estranged father through his art, and Brian Sippy, a fine arts devotee and Rummel zealot who is on a mission to preserve and elevate Jay’s enduring craft. Jay Rummel’s story is at times uplifting and joyful, and at others heartbreaking and tragic. This film will tell his story with deep introspection into his artwork.
Meet the crew
Ben Zeimet - Director
Elizabeth first noticed Jay Rummel’s art in the restaurants and bars around her new home of Missoula, Montana in 2012. Her older brother, David, was also taken by Rummel’s work on his frequent visits to town. After lunch one afternoon, the siblings ogled the beautiful chaos of the Rummel prints at the Top Hat Lounge. Curious about the artist, they searched “Jay Rummel Missoula” and found little online information about the artist and his work. Later, Elizabeth snuck David to the back stairway of Radius Gallery on Higgins Avenue to see Rummel’s Girl From the North Country – an eight-by-four foot woodblock print featuring Johnny Cash and Bob Dylan.
Elizabeth met Ben Zeimet, a Missoula-born and raised filmmaker with 17 years experience in storytelling. As a UM college student, Ben recognized that Rummel and Missoula were inseparable – that ‘his aesthetic, his simple lifestyle with a vast knowledge of the world’ was uniquely Missoulian. He was hooked by the opportunity to tell a story foundational to his beloved home town. In Ben, Elizabeth knew that she had found her director.
Elizabeth and Ben then met Brian Sippy, a retired ophthalmologist, art collector, and Rummel fanatic whose philanthropy extends to the fine arts. During the pandemic, Brian bought Rummel prints from across the country with the goal of preserving these unique Montana treasures. Witnessing Brian’s passion and meticulous care for the art, Ben and Elizabeth realized that Rummel’s art deserved a broader audience; the Jay Rummel story warranted more than the short-form, 12 minute film. They pivoted the project, extended their timelines, widened the storytelling, and quadrupled their budget.
Jay Rummel’s life and art wove quite a web. Elizabeth, Ben and the team behind In the Dim Light of Obscurity are unraveling it.
Elizabeth Stegmaier - Producer
Brian Sippy - Executive Producer
David Axelrod - Associate Producer
Support This Film
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Progress of the film
Money raised so far
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Goal for crowd funding
We have completed 50+ interviews with Jay's family, closest friends, contemporaries, and art history professionals throughout the cities and small towns of Montana. We gained access to tens of hours of previously recorded and preserved video and audio of Jay from the early 1990s. This archived material greatly enhances our ability to capture the essence and intricacies of our main character. Following Jay’s story, we have traveled throughout the state of Montana, and to California and Washington. Themes of the film include prolific and restless creativity, addiction, and legacy.
Through a combination of individual donations, grants and foundation support, we are thrilled to share that we have successfully raised our production costs. This covered our costs for filming, equipment and travel from March 2025 - September 2026.
Our post production budget requires raising an additional $120,000 to finish the film. As well as continuing to pursue grant and foundation support, we are turning to our community to assist in crowd funding. Thank you for considering a tax deductible donation through our fiscal sponsor, Missoula Downtown Foundation.
Our goal with crowd funding is to raise $75,000. We will be updating our current amount raised every two weeks. All donations are tax deductible through our fiscal sponsor, Missoula Downtown Foundation.
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