Bottom of Your Belly - Katy Guillen & The Drive

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.

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.

Making The Video

Group of people filming a scene with a white car parked in front of a white house during sunset.

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.

Impact

Credits

Film crew filming with camera and clapperboard, outdoor setting with green grass and trees.

  • Director / Producer: Khitam Jabr

  • Cinematographer: John Baetty

  • Editor: Khitam Jabr

Group of people standing and sitting around a white vintage car with wood paneling, parked on a city street with a construction site and brick buildings in the background.
Film crew filming a scene inside a white car with a woman looking down, on a sunny day outdoors.
Interior of a vintage car showing a steering wheel, dashboard, analog gauges, radio, control buttons, and gear shift.
A vintage station wagon with wood paneling parked on grass beside a rural road. The car has a camera rig mounted on the front, with some equipment and wires attached. The background features a large open field and a clear sky.
People standing beside a vintage car outdoors at sunset, with one person holding papers and the other working on the engine.
A woman with sunglasses lying in a vintage car with wooden paneling, while another woman in a white dress sits in the passenger seat.
A vintage convertible car with wood paneling, driven by a woman with sunglasses and a headscarf, on a road with a blurred brown background.
A film crew prepares a scene with a young woman sitting on a ledge, getting her makeup retouched, while a man adjusts her hair or face. A woman is doing her hair or makeup in an outdoor setting near a parking lot.
Four men working together outdoors, near a vintage car, with equipment and tools, in an open field.
Women and crew members around a vintage convertible car, with one woman sitting in the driver's seat wearing sunglasses, smiling, and another woman lying in the back seat holding a camera, smiling.
A woman with long red hair, wearing sunglasses, playing drums outdoors near a brick wall and green door.
Two women sitting in a vintage car, facing each other, with houses in the background during sunset.
A woman playing an electric guitar and singing into a microphone, with her eyes closed and head tilted back, while a drummer plays in the background.
A man wearing a blue cap, sunglasses, and a black jacket operating a professional film camera outdoors on a cloudy day, with leafless trees and houses in the background.
A man operating a large camera rig outdoors in a residential neighborhood during overcast weather.
A man in a black jacket smiling at the camera while leaning on a drone outdoors during sunset.

Other Music Video Work

Discoloration
Toxic