Hey :):) I’m Lindsay Keys. I was raised in a rural farm town (Salem, New York—pop. 1,000) where at an early age, the arts became my escape from the mundane. In high school, I decided I would to orient my life toward cameras. Why? I couldn’t say. It was a hunch, or maybe it’s in my DNA. My paternal grandfather, Sonny, was a blue-collar worker but he often had a camera in his hand. Only after his death did I realize he had an extraordinary eye.
After high school, I enrolled in Wesleyan University where I pursued a Bachelor’s in Studio Art with a concentration in Photography. This is where I discovered both the darkroom and the world of filmmaking. Upon graduating, I moved to New York City to freelance in photography and film production. I began falling in love with narrative filmmaking. Various scripts started to take shape (mostly inspired by my rural, working-class upbringing), and I even acted in a couple films—but then my health unraveled due to years of undiagnosed Lyme and tick-borne disease.
At age 26, unable to function due to Lyme, I had to move home to upstate New York. Through a chance encounter at a local doctor’s office, I connected with another filmmaker in the same situation. Together, we co-directed a feature documentary exposé, The Quiet Epidemic. The film was the official selection of more than 20 film festivals (Hot Docs Int’l Film Festival, DOC NYC, Hamptons Int’l Film Festival, Woodstock Film Festival), garnered positive press and reviews (Variety, PBS, WNYC, KPCC FilmWeek) and had a limited theatrical run across North America. You can now watch The Quiet Epidemic at home.
I’m now co-leading The Quiet Epidemic’s impact campaign—our current focus is bringing the film to Congress, international audiences and medical schools. I also host a virtual writing group called Pressure Release, and I support people through birthing creative projects of their own.
I still appreciate any opportunity to pick up my cameras. I am most passionate about documentary and portrait photography, but really, I enjoy photographing everything…
I wear many hats: director, producer, writer, photographer, cinematographer, project launcher, fundraiser, graphic designer, creative coach and who knows what else? I also have a special passion for psychedelic medicine. If you have an idea / project that you may want support with, reach out!