Kriti Mehrotra
If there’s one thing absolutely nobody can deny, it’s that veteran documentarian Jay Rosenblatt’s HBO’s ‘How Do You Measure a Year?’ can only be described as beautiful, exquisite, and haunting. After all, it revolves around the deeply intimate as well as complex journey of his daughter Ella’s gradual growth from the day she turned two until she was (almost) ready to face the world at 18. So now, if you simply wish to learn more about her — with a particular focus on her not-so-ordinary background and her current personal standing — we have got the necessary details for you.
Who is Ella Rosenblatt?
As the undeniably headstrong daughter of Stephanie Rapp and filmmaker Jay Rosenblatt, Ella has honestly never been a stranger to the world of entertainment or life surrounded by cameras. Though the sole reason behind the latter aspects is the fact she has essentially been her loving father’s muse since birth — he has carefully documented nearly every aspect of her life through his lens. In fact, while her first 18 months resulted in him coming up with ‘I Used to be a Filmmaker’ (2003), his next project ‘I Like It A Lot’ (2004) was the duo’s adventure to get ice cream when she was 2.
Then there came ‘I’m Charlie Chaplin’ (2005) as well as ‘Beginning Filmmaking’ (2007), both of which followed the dynamic between Ella and Jay without the latter really coming across the screen. The truth is he kept the camera directed toward his little girl in the hopes of not missing out on any juncture of maturity or milestones, as evident in the former despite her being merely 2½ at the time. Coming to the latter, well, it’s the adoring tale of what transpired in the year following his video camera gift to his daughter on her 4th birthday because she’d insisted on wanting to be a director too.
Lastly, there’s ‘How Do You Measure a Year?’ (2021), a 16 years in the making 29-minute short documentary wherein the father-daughter duo captured the beautifully awkward stages of growing up. They actually did so by Jay filming Ella each year on her birthday from the ages of 2-18 and asking her the same questions to really underscore how she went from an innocent toddler to a young woman. The prime example; upon being asked her goals for her future, her response went from wearing makeup and eating candy to working hard in order to make a difference as well as inspire the same.
Ella Rosenblatt is Focusing on Her Career Today
Although Ella has likely always had a sense of stability in life, it appears as if she hasn’t ever taken advantage of it by constantly trying to do the right thing and making professional efforts. In fact, even before she graduated from the Urban School of San Francisco in 2019, the California native had spent time as an intern at both Rhoda Goldman Plaza plus The Contemporary Jewish Museum. Then, she was a Kohn Intern at JVS for three months and did another three months in a similar position at Factory Farming Awareness Coalition, only for it to later evolve into a stable 4-month fellowship.
As if this wasn’t enough, Ella served as a part-time Crew Member at Urban Remedy for over two years (2019-2021) prior to briefly tutoring at Project Matriarchs as well as counseling at Camp Tawonga. Moreover, between these endeavors, she’d also found her calling as a sustainability entrepreneur, driving her to successfully co-found the incredible Plant-Based and Justice (PB&J) Project. This project’s entire aim is to empower individuals and their families to learn more about factory farming while exploring the benefits of plant-based eating through online resources.
Therefore, since Ella’s personal mission is to emphasize sustainability in all facets of life as well, it’s no surprise she recently graduated from Pitzer College with a Bachelor’s degree in Environmental Analysis, with an emphasis on food systems (2019-2023). Furthermore, from what we can tell, it seems like the young woman, who believes there’s power and activism in food choices, has even been holding the post of a Writing Center Fellow at the university from August 2021 onwards.
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