Today we’d like to introduce you to Jessica Klearman.
Thanks for sharing your story with us Jessica. So, let’s start at the beginning and we can move on from there.
I always wanted to be a storyteller. When I was ten years old my cousin & I wrote our first movie together. It was about a girl named Pakuna who got made fun of for her name because people called her Pakuna Matata. After that, we never really wrote any more movies, but we did make some horrible YouTube sketches and homemade music videos for our favorite beloved midwestern emo songs.
My skills have improved a bit since then, but my love for world-building and writing has only grown stronger. In undergrad, I struggled to figure out how I wanted to turn this love into a career. I first took a screenwriting class and I fell in love. It was a way to write stories, but it still had a visual element. I ended up graduating from Webster University, in my hometown of St. Louis, MO, with a degree in screenwriting. There is not much you can do in St. Louis with a screenwriting degree. After graduating, I struggled to find ways to move out to LA and further my work in filmmaking. But I realized that writing wasn’t enough for me. I wanted to be the one who created the images that went with the words, so I applied to film school. I am so blessed to have gotten into UCLA, where only 18 directing students are accepted into the MFA program a year. It completely changed my life and made me the confident female filmmaker I am today!
Great, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
There is nothing smooth about making movies. It’s an extremely stressful process every step of the way, but it’s the only stress I would ever choose to have. I get so much gratification from it and truly love it enough that even on the hardest days it is still fun. That is why I feel so confident going into directing my first feature-length film, U-City Blues. It’s a lot to take on, and I know it will not be easy, but I’m sure it will be worth it.
We’d love to hear more about your work and what you are currently focused on. What else should we know?
The easiest answer is I am a filmmaker. I am a Director/ Writer/ Producer/ Costume Designer/ Sound Girl. I own a company called 314 Productions which will be releasing my first feature, U-City Blues to be filmed this summer. I am extremely proud that I am about to direct my first full-length movie that I have also written myself. Especially because it will be filmed in my hometown of St. Louis, MO with a bunch talented people from there in front of and behind the camera. I’m proud to be a part of moving my city forward! Aside from this, I have directed three short films- my debut Boondax has just been selected for the White Unicorn International Film Festival in Kolkata, India for the student films category.
I have also found a lot of joy directing music videos! It has always been a dream of mine, I love visualizing a song. I used to make music videos for fun as a teen, so it is so cool I get to do it as a job now! I’m most proud of my video for “Let Me” by Leila Sunier, which was also just selected for a film festival- the Boston Collective Film Festival. Additionally, I’ve done a few more music videos and am in pre-production for another one set to shoot in April! I threw in sound girl because not many sound people are women, and it is something I enjoy and am pretty good at! Finally, I have found a real love for Costume Design. Not only have I been my own costume designer for everything I have directed so far, I’ve also taken on the challenge for my classmates Marie Richardson (twice), Gregory Armstrong & soon, Marnie Salvani. I am a woman of many hats, but I am strong in each of them! I believe that sets me apart from others.
What moment in your career do you look back most fondly on?
The proudest moment of my career so far was when my parents, and the lead actress’s Carrie Bernans (Black Panther, stunt double for Avengers) and Kendall Joy Hall (Klaus, Gray’s Anatomy) came to the work-in-progress screening of my last short film Presents. I could see the joy that it brought to them- and the emotions that really came through. I think I made Kendall Joy’s (who is just 12 years old!) mom tear up, and I definitely made my own parents cry, which is an honor to see the hard work I put into a film come through. To know that the actress’s who took the time to bring my characters to life, and my family who has always been supportive of me, truly were happy with the work I did was the best feeling ever. Presents is so close to being done- it just needs sound mix & color and I can’t wait to let it out into the world!
Contact Info:
- Email: [email protected]
Image Credit:
Tre Smith, Vivian He, Monika Ivonne
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