Today we’d like to introduce you to Jefferson Stein.
Hi Jefferson, thanks for sharing your story with us. To start, maybe you can tell our readers some of your backstory.
I started making films as a kid on VHS camcorders with siblings. I’m the oldest of four and we’d put on plays, film them and charge my parents admission to the playroom. That evolved to making half-hour movies in my teens with my school friends—modern adaptations of old stories we didn’t need the rights to like an ESPN SportsCenter version of Beowulf or an Indian Jones take on Antigone, “Antigone Jones”.
I loved acting as a kid and acted in TV commercials, but I found myself getting more joy from being behind the camera. I gravitated towards photography and writing and so I think filmmaking became the inevitable intersection. I went to film school at Art Center College of Design and left when I made a spec commercial that a brand bought. I made a short film called “Tumble Dry Low” back home in Texas that had some festival success and went viral online. I got signed for TV commercial directing and have done that since.
In June, I was so fortunate to be able to world premiere my new short film “Burros” at Tribeca Film Festival in New York City. The feature version of that short film called “I’itoi (Man in the Maze)” was selected by the Academy as a quarterfinalist for the Nicholl Fellowship in Screenwriting last fall. Now, I’m working on turning that script into my debut feature film.
Alright, 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?
It’s been anything but! Making film independently, especially my last film, was extremely challenging. We are constantly balancing trying to make the best thing possible while on a tight schedule with extremely limited resources. My last two projects have been set in rural, hard to get to places which has added an additional layer of difficulty when filming.
I remember when filming “Burros” on the U.S.-Mexico border, we would drive two hours out to set in the Sonoran desert each day and many times, it would monsoon before or during filming, so the highways that cross the washes would have mud so deep it was essentially quicksand. I had the local tow truck company on speed dial by the end of it. I didn’t think my car was going to make it through that shoot. I lived out near the Tohono O’odham reservation for a month with my producer, Liz Cardenas, and co-producer Corey Howard as we spent time with the community with whom we were making the film. We dealt with so many challenges on that shoot when we were far out in the desert, including rattlesnakes and Border Patrol helicopters blowing our set around when they’d come to check on us.
Can you tell our readers more about what you do and what you think sets you apart from others?
I’m a writer-director of narrative fiction films. I’ve done a few shorts and I’m working on making my first feature film now. I’m most proud of the team that’s been created through the relationships I’ve made along the way. It’s a good feeling to make work with people you really care about and like to spend time with outside of filmmaking. Much of my team are long-term collaborator. I like working with people I know, but I also love meeting new people. I think continuing to build this team that grows each time we go up to bat creates an evolving but congruent style, feeling, and aesthetic with each film. I love seeing what we’ve made and how it grows and changes with each new project.
How do you think about happiness?
Creating stuff makes me happy. Whether that’s espresso each morning in my kitchen, writing, or taking pictures on my old film cameras I’ve been collecting over the years. I get a lot of satisfaction out of making something and experiencing it when it’s done. I love being around other people and meeting new people from all over, learning from them and carrying that into my life and growing from it. I’m so attracted to filmmaking because it’s a mix of all of that.
Contact Info:
- Email: [email protected]
- Website: https://www.jeffersonstein.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/jeffersonstein
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/jeffersonstein2
- Twitter: https://www.twitter.com/jeffersonstein
- Other: https://www.burrosthefilm.com
Image Credits:
Cole Graham, Matt Paré, Jennifer Stein, Greg Goudreau
