Today we’d like to introduce you to Jalen Coleman.
Hi Jalen, it’s an honor to have you on the platform. Thanks for taking the time to share your story with us – to start maybe you can share some of your backstories with our readers.
Yeah definitely. I started writing stories in 2nd grade and would sell them on the playground for a quarter or two. Even at that age I knew I loved it. That led me throughout elementary and middle school I just dove into storytelling even more. I created this superhero character called Pyro and wrote mini novels featuring the character that my classmates would enjoy reading. It also got the bullies off my back for at least a moment. But it was fun and I was set on being a novel writer until our last day of middle school our teacher put on the making of Transformers I think and that’s when I realized I want to make movies.
Once high school started, I signed up for filmmaking and hit the ball running making my first film in 9th grade. The teacher took a liking to me and took me under his wing and taught me camera composition and editing. He didn’t know how to write a script, so I went to our school library, checked out the only screenwriting book, then got to teach myself how to write and format a script. I got to writing and in my 11th-grade year, I wrote a short film loosely based on a true story about a girl who killed herself due to bullying. The film garnered some attention from the National PTA, and they flew me and my dad out to their convention in Florida to screen the film and speak.
By the end of high school, I had a few short films and a few awards under my belt. Upon graduation, I kept creating films and was fortunate enough to get a few more awards. In 2015 I began working with BlackTreeTV as a journalist which was different but exciting because I got the chance to talk with idols of mine such as Jordan Peele, Spike Lee, Tyler Perry, and more.
Since then, I have been working on my craft making numerous short films. My most recent short “The 20-Year-Old Virgin” opened doors for me in ways I wouldn’t have imagined. Currently, I am in pre-production for my first feature film “Crabs in a Bucket”.
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?
Not a smooth road at all. I wish I had the foolish naive thinking I had at 15 but I’m enjoying the journey. There have been pitfalls in various ways. From many rejections, self-doubt, and friends/family not believing in me. I could list thousands probably of obstacles but it’s part of the process you know. There isn’t a real doubt in my mind that I won’t make it. So yeah, when times get hard, I’ll be sad or whatever but at the end of the day, I can look at all I have done so far and know that I’m built for this.
Appreciate you sharing that. What else should we know about what you do?
I don’t know if I’m known for something yet, or even for people that do know who I am, it varies. Some people know me as a filmmaker, others as a journalist. Random story, but I remember I was fortunate enough to interview Tyler Perry twice and one of those times I asked him if he was my father (we share facial similarities) and the clip went fairly viral, especially amongst my friends and community at the time. At first, it was cool until I would go to church even and the pastor and everyone are talking about it now, I’m the dude who interviewed Tyler Perry and it was kinda annoying. I wanted to be taken seriously as a filmmaker and was letting it go to me until a buddy of mine reminded me how lucky I am, so I let it go. Now I’m thankful if anyone knows who I am for whatever good reason.
Is there anything else you’d like to share with our readers?
Nope, just if you’re reading this and you are a creative or whatever, keep going.
Contact Info:
- Instagram: @jalenjcoleman
