Today we’d like to introduce you to Jac’leen Smith.
Hi Jac’leen, thanks for joining us today. We’d love for you to start by introducing yourself.
As a multi-hyphenate, I initially had aspirations that encompassed working toward a career in journalism, dating back to elementary school. I’ve always loved storytelling, especially stories that center on human-interest stories. Innately I’ve always felt like we all have a story to tell. Although it’s how we tell our stories that gauges impact. Right around the time that print journalism began to transition into the blog era, is when my aspirations shifted from journalism to working in TV production. My passion for telling stories never wavered, it was just that when I was younger, I dreamt of becoming a magazine journalist, and at the time, print journalism began to take a backseat to online journalism, which allowed me to be more open to pivoting to TV production. I saw it as another way to craft stories by producing. It also helped that a childhood friend of mine was already working in the TV industry. She was the one that asked me if I’d be interested in working on a production alongside her, as she made me aware that there was a role as a PA open on her team. I immediately said, “YES.” Now, almost 13 years later, I’ve been able to produce projects for TV and for documentary-feature-length films. Having been blessed with working on a variety of projects for companies, as well as collaborating with independent filmmakers on their own series and films, I felt a yearning to produce a series of my own. As I mentioned earlier, human-interest stories have always had a huge impact on me and for this series, I wanted to amplify the voices and experiences of Black women. Those experiences are highlighted in “Dear Younger Self,” an 8-episode docuseries which I created, directed, and executive produced. “Dear Younger Self” aims to advise our younger selves on life lessons we’ve learned throughout adulthood. The series is available to watch now on Instagram (@dearyoungerselfseries) and YouTube.
Can you talk to us a bit about the challenges and lessons you’ve learned along the way? Looking back, would you say it’s been easy or smooth in retrospect?
It certainly has not been a smooth road. As a creative, I’ve had to embrace the fact that my journey has never been and will never be linear. I think many of us have that in common, but once it’s embraced, you open yourself up to opportunities that you would’ve never imagined or sought after. One of the struggles I encountered was moving from the east coast and transitioning into a new chapter on the west coast. I was born, raised, and cultivated in Philly, and in my adulthood, I moved to Bed-Stuy in Brooklyn which became my second home. With all that shared, I never thought I’d have a want to leave the east coast. That’s where my family and my core community of friends reside so it wasn’t easy to make the decision to leave. What brought some ease to my decision is that I had already temporarily lived in LA in 2019 while working on a film. After the film wrapped and I moved back to New York, I realized I was in need of change. It was time for growth, and with the support of not only my friends but my champion of a mother, I officially moved to LA in 2020. Whenever I share with people that I made a cross-country move at the height of the pandemic, I’m always met with “Whoa. That must’ve been difficult.” It was, but not because of what we were experiencing globally and trying to grasp as a collective, but because I was making this huge move on my own and leaving behind my comfort zone. Not to mention, I can’t stand the process of moving and because we were in the midst of a pandemic, I knew I couldn’t call on the support of the community. During this time, we all had to ensure our safety and commit to the practice of socially distancing ourselves. As a result, I had to pack up the life I cultivated on the east coast on my own and make multiple exhaustive trips to UPS. (I have since learned there are more cost-effective methods to make cross-country moves. Lesson learned! Lol) Once I settled in LA, came the other challenge of “How do I build community here?” I had already had some friends here, but geographically, we were all so spread out so it took time to figure out different approaches to community building while still in the midst of a pandemic. Initially, it felt a bit isolating, and while my various communities look a bit different than the ones that nourished me on the east coast, I’m grateful for the ones I’ve been able to establish during the short time I’ve been in LA.
Appreciate you sharing that. What else should we know about what you do?
I am a multi-hyphenate creative and storyteller. I create, produce, perform, and contribute to professional and independent communities through support and collaboration. However, I am most known for my work as a producer. Much of my professional work is rooted in working in non-fiction television. It wasn’t until 2018 that I became interested in exploring working in film. I grew up loving many genres of film, but one that began to stand out as an area I wanted to explore professionally, was documentary filmmaking. Again, I believe this stems from my passion for human-interest stories. It was a bit of a challenge making the transition from TV to documentary filmmaking. I think that was due to the fact that when I sought after roles in the documentary space, employers couldn’t see past my experience in non-fiction TV, but when I was offered the opportunity to work on my first documentary film, “Miss Americana,” it felt great to finally have that breakthrough in the genre. What am I most proud of is finally putting myself out there and amplifying my own creative voice by creating, directing, and executive producing my own docuseries, “Dear Younger Self.” In the series, I interview four Black women and asked them to offer their younger selves advice on everything from self-love to self-doubt, ambition, and everything in between. I wanted my series to provide a platform for dynamic Black women whose voices we don’t often get to hear to share their own testimonies. Though I conceived the series, I am thankful to my collaborators and peers who helped me take “Dear Younger Self” from a concept to an 8-episode digital series. “Dear Younger Self” really motivated me to apply the “reach across the table” method, which is simply reaching out to your fellow creatives who reside in your community to collaborate and create. It’s because of that method I’ve been able to explore my other interests and talents. One of which includes as a voice actor for “1972,” a seven-part historical audio drama series created and written by Yhane Washington Smith. The series details the powerful story of Shirley Chisholm and Angela Davis, two highly respected Black women who dared to hold a mirror to the systemic racism and sexism within the United States. If it wasn’t for me reaching out to Yhane when she was casting, I would have never had the opportunity to portray the role of Angela Davis, one of the most groundbreaking activists and scholars of all time. One thing I am embracing is allowing myself to explore the other talents that I possess without judgment and without putting any limitations on myself on what that looks like.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://linktr.ee/Jacleen
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/sunny_josephine
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@dearyoungerselfseries
- Other: https://www.youtube.com/@dearyoungerself7890
Image Credits
The Headshot Truck
Mursi Haynes
Davis Northern
