Life and Work with Joy Shannon

Today, we’d like to introduce you to Joy Shannon, writer/director of My Dead Selfie, a feature length, award-winning, supernatural, horror thriller.

So, before we jump into specific questions about the business, why don’t you give us some details about you and your story?
I’m an indie filmmaker. I love all genres; supernatural, comedy, thrillers, horror, drama, docs, action, period pieces, sci-fi. As long as it’s a good story. But over the past few years, I’ve had a keen interest in the supernatural, a world right at our fingertips, but so far away. Equally, I’ve always been concerned with social issues, like race relationships. Combining the two in a film just seemed natural, because the African American experience has been horrific in many ways; much like being trapped in a real-life horror film. Thus, My Dead Selfie was born.

The feature film I wrote and directed is about an African American woman (played by Sharena Walker) married to a white man (played by AJ Garrett) in a seemingly perfect marriage. But it all changes when he starts practicing the occult, passed down to him by his slave-owning ancestors. My Dead Selfie is a supernatural, horror thriller with historical references. Miriam Holder-Jacobs helped produce it and Co-producers included Jonathan Burnett and Joy Parris. The film was scored by Chris Amato, a very strong, young composer who has a brilliant ear for scary music. We also have a slave song that opens the film; it’s written and performed by C. Felicia Val’Rey.

The title is a play on words, on how we treat others. If we, as a society, don’t treat each other better, we will be dead on the inside; like ‘my dead–self – ie’. 

Has it been a smooth road?
When I first started my journey, my pursuit was to establish myself as a Hollywood director of feature films, but there was a drought of opportunities back then. There was nothing for women like me. Men dominated the business, and still do; men directed almost everything. Over the years, a few African American men emerged as Hollywood directors of feature films, and presently, we have a handful of African American women directors, but there is still such a deficit of representation. The yearly statistics from the guilds on how few women direct Hollywood feature films are shameful, but I keep making indie films.

I would advise young women to work as a group. Team up. Collectively make one film, then another and another, until one helps the careers of the group. And rethink what makes a commercial success; that is key. Until the film industry changes, women filmmakers must start thinking more commercially, especially African American women writers and directors. If our films do better at the box office, we will have more clout. 

So, as you know, we’re impressed with My Dead Selfie – tell our readers more. For example, what are you most proud of and what sets you apart from others?
In its first film festival in October 2018, The Downtown LA Film Festival, My Dead Selfie won The Best Experimental Film Award. We were all so very happy! It’s a micro-budget film without any stars, with a non-traditional theme, that was made with ‘spit and chewing gum’, but we won! When making the film, I didn’t want to play it safe. I played it with passion, trying to tap into the spirits of my enslaved African ancestors and bringing their pain into the cinematic world of horror. I only wish that I had a real budget. I paid for the film myself, saving my paychecks whenever I could.

For updates, our website is www.mydeadselfie.com, and we plan to have three free sneak preview screenings of My Dead Selfie at LA theaters with a Q & A discussing the journey. The film runs for 98minutes.  All screenings will start at 10:30am and the doors will open at 10:15am. There’s no RSVP list, it’s first come, first seated. No tickets needed. Our screenings dates are:

April 13, 2019, Sat, 10:30am, at The Laemmle Town Center Theater, 17200 Ventura Blvd, Encino, 91316. There is free parking in the strip mall’s upper and lower levels.

April 20, 2019, Sat, 10:30am, at The Laemmle NOHO Theater, 5240 Lankershim Blvd, North Hollywood, 91601. No free parking.

April 27, 2019, Sat 10:30am, at The Laemmle Royal Theater, 11523 Santa Monica Blvd, Los Angeles, 90025. No free parking.

For more details please contact us at: [email protected]  .

What advice would you give to someone at the start of her career?
Where do I begin? There are so many things that I learned along the way in my Hollywood pursuit. The casting couch is real—be careful. Next, if she’s an African American filmmaker, she should remember that it might take years just to move an inch. Getting a better relationship with money is vital, because staying afloat during the journey is a must. Save your money and have a line of credit if you can, because you might have to use it make your film. Don’t neglect your family while trying to ‘make it’ and don’t wait if you want to start a family; don’t get too old and miss out. Network. Volunteer. Help other filmmakers. Say ‘yes’ to what the universe brings. Give back. And learn the business part of the business by jumping in. Read about the experiences of other filmmakers and reach out to them with questions. Have a good entertainment lawyer to review your contracts. Study what makes a commercial success and add some of those elements into your films. And once you become established, hire other women, especially as directors.

Contact Info:

• Website: www.mydeadselfie.com
• Email: [email protected]
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/mydeadselfiefilm/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/mydeadselfiefilm
• Twitter: www.twitter.com/filmmakerjoy
• Other: https://youtu.be/CUgO9fU8fIY

Image Credit:
Sharena Walker, AJ Garrett, Joy Shannon

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