Today we’d like to introduce you to Jason O. Silva.
Every artist has a unique story. Can you briefly walk us through yours?
The moment I could put words together I wanted to tell stories. I also knew I liked the attention. My family would stand me on the table and make me sing “You are my sunshine” to family and friends. Except, in a family where the bourbon had been flowing freely for several hours, the audience wasn’t the best behaved. An uncle or cousin would be chatting, while I stood there, waiting to perform. So, at 4 years old, placed on top of a table, forced to sing, I’d be damned if I was gonna start without having everyone’s focus and attention. My reaction: I’d walk the perimeter of said table, pointing my finger at each disrupter and say firmly, “Stop talking. Stop talking. Stop talking.” Right down the line. I would often take this newfound attention and tell stories – all kinds so long as they involved fictitious characters with plots of my own devising. And when the audience leaned in, or laughed along, or applauded, I would write these stories down. Years later, having discovered directing, I find that not much has changed. I approach my work with a story to tell and an audience in mind to experience it. That relationship is sacred and at the core of everything I do.
Please tell us about your art.
I write and direct narrative content. Sometimes this means television, sometimes film, sometimes commercials. As I’ve grown as a filmmaker and as a human, I’ve found that I am drawn to unusual stories or characters (I made a film about a man born with a wooden spoon for a hand) told in a universally accessible way. Building on the idea that art is a conversation, our job is to expose audiences to new ideas, to make them think, to open up conversation, to show a perspective that might be different than what someone is used to. In my stories, I love to place unlikely characters together. These characters tend to find a bond of humanness. For me, when you distill it down, we’re just people. We need each other. We need to connect and feel important. All of us have within us the ability to love, to be kind, to listen, and all of us deserve the same. Let’s build friendships. Let’s be open. Peel off the hardened outer shell and be vulnerable and be open. That’s what I’m interested in.
What do you think is the biggest challenge facing artists today?
I see the biggest challenge facing artists today as more of an opportunity and an obligation. We don’t live in a utopia. There are problems with our world, our society, our thinking. There is a larger social conversation happening, and I think these are human issues. We can’t say we’re artists and create art without participating in this conversation and using our work to evoke change, awareness, or inclusivity. Our art is what makes us unique as a species. Our connection with art is not only powerful but transcendent. Can be, at least. Art can make us better, open minds, give voice, make us think.
How or where can people see your work? How can people support your work?
People can see much of my work online. That one about the guy with a wooden spoon for a hand… yep, that’s online. Soon, my work directing a series for Lifetime called Crazy Love will be available. I just finished writing and directing three films for a new bourbon called Lucky Seven that were so much fun to do, paying homage to such films as Pulp Fiction and Goodfellas but in a good-humored way. It boils down to this, whether it’s my for-hire work or development of my own material, I find time to get out and tell stories. I just want to be creative and to work with great people doing worthwhile projects. I have an upcoming collaboration in the world of ballet, and I’m digging into a visual FX-driven project next month that I’m excited about. And I hope to continue to meet great people and explore fun opportunities. When I wake up, I only have two goals for myself: create something today… and get better every day.
Contact Info:
- Email: [email protected]
- Instagram: @jasonosilva
Image Credit:
Annette Silva
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