Early on in my journey, I struggled to find opportunities to act in films until my friend, Derek Dow, gave me this advice: “You need to take filmmaker and directing classes.” Hear him out. He wasn’t saying I needed to be a filmmaker; rather, I needed to be in classes with them. It’s common to hear from established actors and directors that you can’t really network up in the industry. You have to network with people on your level, and you come up together. As a budding actor, being in a filmmaker class helps you network and find the folks who want to make movies and need actors. It’s almost too simple, but it’s true.
In November of 2023, I attended a one-day directors workshop hosted by Briana Clearly as the kickoff to her Filmmakers Mixtape Project. While it was great to get an introduction to the art of directing, meeting over 20 up-and-coming directors in Chicago was invaluable. One of them was Kin Marie of Brain Studios. Fast forward to March of 2024, and Kin reached out because she needed an actor for a short film project she was filming for the Filmmaker’s Mixtape. Derek was completely right!
I’m grateful for the opportunity to work with Kin and her team on LIBIAMO! They created a great working environment, including an incredible intimacy coordinator, Enama, who walked us through various activities to help us bond and prepare our bodies and hearts for the work required during filming. I think you can see and feel all of the care and fun the team created in the final product.
So, if you are new to acting or looking to get started, definitely take acting classes but also consider taking some directing classes. You don’t know who you’ll meet.
Love & light,
Jelani Julyus
