Today we’d like to introduce you to Josie Cruz.
Hi Josie, 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 backstory with our readers?
I got started in video by editing cute little montages over some of my favorite songs! I was always into music videos and did sports photography in high school, so that helped me gravitate to the medium as well. Once I got to college (UF), I loved making videos for silly skits my friends and I would write for our student organization. From there, I just stuck with it since it came natural to me. In my final year of college, I joined the film team for a fashion publication and that’s when it got much more serious for me. I had to really plan how I wanted to film ahead of time and create things at a higher quality than I did before. I think this was the time where I decided that videography was the route I wanted to dedicate my time to. However, it wasn’t until I helped on set for my friend Ienne’s short film, that I realized film was the next challenge and medium I wanted to tackle!
I’m sure it wasn’t obstacle-free, but would you say the journey has been fairly smooth so far?
Noooo… not at all by any means. It’s still a bumpy road, even now! In regard to film, my initial struggle was being confident with my ideas and writing. I would always have ideas flowing, but never really took the opportunities to share them or make them happen. It wasn’t until this group called the Fellows Collective, held a film jam that I started to reach out to other creatives and began creating more, consistent work. I also didn’t have the community I have now. Without the friends/connections I’ve made through this craft, I wouldn’t have been able to refine my writing or had the help I needed to make my most recent short film come to life.
Thanks – so what else should our readers know about your work and what you’re currently focused on?
I’m a film director! I also love working on music videos and sports/concert photography! So far, I’m most proud of the short film I’m wrapping up on at the moment. I think the thing that sets me apart from others is that a lot of the inspiration I draw from is anime-related and music-related, rather than learning directly from film.
Before we go, is there anything else you can share with us?
My short film, “if i ever see you again.” will be released in the near-future! It’s not the first short I’ve created, but it is the first proper short I’ve written/directed. I’ve never really had to direct a crew or properly produce one before, so I really consider this my debut to the real thing!
Contact Info:
- Website: https://jojigami.webflow.io/
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/jojigami/
