INTERVIEW: Director/Writer/Producer Zorinah Juan
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“Don't be so afraid to show your work … it's okay to be bad at something in the name of getting good at it.” - Zorinah Juan
“In all labor there is profit…” - Proverbs 15:23. This week’s SC interviewee is Director Zorinah Juan - a veteran in the film/tv industry with over 90 production credits. Shot with an all female crew (#sisterhoodcinema) her directorial debut ‘When We Grow Up’, is a dramedy about a multiracial family brought together by an unconventional emergency. The award-winning feature film cements Juan’s talent as a director and highlights important familial issues - racial adoption, family dynamics and those inevitable growing pains. Our interview with Juan emphasizes how the road to becoming a director is both vast and diverse and that there is no one way to cultivate a career in this industry. We very much enjoyed learning about Director Juan and hope you do too!
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1.You recently released your first feature, 'When We Grow Up' (now streaming on Amazon Prime) - when did you first know that you wanted to be a director?
Please go watch When We Grow Up on Amazon Prime!!! Okay, now that I am done with that plug … I knew pretty early on. I was sixteen years-old when I saw Pulp Fiction and thought, "What the hell am I watching and how can I do this too?" My high school in Jersey had an incredible arts program, so I was already immersed in photography and I was also the editor of my high school’s literary magazine. So for someone who loved images and words, film just seemed like a logical leap for a kid like me.
After watching ‘Pulp Fiction’ I ended up taking a video class - my teacher, good ole Mr. Bogusat, was a filmmaker and he went the extra-mile and taught us classic cinematic storytelling: three-act structure, framing, the difference between a pan and a tilt. He encouraged us to watch foreign and independent films, let us take out cameras and would stay extra late if we were editing. He held film festivals in the school and would help us enter other film festivals. He was a real gem and that is where it all began!
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2. What is one thing you wish you had learned earlier in your career?
Don't be so afraid to show your work and it's okay to be bad at something in the name of getting good at it. Oh, and join the union sooner.
3. You have been in the industry for over fifteen years and have done a lot of work as a script supervisor - can you give us some background on your career and what a script supervisor does and what you believe is the main quality that has led you to have such a sustainable career?
I started out as a production assistant in college and then quickly joined the camera department as a loader. I was a 2nd Assistant Camera for a short while and then I started script supervising. I left script sup-ing for a couple of years to work in post-production and to produce. Then, about eight years ago, I joined the union - IATSE 161, here in NYC, as a script supervisor.
The easiest way to describe what a script supervisor does is that you're kind of an on-set editor: you track overall continuity, you keep notes for editorial, you work with everyone to maintain the integrity of the story-line while you're in production, and you help ensure that the director gets the coverage they need to edit the film.
I think the qualities I possess that led me to have a sustainable career are my deep love for everything story and my passion for collaboration. I got into script supervision because I knew I wanted to direct and after producing low-budget indies and learning about post-production, I really wanted to learn how bigger budget, union films were made and how the people who directed those movies told their stories. I was very fortunate to work alongside some incredible directors and my time on set, especially with some of those people, has really informed how I now direct my own work.
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4.I remember you telling me that being able to join the union for script supervisors (IATSE 161) helped you a lot - can you elaborate on the different ways it has been beneficial for you?
It helped everything in my life immensely. I was able to make a good rate for the work I was doing. I was given health insurance, dental coverage, a retirement plan. I was able to work with seasoned professionals who only encouraged me to grow and elevate my own level of professionalism. Union life is great!
5.What's next for you and where do you see yourself in ten years?
Right now, I am directing and producing branded content, branching into directing commercials, and I am in development for my second feature, ‘The Threat of Joy’. This time, I wrote the script.
In ten years, I will still be directing, writing, and producing films. And in addition to that, there will be some television and commercial work under my belt. And I will also continue to mentor, which I really enjoy doing. Overall, I will have a good body of meaningful work that showcases the kinds of stories I love seeing: unique, visually stunning, diverse, nuanced, universally appealing narratives told in an authentic voice. I would also love to have a family in that mix too.
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