We were lucky to catch up with Jessica Boss recently and have shared our conversation below.

Alright, Jessica thanks for taking the time to share your stories and insights with us today. Can you talk to us about a project that’s meant a lot to you?

Yes, I’m excited to talk about this, because I just finished one of my most meaningful projects, which is a feature film called UNNAMED that sheds light on the dark and sinister world of human trafficking.

I’ve been trying to make this film for many years after I stumbled upon a YouTube video of a woman recalling her experience being sex-trafficked. It was gut-wrenching and it broke my heart, because she looked just like me and I kept thinking, “This could have been me.” This experience compelled me to spend about six months doing research about the horrific business of human trafficking. I read books and articles and I watched movies, documentaries and tons of videos. When I took this subject to prayer, I remember saying that I didn’t know how I could help this fight, because I was only one person and I was only an actress, but then I clearly heard, “Write the screenplay.” Although, at that time, I wasn’t a writer, I felt as though this was a calling, so I just started writing scenes as I saw them and stashed them away into a folder. After about two months, I strung the different scenes together, read through the entire script and was taken aback at what I’ve read. It was as though something else was writing through me, because I was so immersed in the character’s journey that I even “forgot” some of the horrific things that she had to endure. It took a few more months of re-writes and consulting with my hubby before we had something solid that we knew we could make into a movie.

UNNAMED is a story told as a fictional narrative, inspired by real events and based on various women’s stories who fell victims to trafficking via the job employment scam. The title represents the millions of “unnamed” victims who are currently in bondage, silenced by their captors, and stripped of their identities. And January is Trafficking Awareness month, which makes this even more meaningful.

Jessica, love having you share your insights with us. Before we ask you more questions, maybe you can take a moment to introduce yourself to our readers who might have missed our earlier conversations?

Absolutely. I think it’s helpful to share one’s journey, because I believe that we connect to others more closely when we understand where they’re coming from. I grew up in a small town called Harlingen, Texas of Nigerian descent. I was incredibly shy as a kid and didn’t even speak up to let my teachers know that I couldn’t see the board because I needed glasses. This made me almost fail the second grade, which was an embarrassment to my Nigerian parents for whom education was everything. Although I was a great athlete since third grade, my parents pretty much forced me to attend a high school that was geared for a career in the medical field. I didn’t have a choice, but I ultimately gave in and left sports behind.

In the eleventh grade, everyone had to choose an elective, either art or theater. Since I couldn’t draw worth a lick, I figured I’d go for the latter and started working in musical theater right away, not knowing that I would fall in love with acting and be at the genesis of my purpose. I loved the theater, but I was hungry to pursue film and television, because it was movies like JOHN Q and MILLION DOLLAR BABY that moved me to tears and not only gave me a greater sense of empathy, but also helped me understand how one can connect to others through emotional story telling. That’s why I act! I’m trying to help bring people closer together through meaningful narration.

So, after graduating from the University of Texas at Austin with a film degree, I moved to Los Angeles to pursue a professional career as an actress. At the beginning, I encountered quite a few pitfalls, especially in regard to whom I could trust, who was legitimate and how the business even worked. Initially, I fell prey to many scam artists, but luckily, I never gave them any money, mainly because I didn’t have any. But now, in retrospect, I can see how smooth and devious scammers can be, which goes hand-in-hand with what I’m aiming to unpack in my feature film, UNNAMED. There’s definitely a parallel to scam artists and traffickers, because they both know how to prey on the hopes and dreams of those who are vulnerable.

When thinking about what I’m most proud of, I would say it’s my resilience. I’ve failed again and again and I was rejected more times than I can remember, but instead of giving up, I learned and grew from those experiences and I kept refining my talents and myself. I was also able to sustain myself here in Los Angeles, when pretty much everyone who came out with me has either left or moved on to other careers. I’m thankful and blessed that I’ve always found a way to pivot, to make adjustments and to keep creating new projects while pursuing acting. When asked about a single project that I’m most proud of, I would definitely say UNNAMED, because it’s my passion project, it’s my baby. It’s the film that not only marks my directorial debut, but I also wrote it, produced it and even starred in it.

Is there something you think non-creatives will struggle to understand about your journey as a creative?

I think most non-creative people struggle to understand why, in spite of all the struggle, all the rejections, all the disappointments, and all the hard work that often yields little to no rewards, I keep acting and I keep making movies? Non-creatives often see acting and making movies as playing around and wasting time, unless you star in the latest “Spiderman” or “Avatar” movie. But if they only knew how much work and how much dedication and how many connections it takes just to get an audition for such a caliber of film, they would see it from a completely different perspective. I almost wish I could make non-creatives try acting as a career for just one year and see how far they will get. I remember telling one of my dear “non-creative” friends that I sometimes have up to eight auditions in a week, and he was so inspired that he immediately wanted to sign up with a Casting Networks account for an entire year. I helped my friend set up his profile and persuaded him to first try it for only one month and then, if he’s still interested, we would upgrade his account to a full year. The next day, I got an email from my friend proudly saying that he’s already submitted for six auditions total. I responded, “Yay, keep going!” because I know how important it is to be encouraged and to stay motivated. After about a week, my friend had enough and never returned to the acting boards again. I never discourage people who want to pursue acting, but it’s just not as easy as they think. You really have to be committed, be emotionally available, develop a thick skin and stay on top of everything. And by the way, I didn’t start out getting eight auditions a week right away, it took me many years to get there. When I first started out, I struggled to even get just ONE audition in the year. For many of the early years, I’d only have somewhere between 1-5 auditions total for the entire year. No joke.

I’m also very present to the fact that what I’m doing is a purpose greater than myself. I know how powerful movies can be and I know that movies can reach people all around the world. I’ve even heard stories of people who were going to commit suicide, but then were influenced by a film that made them realize that they’re still needed in this world and have a purpose. It’s phenomenal how a movie can change someone’s perspective and even someone’s life.

How about pivoting – can you share the story of a time you’ve had to pivot?

The pandemic was clearly one of the biggest times for me to pivot, probably for most people. Not only did all acting auditions and work disappear, but I also pretty much lost all of my side-jobs the same day, which was a good chunk of my income. I literally didn’t know what I was going to do. Thank God, income and resources came through from the most unexpected sources. The pandemic made it clear to me that I didn’t want to be dependent on my side-jobs or on the economy any longer. Business ideas started to flow to me, and one of them, “My Service Friend” is already up and running. “My Service Friend” provides emotional support for people, just as an emotional support dog would. I help people who are lonely and needing companionship to do life with, whether it’s grabbing a coffee or lunch, hiking, or chaperones for teens to go to the movies, malls, concerts and more. It’s a transformational service where I aim to cure loneliness, which has greatly increased since the pandemic.

Contact Info:

• Website: http://jessmika8.wix.com/jessicaboss
• Instagram: www.instagram.com/iamjessicaboss
• Facebook: www.facebook.com/ummamedthemovie
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jessicaboss/
• Twitter: www.twitter.com/unnamedthemovie
• Youtube: www.youtube.com/iamjessicaboss
• Other: Website for UNNAMED the movie: https://jessmika8.wixsite.com/unnamedthemovie Website for business My Service Friend: www.myservicefriend.com

Image Credits
Cover photo: David Muller Photography First shot (red dress): Sam Sikes Photography