Alright – so today we’ve got the honor of introducing you to Abdul Sesay. We think you’ll enjoy our conversation, we’ve shared it below.
Abdul, looking forward to hearing all of your stories today. What’s been the most meaningful project you’ve worked on?
The most meaningful project that I’ve worked on thus far would have to be my film The Pushover. This is a project that is currently in production. There are several reasons why, but the first would be that it was one of the first scripts that I had ever written and completed. I wrote the first draft back in 2015. One year later, I fine-tuned it and reached out to a bunch of co-workers and friends, and asked if they would be willing to have a table read with me. So one of my friends reserved a conference room at a library in Washington, D.C. as well as brought in another person to help read one of the principle characters lines from the script. The read went well. I took the constructive feedback and rewrote some parts to the script to make it gel a bit better. A year later, I reached out to some of my friends and co-workers and asked them if they wanted to be a part of a movie. Most said yes, and we proceeded to shoot on two DSLRs. My partner Darren C. Murray and I had a hard time trying to manage things. We knew very little about lighting. I bought these Arri 650 plus fresnel lights, and we really thought that we were doing something. We had both of the lights on full blast. Blasting the talent and knew nothing about 3-point lighting, it was a mess! The person who played the main character bailed out on us after the second or third shoot, so we had to recruit another person. Fortunately, this person was committed and was willing to learn. He goes by the name of James E. Ingram, and every since we started shooting back in 2017, we’ve worked together on two other projects.
Anyway, we had issues with people coming to set on time. My cousin, who was supposed to be the sound and boom operator, ghosted me after a couple of shoots. I mean people would come an hour sometimes two hours late. Even one of the actors said that he had to leave early because he “left ice cream on his kitchen counter!” LOL It was an absolute mess! My good friend Develand Campbell, the owner of Dexter’s French Quarters, who specializes in New Orleans Cuisine, would provide food for the shoot. We would have crabcakes, chicken wings, gumbo, you name it, we had it on set. I would buy Angry Orchards and liquor to loosen everyone up. LOL, I mean, I was doing everything wrong. I didn’t know what I was doing. I was figuring things out as I was moving forward. Finally, Darren was frustrated and was like, this project is dead in the water. And so we just stopped shooting.
Fast forward, Darren and I start getting experience working on other film sets. Then we finally put out two short films featuring James called A Good Night’s Rest and It Could Be You. Finally we’re getting the hang of this filming thing. In 2022, James says, “Hey Sesay, you should redo The Pushover.” I tell him I was thinking the same thing. In fact, it was always my plan to shoot the film. I just wanted to hire professional actors opposed to friends and co-workers who were doing it just to help me out. I needed people who actually loved the craft of acting. Long story short, I casted a great cast and assembled a wonderful crew, and we began production in January of 2023 and hope to have it completed by July/August.
As always, we appreciate you sharing your insights and we’ve got a few more questions for you, but before we get to all of that can you take a minute to introduce yourself and give our readers some of your back background and context?
Well, I’ve always been a writer. Didn’t really think much about it, though. I didn’t journal or anything like that, but I was always into telling stories. As a kid, I wanted to be a famous rapper and would write rhymes constantly in my composition books. I would constantly call my friends on the phone or come up to them at the cafeteria, and would be like, check out this rhyme. I would be a part of talent shows and everything. I was the type of person who had braggadocios songs, but my bread and butter were songs that told stories. Anyway, one day, when I was in 12th grade, I had an English teacher, Mrs. Brown, who had the whole entire class write an essay, and it could be about anything that we wanted. She didn’t like me much, because I was a class clown. I was the type that would always interrupt the class with silly jokes. Look at me. Look at me. That was my motto back then. Several days later, we turned in our assignments, and I thought nothing of it. A few days later, at the end of the class, Mrs. Brown pulls me to the side and tells me how remarkable my story was. She was so enamored by it that she asked if she could enter it into a writing contest. From that day, I was like “wow I might be on to something.”
What sets me apart from others is that I’m unapologetically me. Meaning that I have a set of core values that I stick to. Anyone who knows me knows that I’m consistent. My company, Sa-Loan Productions, is a reflection of those values. Sa-Loan Productions is not only a Film Production Company, but we also specialize in Video Marketing Services for businesses both big and small. We work with clients on customer acquisition and customer retention and ensure that each client has a respectable ROI.
We often hear about learning lessons – but just as important is unlearning lessons. Have you ever had to unlearn a lesson?
The lesson I had to unlearn was being cool with my lack of social media presence. As I matured, I became more introverted and also adopted the mantra of moving in silence. So, for me, social media wasn’t anything that I desired to be a part of. I’m a very private person, so things like family pictures and vacations you won’t see me post them. Not knocking anyone that does, that’s just how I am. So for me to post that I’m doing this and I’m doing that felt like I was bragging. It was a huge hangup for me. I always felt that if you’re doing what you’re supposed to be doing, then there’s no need to talk about it. I’m very much a man of action, so for me, social media felt like I was that kid back in school that was always like, look at me, look at me! I wasn’t trying to go backward. But after some time, I spoke to several close friends and saw one video in particular where a man who was in the film industry, said some things that helped change my perspective on how I previously thought. He said that he used to be apprehensive about showcasing what he had accomplished and had finally come to grips that he wasn’t bragging but that he was simply marketing. That’s when the light bulb came on, and I realized that I was looking at everything all wrong. I’m not bragging. I’m marketing my company, services, and creative ingenuity.
What do you think is the goal or mission that drives your creative journey?
Yes, I would say my parents, wife, and kids. That’s my WHY. In regards to my parents giving back to them in their elder years. As for my wife, be that stable and reliable husband that will consistently hold her down. As for my kids, be the blueprint to hard work and execution. What also drives me is making films that elicit emotions. Creating projects that promote “water cooler” banter. To develop films and tv shows that have people arguing about scenes from the film/show. To give people a new way of looking at cinema. My goal is to be the best me I can be.
Contact Info:
- Website: saloanpro.com
- Instagram: sa_loanpro.com
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/tejan.sesay.31
- Twitter: @ASesay78