We recently connected with Jenny Taylor and have shared our conversation below.
Jenny, appreciate you joining us today. Let’s kick things off with your mission – what is it and what’s the story behind why it’s your mission?
I myself have several missions right now. Goals, aspirations, ambitions, whatever you may call them. Truth is that I have had a lot of ambitions in life, but after 30 something years I’m diving into my long-desired film career and have started my own business LLC for producing the film, Cardinal Creative Media.
Cardinal Creative Media will be releasing my first film, Floridaland, sometime in either 2025 or 2027 depending on project funding. Our mission is to be able to produce this first film, Floridaland and be able to help produce other similar films. Right now we are crowdfunding with GoFundMe trying to raise $40,000 for cast and crew funding and all production budgets. This is so that we may travel across the state telling the story of Florida as told by humans, about humanity and nature together. The film is so far beautiful, we cannot wait for everyone to see this exciting new project; that is mission, and the reason it has so much meaning is because there is a lot of substance behind it. Floridaland is a story of resiliency and natural beauty in nature, and how humanity can sometimes be horrifying. Not all of the time. Sometime’s it’s worth celebrating, more times than others. We’re going to show you that too.
Floridaland is our first mission and goal. We would love for you to learn more about this film and check out some of what we’ve got up already by checking out our instagram page or our IMDb page. We’ll have a website up soon for FloridalandFilm.com where you can check for updates, go to our GoFundMe campaign, and check for image, trailer, and information updates!
Great, appreciate you sharing that with us. Before we ask you to share more of your insights, can you take a moment to introduce yourself and how you got to where you are today to our readers.
From the time I was a teenager I became obsessed with many things; video games, photography, film, dvd collecting, rollercoasters, and visiting theme parks. I decided to pick a career I wanted, which was film, but it didn’t last. While at my first term in Film School the university decided that their film program would change and since they were not filming digital anymore, they had to close down the program. They told us to take our credits and choose another major, or to say goodbye. So I said goodbye, with my credits I left and embarked on the first part of my career, a job as a ride operator at Cedar Point in Sandusky, Ohio.
I actually spent a whole season there operating some of the largest collection of roller coasters and thrill rides on the planet. I was having the time in my life, but still I thought about my career in film when I wasn’t working. When I came back from Cedar Point to my home back in Winter Haven, FL, I had discovered I was diagnosed with sarcoma, a type of cancer that was took the form of a tumor in my left arm. With a double surgery and radiation therapy I was back on my way and went to work at Walt Disney World in Orlando, FL.
Here is where I found myself. I met some of the most amazing people of my life here and experienced real heartfelt and fond memories that were also followed by heartbreak. Everything in my seven years spent here shaped me to be who I am today, and if it weren’t for that experienced, things would be much different today. But at some point I still thought about my career in film and the dreams I had about making films and telling stories. I couldn’t do that in the theme parks like I wanted to on a different and even larger scale. So I packed up my bags with some friends from home and embarked to Atlanta, the newer and Hollywood of the East.
When I got there I had some amazing opportunities. I worked on several films and got to be an extra in a big Marvel Studios production, but at some point I was not taking care of my health enough. I was working several jobs and long hours all week with sometimes barely a day off, the mental stress and exhaustion got to me and I had completely overworked and overstressed myself, so I moved back home to Florida to take care of my mental health.
I think this is an important part of my story because so many of us don’t do this. We don’t think we can, because of limitations like bills and expenses. But it can burn us down to the ground if we’re not careful, it is vital to take care of your mental well-being. Getting proper rest, drinking lots of water, taking some time for yourself to just breathe, for a moment. It’s a lot. And it all caved in on me at once and I had thought I lost everything, but again out of turmoil came something else. I started my career again.
Today I am making my first film through my business, Cardinal Creative Media, which is going to produce my first film ever; the one I’ve been longing to make since a teenager, at least my first film that is. I’m hoping to stretch further and work with other artists and creators in the industry where we can put our skills together and create art, telling stories that are fresh, new, bold, and exciting takes on life with a lot of pure-imagination. Abstract filmmaking that can somehow weed its way into the world of Cinema to say “Here we are, here are our stories, now go and tell yours. Don’t be afraid to create. Never be afraid to dream, but also take the initiative to make those dreams really happen. That’s not the hard part. The hardest part is telling yourself “No” over and over again, or by saying “I can’t do this.” Yes you can do this, and yes you should, because why not vs. why?
Let’s talk about resilience next – do you have a story you can share with us?
My whole life has been about resiliency, and in a way I see resilient people all around me and they never give themselves enough credit.
When I was 22 years old I was diagnosed with sarcoma, a soft-cell tissue forming type that took the form of a tumor under my arm. I was so scared. The moment you hear, “It’s cancer.” everything changes. I was able to walk outside and only hear the sounds of the wind blowing against my shoulders, I could see every detail in every person I saw, I was more intently listening to the sounds like the cars passing by and birds tweeting. It was like for a moment all of your thoughts have stopped and everything’s changed now. You realize that you are going to someday die if not from this horrible disease that takes so many lives of people, no matter how old they are. Twenty-two felt way too young for me, there were things I didn’t do yet, I hadn’t experienced. I wasn’t married to anyone or engaged, I had a close circle of friends that I told. Everyone was always so supportive of me and that’s probably what kept me going. But even after I had two surgeries (the surgery was complicated due to where it was located; under my arm where my artery, muscles, and nerves were), after surgery I had radiation therapy that would drain me of energy, and it was not even chemotherapy. My journey felt impossible at first and the moments were it came to an end and I was freed of that word, I was happily on my way. Grateful for the opportunity to change my outlook, to be thankful for moments in life, even the bad.
Again when I moved down to treat my mental health I also dealt with other types of challenges. A lot of people didn’t understand and don’t understand what dealing with mental health struggles are like. When you’re given a diagnosis of something like OCD, anxiety, or depression people tend to not understand very well I think. Because someone who has never dealt with those types of things, they don’t understand how you can, and it’s hard to go through for everyone. I lost a lot of friends during that time, and my whole social world was changed with the pandemic become incredibly anxious to even go outside. It has taken me a tremendous amount of strength to get back on my feet, start producing this film, and stop being a recluse.
We all need others to healthy and happy and restricting yourself from those types of people and experiences definitely hinders abilities even though you’re feeling like you need the time to heal. Maybe you do. But all-in-all what you’re able to go through, experience, hurt, and get heartbroken over is probably the physical pain that you would be normally experiencing if you overworked your body at the gym. It has it’s toll on you. It is not easy. But you survive, and you learn, and you grow, and by then you’ve become resilient which in its own nature is a very powerful thing.
We often hear about learning lessons – but just as important is unlearning lessons. Have you ever had to unlearn a lesson?
There’s a lot of things I have had to unlearn in my life too. One of my most opening challenges stem from my anxieties and mental health but also from the pain I’ve experienced.
I would say the most important thing you can unlearn (because so many of us have told ourselves is true) is that “You Aren’t Enough. You cannot do this. You should not do this. You need to give up. You need to stop trying.” — We all need to unlearn this at some point so we can be our potential best self when it comes to how we live.
Five years ago I came back unemployed and had no self confidence, I had really spiraled. Had I not took the time to heal that I needed I wouldn’t be in the position I am in today, and I hope that we all get more chances like this in life. But it still wasn’t going to do anything for me until I had to learn that I had already have everything I need to try, and to start, and by constantly focusing on my negative thoughts which I thought were true, I unlearned that. You can unlearn them, anyone can, it’s all a matter of what we accept or not.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://linktr.ee/ladycardinal
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/ladycardinaljenny/?utm_source=ig_web_button_share_sheet&igshid=OGQ5ZDc2ODk2ZA==
- Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/ladycardinal/
- Other: https://www.gofundme.com/f/floridaland-fundraiser?member=27432799&sharetype=teams&utm_campaign=p_na+share-sheet&utm_medium=copy_link&utm_source=customer