We recently connected with Jessica L. Folk and have shared our conversation below.
Hi Jessica L., thanks for joining us today. We’d love to hear about a project that you’ve worked on that’s meant a lot to you.
One of the current screenwriting projects I’m involved with has stood out as particularly meaningful to me. The project is a feature-length screenplay titled, LET THERE BE LIGHT (LTBL). My co-writer, Paula Andrea Cajiao, and I have been developing this project since 2022 after we met at the Richmond International Film Festival. We also co-wrote the proof-of-concept short film screenplay, which was filmed in March 2026 and is now in post-production. The hope is that the proof-of-concept short will showcase the story’s value as Paula works towards securing funding to direct the feature film version of LTBL.
LTBL follows a veteran, Alex Álvarez, as she navigates lingering trauma from war. Her anger issues combined with PTSD lead to her physically fighting someone and result in assault charges. Instead of jail time, the judge gives her mandated mental health counseling which, if not successfully completed, will likely result in her going to prison for some length of time. Through these counseling sessions with her therapist, Lucy, she finds that perhaps traditional treatments are not going to be enough for her to fully heal. Like many veterans before her, Lucy suggests that she may benefit from plant medicine, specifically ibogaine. Alex must make a choice – pursue this treatment against the wishes of her family or face a future where she may never fully heal, leading to jail time or worse. The film follows Alex’s journey and asks audiences to open their minds to what helping someone like Alex can look like.
It’s important to me to help tell this story because, though I am not a combat veteran myself, I deeply care about telling stories of people who are struggling and how human connection and proper treatment can help heal them heal and live full lives. Alex is also a queer woman, a community which I both belong to and seek to tell stories about whenever possible. Alex’s story may be fictional, but her experiences are real for so many people out there. Paula and I want to shine light on those folks, so they aren’t forgotten in a broken system.
Jessica L., 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?
I’ve been writing since I was a kid, even choosing to write during recess. I distinctly remember sitting on the edge of the playground with a notebook and pencil, drafting stories that seemed important, dramatic, and fun to me at that age. A couple of friends even joined me throughout those early years, crafting characters and worlds we wanted to see on the page. As I grew older, I knew writing needed to remain part of my life. I hadn’t considered writing as a career and even thought I would pursue a career in veterinary medicine, but over time I realized that wasn’t the right route for me and turned back to my first love: writing. I also grew up loving films, watching them for hours on end, over and over until I knew them inside and out. When I learned what screenwriting was, I knew that was the path for me. I went to school for Creative Writing and Cinema & Screen Studies at SUNY Oswego, then earned my MFA in Screenwriting at Chapman University in 2014. While I was at Chapman, I fell even more in love with storytelling, but I also realized that I wanted to balance writing with a more stable career in teaching. I started as an adjunct in 2014, became a full-time instructor in 2016, and landed a tenure-track position in 2017. I am now a tenured Associate Professor at a public university in Kentucky. I knew teaching would give me the opportunity to maintain a salary while also allowing space for writing. It’s a requirement of tenure-track positions that you produce and publish work in your field of expertise, so I knew writing would continue to be a part of my life. Balancing my writing pursuits with a career in teaching is difficult at times, but it is a career that fulfills me on most days. I get to teach the craft that I love while also pursuing that craft myself. Over the years, I have earned multiple awards and honors at film festivals and screenplay competitions. In fact, my short screenplay, “Of Summer Storms & Salt” recently won Best Screenplay in the Los Angeles Film Awards in December 2025. I am proud of all of these accomplishments and I’m excited to continue to see what will happen in my writing career. Earlier this month, seeing the short film version of LET THERE BE LIGHT move into production was invigorating. I can’t wait to see what’s next for this worthwhile project.
What’s the most rewarding aspect of being a creative in your experience?
For me, the most rewarding aspect is when I get to see how a story I wrote moves someone. I always wanted to write something that would make others feel how books and films made me feel when I was younger. I wanted to move someone to tears. I wanted to make someone laugh. I wanted someone to feel even a little bit seen by something I wrote. I know my writing has done this in a variety of ways and each time I get to personally witness these emotions is just as wonderful as the first time. One of the benefits of being a creative is that your work will hopefully touch folks you never meet in person. Knowing there is even one person out there who was moved in some way by something I wrote makes all of this worthwhile.
How can we best help foster a strong, supportive environment for artists and creatives?
I would love to see writing, art, theater, and other creatively focused programs remain in schools nationwide. I want to see these programs supported. I want to see them valued. It was these types of programs that made me who I am today. The idea that there are kids out there who go to school every day and don’t get to go to music class or sink into a chair at the library or try new things in art class or feel seen in a storytelling/creative writing club or express themselves on stage is deeply frustrating and sad. We need these programs to exist, to thrive. They allow space for kids to feel seen, be in community, and express themselves in the best way they know how. If we don’t nurture these creative interests then these kids may grow up to be adults who don’t understand the value of supporting programs like these and we may see them all disappear. A world without art? Without creative pursuits? What a sad world that would be.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.jessicafolkwrites.com/
- Instagram: @jeleigh16
- Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jessica-folk-writes/
Image Credits
Sur La Lune Photography