We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Jonathan Breaux a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.

Jonathan, looking forward to hearing all of your stories today. Can you walk us through some of the key steps that allowed you move beyond an idea and actually launch?

I recently finished my first feature film, Loss of Essence. Having recently moved to Los Angeles in the summer of 2020, I had made a handful of short films and worked for a Hollywood director, and I knew that making a feature film was going to be my next undertaking. I knew I had a certain budget to work with, and I shaped my story with that in mind. I drew inspiration from filmmakers own stories like Stanley Kubrick and Christopher Nolan and wrote a story that was new and fresh but also something that was contained and that I could film in my family’s farm in Natchez, MS. I wrote three drafts of the script, and after I had it in a good place, I starting casting it. The casting process was challenging because I had a specific need from all of my characters, and I wanted to find the most talented actors with a super low budget. During the casting, I also spent time scouting locations, working on the costume and prop design, and gearing up our camera package. I chose to shoot this on 16mm film. You have to be very prepared and run various camera tests when working with film stock because, unlike shooting digital, film is a finite material and it can be costly. We shot the film in October of 2021 and had a great time. Everyone got along with one another and we managed to shoot a feature film in 12 days with a crew of about 6 people. I would often shoot all day and cook for everyone at night. It was like summer camp for filmmaking. We really enjoyed ourselves and worked hard. I spend the following year editing the film, working with my composer Théo on the score, coloring, and sound mixing. The post production process definitely took the longest. I was able to secure distribution with Buffalo 8, and we are excited to be releasing the film on February 2nd. It will be available to rent or buy on platforms like Amazon and iTunes. When I look back on this endeavor, I was so nervous and scared of doing it, but it was the greatest film school I could ever ask for. The lessons I learned while making this film will be some of the most important in my career.

Awesome – so before we get into the rest of our questions, can you briefly introduce yourself to our readers.

I grew up in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, and split my time between Louisiana and my family’s farm in Natchez, Mississippi. I discovered my love of filmmaking at a young age when I would shoot short films in middle school with my friends. From there, I devoted my life to film. I’ve worked on various film sets and worked for a Hollywood director on multiple projects as his assistant. This all culminated into a burning desire to create my own films.

I am a freelance writer/director. My passion is telling stories that evoke emotion and wonder in an audience. I’m interested in a wide variety of films: commercials, music videos, and feature films to name a few. With every film I make, I am involved in every detail of the process: casting, editing, score, etc. I believe every decision, regardless of how minute, matters, and I care about every frame of my work.

Something I am most proud of is writing, directing, editing, and producing my feature film, Loss of Essence, and securing distribution for it.

I am a dedicated filmmaker, and my goal is to push the medium in ways that have never been pushed before.

Are there any resources you wish you knew about earlier in your creative journey?

Earlier in my creative journey, I wish I would have simply taken more action. Just getting started is one of the greatest assets in a creative journey. I think it is so important to start moving and simply start doing the things that you want to do. There were so many times early in my career that I gave up on a script idea or never shot that short film with my friends because I was scared, and as I look back, I wish I would have not thought so much. I wish I would have done more. Most of the work you do when starting out comes short, and you fail. It’s important to get that out of the way, learn from it, and move on to the next project.

What’s a lesson you had to unlearn and what’s the backstory?

I studied many directors and their paths to success. I studied exactly what they did, how they did it, and it led me to believe that every director has had one, specific path to success. I thought if I followed those steps, it would lead me to the same path. I had to unlearn this belief and realize that every filmmaker’s journey is, instead, totally different. You can’t compare yourself to others before you because everyone has a different timeline for when they “make it” in the industry. Staying devoted to your craft and focusing on improving is how you achieve success.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.imdb.com/title/tt15133418/
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/lossofessencemovie/
• Youtube: @jonathanbreaux1173