We were lucky to catch up with Shaun Rylee recently and have shared our conversation below.

Hi Shaun, thanks for joining us today. What’s been the most meaningful project you’ve worked on?

When I set out to write and create, the very first thing I draw upon is my own experiences. For me, it’s about finding those links to meaningful stories that others can relate to. Searching for the reasons behind our motivations and how we progress as human beings in our relationships with other people. I want to take those stories and infuse them with beautiful imagery onscreen. Even if a story comes from a bleak moment in time, there is beauty to be found in how we persevere amidst our struggles. I want to let people know that we are relatable in the human experience.

A feature film I wrote and is in early pre-production called “Better.” is based on events from a particular turning point in my adult life where I navigated some heavy issues but also during a very beautiful time. It’s incredibly poignant to speaking about how our life experiences impact our personalities, relationships with other people, and our mental health. As we experience our day to day, we do the best we can with what we have and barely have moments to stop and think about the impact on ourselves and others. It’s an important story that anyone can relate to, and in the middle of it all is the love that forms between two individuals and how they get through these things together. The real-life person changed my views on life in a huge way and it became meaningful to me when I realized how many people could relate to the different components of this story.

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

After graduating with a film degree, I got a job at an infomercial giant, working in an office. I got to see how things operated for television at the executive level and eventually I got to help with casting and presented in their live arts showcase on tv. My heart always lied with acting and I eventually found a way in when the nuances of the industry allowed for more opportunities.

I eventually started writing and directing my own work, in order to tell my stories. There is a special pride that comes with creating projects yourself from the ground up. My projects ‘Question Everything,’ ‘Angles’ and ‘You Don’t Deserve This’ were created during that time where the industry and world were on pause and I knew I could still find a way to tell stories and get them out there. They’re very special to me because I found people who believed in my capabilities and we all combined our talents to put out these works despite the challenges in doing so. And they are such unique stories but ones that resonate with other people as well.

Can you tell us about a time you’ve had to pivot?

I’m currently experiencing one of those times and I’d say my whole life has been about pivoting! I have always been very forward-thinking in my career because time waits for no one. There will be certain goals I set for myself and then I take the steps to make sure I reach them. I am about to move to France November 1st, in order to progress my career. Moving overseas is such a huge pivot from a comfortable yet sort of stagnant cycle I’ve been in with Las Vegas’s current film industry. While meeting great fellow creatives here, it wasn’t serving my career with the challenges we have faced the past few years (pandemic and strikes) in this newer local market, so I’m one to keep it moving. My personal timeline was bumped up a few years in making this big move but I align so much with the European film styles and how they do business that I want to learn from them and contribute what I have to offer as well. It’s a very exciting and admittedly stressful time but I know when I land back in the south of France, I will feel at home and have a rejuvenated sense of creative purpose.

Is there mission driving your creative journey?

There’s been a relentless drive in me since I was very young to aid in creating purposeful narratives. I want to keep learning as much as I can about the different facets of creating so I can reach the people that will resonate with these stories. As a child, I was always a daydreamer but very much rooted in my daily life struggles at the same time. I was a very stressed-out young girl. It was about learning the balance between the two dichotomies and using them intentionally to create within the realms of writing and film. I also used to draw, wrote a lot of poetry and lyrics and I still love to paint when I can. Everything artistic has a way of telling a beautiful story. Taking from any creative aspect of something and utilizing it in new ways to tell these stories is what the mission is, in order to get those purposeful narratives across to others.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://imdb.me/shaunrylee
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/shaunrylee
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/shaunryleeacts
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/shaunrylee/

Image Credits
Psylent Pictures Steve Escarcega Cinema Dandan