Jesse Harris, Filmmaker: If you picked any other career and you had spent a decade working on it and were really good at it, you’d probably be really successful and have a good life.
Film Courage: How much money has your first feature film Living Life made in total?
Jesse: It probably hasn’t made barely any money. They paid a small fee to me to go work on it when they first picked it up and they paid to finish it and put it on film and release it and market it but I don’t think they ever even made their money back on it. It had a small theatrical release in a couple cities, it played on I think internationally in a few countries, in a few tv markets but the distributor was this tiny little indie distributor. At the time back then there were all these little companies popping up and I think they meant well but I don’t think they knew how to get a film out there. I don’t think it ended up making very much money for them. I definitely didn’t recoup the money that my parents had given me to make the movie but again for me it was never about that. They were never expecting that in the first place. It wasn’t like an investment either, it was the money I would have used and they would have given me if I had gone to pay to a film school or something. I don’t think it made money but it obviously made just so much for me in terms of it’s what gave me the inspiration to start this film festival for young filmmakers (NFFTY, National Film Festival for Talented Youth) which then led to starting to do commercials which then led me back to making a film again and so it was definitely a life-changing experience and an incredible thing that I was able to pull off at such a young age.
Film Courage: Do you think a filmmaker should expect to make money or recoup their costs for their first feature film?
Jesse: It’s hard to say. I think that it all probably depends on the scale and size of the film. I think that ideally you start something small and you build from there and obviously things are changing all the time. I think budgets are getting smaller because they’re being forced to be because the people are paying less for them…(Watch the video interview on Youtube here).
BIO:
Jesse Harris started his filmmaking career early, writing and directing his first feature when he was 17. He opted against college and used the money to fund his feature that he wrote and directed, which was eventually picked up for US theatrical distribution and by HBO Europe. In 2007, to support other young filmmakers, Jesse founded NFFTY (National Film Festival for Talented Youth), which has grown into the largest and most prestigious youth film festival in the world. Jesse put his filmmaking career on hold for several years to support other young directors and build a premier showcase for aspiring directors. Variety named Jesse one of 25 talents who transformed youth entertainment and was named one of City Arts Magazine’s Top 50 Culture Makers. His feature was shortlisted for the 2004 Independent Spirit Awards ‘Someone to Watch’ Award and was one of 20 features invited to the 2004 IFP New York Film Market. Jesse’s recently been named a Global Shaper, an initiative of the World Economic Forum, built around young entrepreneurs and do-gooders. Jesse returned to filmmaking in the commercial world, now bringing years of experience crafting beautiful stories for brands. His commercial work has been seen on TV around the world, working with clients such as Volvo, Microsoft, Disney and more. His 2018 short film, Wind in the Night was one of seven films selected for the 2019 Prix SNCF du Polar in France and picked up for distribution in France, Asia, UK and USA. The film was a proof of concept for his next feature, Borrego (available January 14, 2022).
WATCH ‘WIND IN THE NIGHT’ (Proof Of Concept Short Film)
CONNECT WITH JESSE HARRIS
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