Talking To: Jennifer James

Jennifer James is definitely one to watch. After moving to England for university, she has directed, produced and starred in several short films with her directorial debut (not including the short she did at university) completing post-production in January this year. She’s honest and open about her struggles with mental health and eating disorders and how that has impacted her new film, Physique.

The Everyday sits down with her to discuss the move from actor to director, from America to England and from short films to feature length films.

·       Can you tell our readers a little bit about yourself – where are you from, what do you do, where do you live?

I grew up in Austin, TX but moved to the UK when I was 17 to go to university where I studied Drama and Film close to York, where my grandparents live. My mum is British, and my dad is American, but ever since a young age I knew I wanted to live in England, so I finally made the move. I graduated university in 2019 and straight afterwards made my move to London, where I live now to pursue acting, producing and I also work as a social media assistant for an American company.

·       How did you get into filmmaking? Was it something you always wanted to do?

Filmmaking was something I never expected, because I’ve always wanted to be an actress. In a way I should have seen it coming though because I’ve always loved to write and put on shows for my family as well as making silly music videos with my friends. I don’t think it really clicked with me until university, when I was doing all the practical work of filmmaking and scriptwriting side of things, that I actually enjoyed and was pretty good at all the behind-the-scenes work. 

·       You act as well as direct – which came first, and which do you prefer?

Acting came first. I was a very shy kid, but there was something in me that always wanted to be on stage or in front of a camera. I started dance, theatre and finally at 14 I signed with my first agency in Houston, TX for tv and film acting. I’d say I’d definitely prefer acting, directing is something again that I just fell into and I am still trying to decide if it’s for me. However, in the last year I’ve really been into producing and I am really enjoying focusing on that at the moment.

·       Your assistant director on the short, Self-Charm, which Ella Greenwood is directing (we spoke to Ella back in December about her film Faulty Roots!) – how do you know each other?

Yes, Ella is amazing. So much talent there. We actually met on a film set where we were supporting artists together. Since then, we just kept in touch and when I saw she needed some help on Self-Charm I reached out.

·       Let’s talk about your new film, Physique, where did the story come from?

The story came from personal experiences. I grew up on a dance competition team at a studio and juggled being on a team at my high school at the same time. I loved both of them so much, but I also suffered quite a bit with body image, eating and my confidence a lot of the time in silence. It wasn’t until I was 18 that my friends and family called me out on my problem, and I got diagnosed with Anorexia. It was difficult though because I never really thought I had a “problem” it was just my way of coping and something you become so absorbed in. Of course, dance wasn’t the only thing that fed into it, but when I was there, I always remember comparing myself to the other girls, not feeling I was good enough and constantly checking myself in the mirror that started certain habits that got worse over time. I became home-schooled my last two years of high school mainly because of not wanting to be bullied anymore and from then my eating disorder got worse and I stopped dancing all together for a while. Physique was inspired by my own journey through all of this and is still very fresh for me.

·       Is Physique your directorial debut?

Yes and no. I did a short film at university that I directed but I’d say this is my first official thing I have directed.

·       Is the film very personal to you? Was it important to have a message of mental health and the feeling of not being enough at the forefront?

As I explained before, it is mainly influenced by my life, it is very personal. Actually, when I started rehearsals for it, and it started to become more real and I was opening up about my eating disorder I got very emotional. I’ve always been super secretive about my eating disorder and even when I was going to therapy once a week during university, I never talked about it or liked to admit it to anyone. I found this film as a way to express what I was still holding on to about it all and I found it important to bring light to the side of the eating disorder many people don’t understand – that is so much more than not wanting to eat.

·       Has the pandemic stalled any of your plans for Physique?

We were very lucky and filmed in December before another lockdown happened. I am so grateful to my team for helping me pull it off in such a quick time span. I wrote it in October, and we were filming in less than two months.

·       Do you hope to create a feature length film one day?

I would love to write my own feature film one day, maybe even make Physique into one.

·       What have you got coming up in 2021?

2021 has already started off very busy. I am hoping to get Physique into some film festivals, filming Frontier Myth in the US potentially later this year and I have a few other projects in the pot I have written and probably will direct. Also, I am co-producing another project at the moment which I am looking forward to.