We recently connected with Josh Soskin and have shared our conversation below.
Josh, thank you so much for joining us. You are such a positive person and it’s something we really admire and so we wanted to start by asking you where you think your optimism comes from?
What a great question. I have no idea. I think it’s innate. Part of my genetic code. But I also had a great therapist who was formative. I lost my hair to a rare auto-immune condition (alopecia) when I was in my early 20s. It was a rock bottom type of low and she helped me off the ledge. Part of that help entailed helping me to access my ability to tell my own story both literally but also internally, from within. I started to see optimism as a “choice” and frankly a more pleasant one then the alternative.
Great, so let’s take a few minutes and cover your story. What should folks know about you and what you do?
My professional focus tends to shift – which is both fun (and maddening?) I direct, write and take photographs, I suppose in that order. Sometimes I’ll be deep in a photography phase and focused on my work in that realm. In others, I’ll be immersed in writing a script or a project for film. And when I’m at my happiest I think, it’s when I’m directing. I make commercials, short films, etc and currently I’m working on getting my first feature made. It’s called The Rooster Prince and is based off my own experiences with losing my brother to bipolar/suicide. It’s not as dark as it sounds though. More like a modern Rain Man. It looks at the paradox of mental iilness through the lens of these two brothers on a road trip across America. I’m fascinated with the paradox of my own experience with it. Bipolar brought me closer to my brother in certain moments then we’d been since we were children. And then it took him. This movie is my attempt to reconcile or at least look at – that very paradox. It took me three years and lots of tears and hours to write. It’s also probably the best thing I’ve written. We’re currently trying to lock in famous people and money (in that order) so I can actually make it.
If you had to pick three qualities that are most important to develop, which three would you say matter most?
Three qualities, hmmm. I’m not sure if I’m self-aware enough to know? I suppose my resilience, because I literally never give up. And the resilience is based off that optimism. So there’s two. A third? Curiosity. Just always being curious is key to a fulfilling creative life I think.
Is there a particular challenge you are currently facing?
Yes. I’m currently trying to get my first feature made and it’s rife with challenges. It’s a bit of a catch 22, nobody wants to finance you or take you seriously because its your first feature, and yet, what else can you do, it’s your first feature! I have to wait for weeks on end for famous people to read it and IF they say yes then, in theory, somebody will actually pay for it. But it’s truly a rather insane and powerless feeling. But, I just keep going. Because I love the movie that much.
Contact Info:
- Website: www.joshsoskin.com
- Instagram: @joshsoskin
Image Credits
I have rights and shot by me.
