Alright – so today we’ve got the honor of introducing you to Jess Fritz. We think you’ll enjoy our conversation, we’ve shared it below.
Hi Jess, appreciate you sitting with us today to share your wisdom with our readers. So, let’s start with resilience – where do you get your resilience from?
Resilience is a practice. I don’t think it is a skill you either have or don’t. To me, the choice to keep going every time you are tested is what resilience is.
Growing up, both of my parents were devout martial artists, black belts before I was born. They loved to tell the story of me pulling myself up against the wall of their karate studio, throwing sidekicks before I could walk. But the real achievement there wasn’t the act of kicking, it was the drive to pull myself up to achieve something I felt a passion to do, even if I fall down. Getting back up is a part of the process.
My passion turned out to be filmmaking, not the martial arts, but I think my early exposure to my parents’ love for it really shaped the way I internalize trauma and conflict. The martial arts isn’t just physical and about winning a fight, the mental component and how to overcome loss is just as important. No matter how many times I get knocked down, I get back up. Literally and metaphorically.
Great, so let’s take a few minutes and cover your story. What should folks know about you and what you do?
I’m a writer and director who blends humor and drama to explore complex characters on journeys of self-discovery. Although my stories aren’t literally me, I see them as deeply personal and am always seeking to express my truth in it. When you’re emotionally honest in your art, no matter the plot, I think that resonates with the people who will become your audience.
Blending humor with drama feels like the most honest form of filmmaking to me because that’s my personal experience. Life is messy, you can be sobbing from sadness one moment then from laughter the next. Something that’s 100% comedy or 100% drama doesn’t feel real to me. Finding laughter and joy in the face of despair isn’t just a coping mechanism, sometimes it’s a means of survival.
My most recent project, “Sane Men” is a short film that I directed and co-wrote with my sister. It’s about polar opposite sisters who are used to uniting against their mother’s latest criminal boyfriend, but when Mom brings home a “framed” wife killer, will it end with a new Dad, or a new murder? While we are sisters and the fictional sisters’ dynamic is very much grounded in our own childhood relationship, our mother has never brought a convicted wife killer home to live with us (thank God). But we have experienced gendered violence in a world where it’s hard to know who is safe. How can you tell if feeling uneasy around a nice guy is your instinct warning you it’s all an act, or an unwarranted triggered trauma response? And that risk assessment extends to everyone around you. What if someone you love has terrible judgment, so even if they’re well-meaning, their choices constantly bring danger into your orbit?
“Sane Men” is on the festival circuit now, and I’m especially proud of winning ‘Best Dark Comedy’ from Night of Comedy Shorts, ‘Best Stunt’ and the Audience Award at Dark Comedy Film Festival, and my nomination for Best Director. “Sane Men” also has three upcoming screenings at three amazing festivals in the Los Angeles area at the end of September: The Tarzana International Film Festival, Lady Filmmakers Festival and Catalina Film Festival.
And of course everything is made even more meaningful by sharing this success with my sister and co-writer, who is amazingly talented, and has always been one of my fiercest champions.
If you had to pick three qualities that are most important to develop, which three would you say matter most?
I think the three qualities that have been most impactful to me are adaptability, empathy and taking care of yourself.
Adaptability, because no matter how perfect your plans are, there’s always a surprise waiting around the corner. The surprises aren’t always bad, sometimes they’re good, but no matter what they are, you need to be able to pivot and rise to the occasion. The skill in it comes in being able to adapt to these circumstances while still pursuing your goal, of always finding your way back to your chosen path.
Empathy, which of course is an essential component of my filmmaking, but also has played a vital role in my life. From empathy comes kindness, which the world is always in more need of, but possibly just as important is empathy’s role in communication. It’s more effective to get someone to understand you if you’re imagining yourself as the other person, trying to feel the best way to make yourself clear. Coming at someone in a way that doesn’t account for their feelings or point of view can instantly shut them down, ensuring you won’t close the gap. We’re all emotional creatures, whether we care to admit it or not, so we’re much more likely to engage with someone we feel seen and respected by.
Take care of yourself. I’m partly saying this as a self-affirmation because it’s what I personally need the most work on. Our lives (and the world) are so chaotic, constantly needing to put out fires, adapting to roadblocks and pivoting back to pursuing our goals. It can be easy to believe there is no time to take care of yourself. We cannot accomplish our goals if we die on the road to them. Make it a priority to take care of your mind, body and spirit. Figure out what it is you need to do to not only survive, but to be energized by the journey itself.
Okay, so before we go we always love to ask if you are looking for folks to partner or collaborate with?
We’re currently open to additional collaborators for the feature version of our proof of concept short film, “Sane Men.” If you’re interested in learning more, feel welcome to reach out to our Producing Team through our email, sanemenmovie@gmail.com
Contact Info:
- Website: sanemenmovie.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/jessfritzwrites/
Image Credits
Director of Photography for “Sane Men” is Bethany Michalski. Michael Desmond photographed my headshot
