When it was announced that Joshua Jean-Baptiste and his creative partner Edson Jean had won the prestigious $25,000 Project Greenlight prize for their Haitian-American themed web series, chances are most people knew they were not an overnight sensation. And they were right. Miami-born Joshua graduated with a Bachelor of Fine Arts in acting from Miami’s New World School of the Arts. His journey didn’t stop there. A few film gigs here and there eventually led to a major role in a short film entitled The Adventures of Edson Jean, directed by fellow Haitian-American Edson Jean. The film aired on the cable network HBO, following a win in the Short film category at the American Black Film Festival.

Following this triumph, Joshua wrote for theaters in the Miami area, and started work on what would become #Josh. He and Edson had become roommates, and he became inspired by his transition from young adulthood to adulthood to create a story based on this period.

I conducted separate interviews with pair. We’ll hear from Joshua Jean-Baptiste first, and then Edson Jean in Part 2. Shall we get started?

Kreyolicious: Did the love of film grow in you during high school, or was it college that brought it out of you?

JOSHUA JEAN-BAPSTISTE: In high school, I did the morning announcements and was granted the opportunity to “spice it up” by making a short funny video every week. It was called “Wacky Wednesday”. Cohorts Max and Frank were a delight to work with. But I never thought anything of it. Fast forward to college, when I met Edson. I grew to appreciate the professional film making progress. I realized it was not as difficult as it seemed, I began to understand the endless possibilities of story telling. It became a lot easier to be involved after college. I appreciate the film, but creating in general is my true “love”. Whether it’s film , theater, or writing a review on yelp, the process of bringing something to life is what I’m passionate about.

Kreyolicious: If you could recommend three films to aspiring filmmakers that you feel exemplify great filmmaking, which films would you choose?
JOSHUA JEAN-BAPSTISTE: I’m not much of a film buff, so it’d be difficult for me to give an earnest suggestion. However three movies that I love are; Scott Pilgrim Vs. The World, Eternal Sunshine of a Spotless Mind and a 70’s movie called The Skin Game.

Kreyolicious: You and Edson are creative partners. Being that sometimes filmmakers have the reputation of “My vision, or else” mentality, how does a collaborative relationship work for the two of you?
JOSHUA JEAN-BAPSTISTE: The creative partnership that Edson and I have is simple and pleasant. Either we agree on something, or not. If we don’t we explain each others point of view ad nauseam. A majority of the time, which ever Idea was expressed the most passionate is the one we go with.

Kreyolicious: How did your web series come about?

JOSHUA JEAN-BAPSTISTE: After moving in with Edson my sophomore year, I learned a lot. From keeping a clean room, to cooking rice, and most notable – talking to girls. I wasn’t the most confident person, so he and my other roommates would find ways to set me up with girls. And most of the time I would fail at making a move, missing a signal and in turn ruining a lot of potential opposites with girls. He and I would laugh at these follies enough for me to start documenting them. This is when we got the idea to make this into a show.

Kreyolicious: Have you been to Haiti? How do you stay connected to Haitian culture

JOSHUA JEAN-BAPSTISTE: I haven’t had the chance to go yet. But Edson and I make sure to stay connected to our families. His mother occasionally visits us in Downtown, and I frequently bring him to my grandmothers house for some cooking. Sharing stories of our upbringing is one of our favorite past times along speaking in Creole every so often.

Above: Joshua in model-mode. Photo Credit: Alexandra Barbieri.

Kreyolicious: What were you doing when the announcement came through about your winning the Project Greenlight prize?

JOSHUA JEAN-BAPSTISTE: I was at work, and was forced to contain my excitement for about forty-five minutes. I will say every customer that I rang up got me at my most cheery, and efficient form.

Kreyolicious: It’s not unusual for a creative to win a huge prize, to never be heard from again. How are you planning to keep the fire going?

JOSHUA JEAN-BAPSTISTE: Thankfully we live in Miami during a creative boom. With the amount of community support we are getting with this project people are eager to work with us and are open to collaborating and helping out in any way. With so many resources it’s almost stupid not to jump into something while the momentum is hot. In addition, Edson and I share a creative itch. In all the years that we’ve known each other, we’re always, always working on something. The simple fact that we won this prize is because we kept moving. Those that fade away don’t have enough to say.

Joshua Jean-Baptiste on Twitter| Joshua Jean-Baptiste on Instagram

As half of the pair that won the $25,000 Project Greenlight Prize last year, Edson Jean has reasons to be proud, and he’s proud, but he’s even busier being productive. The Miami-based filmmaker, who’s the son of Haitian parents is starring in new episodes of #Josh, the web series that earned him and his creative partner Joshua Jean-Bpatiste the sought-after aforementioned prize.

I previously interviewed Joshua (CLICK HERE if you missed that interview), and now it’s Edson’s turn. Let’s see what he had to say about being a Project Greenlight winner, his creative process and how he plans on keeping the momentum going.

Kreyolicious: At which point of your life did you fall in love with cinema and the art of filmmaking?
Honestly, I am still falling in love with cinema. I’m a baby when it comes to filmmaking, so I see myself as a baby running around with their eyes wide open taking in all they can.

Kreyolicious: Did you or are you studying film in school?
No. I taught myself what I know about film. Thanks to my good friend—the internet.

Kreyolicious: If you could make a list of three films that have had a profound and long-term effect in your film education….which films would you choose?
Wow. Too hard to narrow it down to three films. Sometimes just one scene in a film gives me a tremendous amount of inspiration.

Kreyolicious: Okay, how about we narrow it down to ten?
Okay, how about I give you a few directors and tell you to watch all their films? Guy Richie, Wes Anderson, Woody Allen and Stanley Kubrick.

Kreyolicious: Fair enough…Being that you and Joshua work collaboratively…how does the creative process go for the two of you…I mean…two minds…two different guys…
Pretty smooth actually. We’ve been working collaboratively for some time now so we know our strengths and weaknesses.

Kreyolicious: How did your web series come about?
Inspired by our lives honestly. Josh had all these ridiculous things happening to him and I was like: “Yo, write this down!”

Kreyolicious: Can you enlighten those of us who may not know what goes into making a web series?
Work, work, work, work…and then a little more work. Honestly, you’ve just got to start somewhere and then teach yourself as you go.

Above: A still from The Adventures of Edson Jean.

Kreyolicious: I think that with a lot of creatives sometimes no matter how good your product is, you tend to underguess yourself. How did you figure out that your project was good enough to be entered in Project Greenlight?
Self-deprecation isn’t my style. If you don’t believe in yourself who will? You have to have confidence in your craft. We just submitted it and forgot about it. No reason in blowing it up to the fact that you think you aren’t good enough to try. It never hurts to try.

Kreyolicious: Have you been to Haiti? How do you stay connected to Haitian culture?
Yeah, several times. My family is my direct connection to my Haitian culture.

Kreyolicious: What were you doing when the announcement came through about your winning the Project Greenlight prize? Did you do a back flip?
[Laughter] Naw.. I was more like…okay now it’s time to get to work. I’ll save the backflips if we get upstreamed to Primetime Cable.

Kreyolicious: Before this encouraging prize came your way, were there times when you wanted to give up?
No. There is no point of giving up. then you can never say you gave it your all.

Kreyolicious: Now that you’ve won, what’s next? How are you planning to make the best of it?
Make the best show possible with the resources we have.

Kreyolicious: And are there any books you’d recommend?
Making Movies by Sydney Lumet.

Kreyolicious: What would you say to an aspiring filmmaker?
All Aspiring film makers should get in the habit of just doing! the best way you can learn and grow is by being hands on. Keep making work. Finish one then move on to the next.

FOLLOW THE ADVENTURES OF EDSON JEAN ON FACEBOOK |