Jon Paul is an elite martial artist and filmmaker who enjoys the process of performance and creativity. He is a two-time Judo national champion, a Bronze Pan-American medalist, and a two-time world team member for USA Judo. He found passion for film and storytelling during his time training and competing in Judo while traveling to many international countries such as Japan, China, Korea, Germany, Italy, and Morocco to name a few countries. He is currently working on his next film project, which is a feature film to cover the full story of our short film “Dojo” in greater depth.
-What inspired you to become a filmmaker?
What inspired me to become a filmmaker was being able to write down and express my ideas of different stories through filmmaking. Many of my creativeness came from traveling and competing throughout the world, staying in many places and learning about different cultures, about different people, with their many different backgrounds and stories, and learning my own story with my own raw experiences throughout the way.
-Do you think the cinema can bring a change in society?
Yes, cinema can most definitely change society in many ways through expression of ideas and messages. Film has a way to capture what emotions our audience is relating to at the time they watch a particular film as well as learn the complexity of open interpretation when it comes to storytelling and filmmaking.
-What would you change in the world?
I would change how people see how everything is approached and for people to be open minded when it comes to perception and reality.
-Where do you see the film industry going in the next 100 years?
I see the film industry having both those who want to continue with original filmmaking, with pure storytelling, and no CGI effects or very minimal and I see the otherside of the film industry where everything is used with CGI and AI has taken many roles when it comes to filmmaking.
