Meet Jehan Patterson | Film Writer & Director

We had the good fortune of connecting with Jehan Patterson and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Jehan, why did you decide to pursue a creative path?
I pursued an artistic career mainly because working in the arts has been something that has always been in me. Growing up, my mother had been an English teacher and instilled in me the value and importance of literature, culture and art. It was from her that I got the Harlem Renaissance at a young age and a lot of the love that I developed for the work to come out of that movement has fueled my creative passion in years to come. Film is the artistic form that draws me most.

Let’s talk shop? Tell us more about your career, what can you share with our community?
I have bee a writer/director for five years now, telling stories that reach all edges of the black diaspora. My focus has always been on telling original, authentic, meaningful and impactful stories in an industry that is often focused on rehashing age old stories with a different coat of paint. My path has never been and will never be easy, but of course nothing ever is. Nothing can be gained until something is lost, but everything can be lost if nothing is gained. I overcame my challenges by keeping my faith and saying goodbye to people that had no faith, no trust, and no belief in me. Once you X out all those external factors, the only factor keeping you from your destiny is yourself. I learned that people will take advantage of you, see your livelihood as a ploy, as a game and at the end of the day before anyone can take you seriously, you’ve got to take yourself seriously. At the end of the day people will say anything about me, make up anything, believe anything, so I’ve stopped looking for people to feel inspired, encouraged or whatever else by my story. They can feel free to if they want, of course, but ultimately I want people to remember that right or wrong “I did it my way”. That I was the welder of my own destiny, that I forged my own path, nobody else did it for me.

Let’s say your best friend was visiting the area and you wanted to show them the best time ever. Where would you take them? Give us a little itinerary – say it was a week long trip, where would you eat, drink, visit, hang out, etc.
See, I’m a little boring, I always clock the movie theaters in any town I go to. I typically know which ones are the cheapest, which have the best concessions, which get early releases, which show art films, and which show the classics. I’d probably take them on a tour around the theaters and just binge as many movies as we can.

Who else deserves some credit and recognition?
My shoutout primarily, as run of the mill as it may seem, goes to my family. My mother, my father, my sister, my aunts. The saying goes it takes a village, and without a doubt this village raised me up to be fearless, to stand in the face of adversity and never back down, and to believe in yourself before anyone else will believe in you. Also a shoutout to Chicago, the crib, from my days playing basketball on the playgrounds to my adult age, door-dashing around 79th to fund my first film, this place puts hairs on your chest. The culture of Chicago has hardened me and made me resilient through my years.

Website: (Under Construction)
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/jehanpatterson/?hl=en
Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jehan-patterson-53549b174?challengeId=AQHWxByt8dzA5gAAAXUoVMaarRXCv9hn4obPFh-hXL9gMDuCtOe9W0TvF1bIUjnZu3bMcueqhM91dqs8U41r18zZhNyp8yxwZQ&submissionId=09c99877-a7ee-3d16-58a3-77f75197954e
Twitter: https://twitter.com/ScorseseFanatic
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/jehan.patterson.5

Image Credits
Stephanie Knight