CK: Why did you feel important to use your art to highlight the father/son relationship?
JC: I think art tells our own story no matter what they are, and right now my daily story involves my kids- changing diapers, reading books, playing at the park. It’s hard for me to put that experience into art in a static sense. Using the medium of film really lets me dig my teeth in- not only to what the audience sees as an end product, but asking myself as an artist, and father for that matter- what’s important to me? What’s important to share, and… what isn’t? How can my experiences help others?
CK: You mention in the film description – “a life lived running from complacency.” What does this mean? Complacency about what?
JC: As for running from complacency, the wolf is used as a metaphor, and it is a chameleon of sorts. Your Wolf might be complacency, or it might be lethargy or addiction or maybe regret from your past. We all have something that follows us and keeps us aware of our fragility.
For me, or maybe any artist, it can be easy to become complacent when you find satisfaction, or success in life or work. The temptation is to sit on our haunches and just continue to repeat ourselves. I find the best musicians are those that are unpredictable, because they don’t continually regurgitate the same album.
I hope to continue to evolve as a human being, and part of that is making mistakes, failing, and continuing. If we are so afraid of failure that we never try, then we are allowing the wolf to catch us.
Beyond all the metaphorical mumbo-jumbo- I really just hope to plant seeds and see what grows. But… I suppose that’s a metaphor too…
CK: What are you running toward –if anything?
JC: Balance.
CK: What’s the toughest thing about being a dad?
JC: Time management.
CK: What do you hope the audience will get out of Saturday night? What will they leave with?
JC: I hope they get what they need. By that, I mean that- some people are super moved by people sharing their stories in a passionate way that they find they relate to. I am one of them. Others may just find it’s just entertaining and that’s okay too. My hope is always to engage, empower, and entertain… If you experience one of those three things, then I’m satisfied.
CK: In your opinion, what is your responsibility –if any – to use art and athleticism as a form of activism?
JC: In reference to this project – it’s almost more of an evangelism than activism- proselytizing a mindset, and a way of living that I find is beneficial to me.
As I grow as an artist, or maybe as a human, I guess, I feel an immense pull towards purpose. If I have an ear, what do I want to say and how do I want to say it? It’s kind of like a dog finally catching the fire truck… now what!? I guess I am a dog answering that for myself one adventure, one story, and one expression at a time. Woof.
CK: What’s the project you are most excited about working on at the moment? What’s in the hopper/what’s next?
JC: A fiction piece called “The Equation”. It’s a short film exploring beauty and how we define it, or more-over how it’s defined FOR us. It’s a complex journey for me- learning a bit about math, and tackling the monster that is fiction when that does not come naturally to me.
Learn more about Jeremy Collins at: https://jercollins.com/.
