Meet José Valle Jr

We had the good fortune of connecting with José Valle Jr and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi José, what led you to pursuing a creative path professionally?
As long as I can remember I’ve always had a love for stories. Storytelling is a massive part of my culture and in my family especially. I was exposed to the arts at a very early age, Mexican culture is full of colorful and powerful artistic expression. From folkloric dancing, to impressionist paintings, to incredibly powerful story telling through cinema. Both of my parents are cinephiles and my dad especially loves classic golden age Mexican films which were always playing in our house. I also grew up a double minority in my small hometown of Payson, Utah (ethnically and religiously) and so I always felt like an outsider growing up, but the arts, especially cinema, offered a blanket of comfort. Being in the creative field has always felt right, it’s where I feel happiest, where I feel I truly belong. And so when you combine those two aspects of my life it was a no brainer to me that an artistic or creative career was the right choice for me. As an added bonus the lack of Latino representation in the filmmaking field was also an inspiration to trudge on.

Let’s talk shop? Tell us more about your career, what can you share with our community?
First and foremost I am an entertainer. No matter the circumstances I love to entertain people, at a party I am always the person trying to get a laugh out of the room or capture everyones attention with an anecdote (which doesn’t always work mind you) and that is the spirit that I imbue into my art. With our podcast Captain’s Log my cohost, Mason Shrader and I set out to capture people’s attention with the stories we tell by presenting our, in my very humble opinion, well researched topics but also by injecting a flair of comedy and wit (no matter how strange, disturbing or frightening the topics may sometimes be). I’m very proud of the work we have done with Captain’s Log. Growing it, slowly but surely, to what is now whilst never sacrificing the quality of the work.

With my films, regardless or genre, I always seek to inject humanity into them, I am fascinated by the human condition and thus set out to tell stories about people at their core, whilst of course making them entertaining. I am also a Mexican filmmaker, and so Latino representation and celebration is a priority to me. Thus my upcoming thesis film is a combination of those objectives. “MARCELO DREAMS OF CHARROS” is the story of a third generation Mexican-American teen who finds himself in the whirlwind of adolescence in search of identity, after learning of the Charro culture of Mexico he latches on to it and seeks to define himself by diving into a culture wholly unknown to him. While both of his parents are second generation, his father is not as supportive as his mother, as he only associates his culture with the trauma of his early life. And thus Marcelo must not only battle to discover his self-identity but also battle to mend an ever deteriorating relationship with his dad.

Getting to where I am now was not always easy. I am an undocumented first generation Mexican immigrant from a low income family so that came with its own challenges. But from a young age I was made acutely aware of the sacrifices made for me to live a life here in the U.S. to be free to dream as big as I wanted and that has always motivated me to never give up and never give in. I’ve learned many lessons on my journey but the one that has always stuck with me is that it pays to dream big.

If there is one thing I would want the world to know about me is that I may not be an Arnofsky, Chazelle or an Aster but I am passionate about the stories I tell and the work that I do. I am earnest, I don’t chase a career in filmmaking because I want to be rich and famous, I do it because I love Cinema, I love storytelling, I love the collaboration and the payoff that comes from seeing your vision turn into a reality. I do it in hopes of building the bridges that make it easier for some kid like me, who doesn’t come from comfort or legacy, who’s been told they only fit into a certain mold because of their culture, nationality or race to make their dreams into realities.

Any places to eat or things to do that you can share with our readers? If they have a friend visiting town, what are some spots they could take them to?
Oh well I’m of course taking them down to The Lighthouse Cafe for some Jazz and drinks, making sure we sit in the same spot Ryan Gosling and Emma Stone sat in La La Land. Then we have to check out Griffith Observatory at sunset, take a drive on Mulholland, get some pizza down at Dino’s, maybe look for some Velvet Underground or The Replacements records at Atomic Records. We’d have to get a drink at Barney’s Beanery in Burbank and catch a movie at the New Beverly Cinema. We’d take a swim or get a tan down on Hermosa Beach. I would also take them to Plaza Olvera for a history lesson about the beginning of Los Angeles and if time permits we’d drive up to Ojai, to visit my cousins and grab a bite and drink at Topa Topa/Sama Sama.
It would be a very busy week.

The Shoutout series is all about recognizing that our success and where we are in life is at least somewhat thanks to the efforts, support, mentorship, love and encouragement of others. So is there someone that you want to dedicate your shoutout to?
My story is nothing without my family, especially my mom and dad. They had me at very young age and gave their youth to raising me. They left their families and their whole worlds behind in order to provide me with a brighter and safer future. They supported me in all my endeavors growing up, and have been incredibly supportive of my creative career, even if they haven’t always understood it. It takes a lot of guts to break from the mold of tradition and support your child as they venture towards a non-traditional career. Les debo todo a mis padres. As well as the rest of my extended biological family; siblings, cousins, aunts/uncles and grandparents and also my non-biological family; friends (new and old), mentors, teachers etc… all of them have championed my successes big and small throughout my life. I am truly blessed to have as large of a support group as I do, that’s where my strength comes from. (oh and of course my beautiful dog Zuko)

Website: https://linktr.ee/J.Valle_Jr

Instagram: @j.valle_jr https://www.instagram.com/j.valle_jr/

Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@animalproductionschannel

Other: Podcast Instagram & Tik Tok: https://www.instagram.com/captainslogpod/ https://www.tiktok.com/@captainslogpod 

Image Credits
Katra Latinx FIlm Festival Nathan Schiltz