Meet Cayla Josephson | Aspiring Director

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

Hi Cayla, why did you pursue a creative career?
For years leading up to college — and even making my way through college — I was split on what I wanted to do. My time was split between the arts where I pursued acting and writing and the sciences where I studied bones and forensics. Even through community college I collected associates degrees like they were Pokémon cards, still delaying the moment where I would have to choose a path. The film but caught while I was at Antelope Valley College when I took a digital filmmaking class and my professor noticed that spark of talent in me and encouraged me to keep progressing. I completed my first major project, “Peeling Back The Wallpaper” and decided I would let fate choose. When I went to transfer, I applied to some 4 year universities for forensic anthropology and some for film and television production. CSUN accepted me as a film and T.V. Student and then after applying to the T.V. Program, I got in. There were many instances between then and the release of my senior thesis project, “The White Lighter”, that won our showcase where I debated whether I had made the right choice. There was the pandemic, strikes, and medical issues that made me think I had chosen wrong, that I wasn’t talented enough to break through in my field. What keeps me going is that I love doing it and there are still people around me who recognize my work and my talents, even if most days I don’t.

Can you open up a bit about your work and career? We’re big fans and we’d love for our community to learn more about your work.
Aside from the internal struggle of deciding to become an artist in a world where such a career move is a gamble, there were a lot more physical challenges I faced. The summer before my senior year I was diagnosed with severe arthritis, which has lead me to use braces permanently and to have to consider total knee replacement in the near future. These complications lead to me filming the entirety of “The White Lighter” on crutches. I can’t say that I did much to overcome — if anything I probably should have slowed down a little. Instead I grit my teeth, found a rolling chair, and kept at it. It’s all I really can do until I get what I affectionately call my robotification.
When I’m creating I’m drawn to stories that feel real — but maybe not in the way you would think, considering my last project was about ghosts and curses. I want to make it feel like the audience is right there with our characters, usually with some camera movement (when the budget allows of course). I also strive to include the queer community, a community that I am a proud member of. I don’t want to cover the usual — stories about it coming out or a period piece about the AIDs crisis. These stories have their importance, but I want to focus on having LGBTQ+ characters that are casually themselves, treated like every other character. Now more than ever our community needs to be normalized and accepted as just another person to share this world with. Be loud, be proud, be human.

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.
Although I have pursued a life of art, I am still a little science nerd. This city has some of the best museums, including the Natural History Museum and The La Brea Tar Pits. There’s also always something interesting happening at The Hollywood Bowl, particularly coming up being the Boston Ballet coming to perform Swan Lake. I also always love hitting the weirder spots, like the Ripley’s Believe It Or Not Musuem.
As far as snacks go, Los Angeles has some of the best Mexican food out there, I’m always down for some street tacos.

Who else deserves some credit and recognition?
There are many people I can shout out that have lead me to this point, but there are three names that have pushed me to where I am now that I don’t think I could’ve done it without. My professor at Antelope Valley College, Kevin North, was the first person who encouraged me to pursue film, who helped me grow with the young film and T.V. Department as I honestly my skills and finally decided to take the plunge. Once I made it to CSUN, my professors Billy Bolotino and Quinn Saunders were the one who helped me take my skills to the next level. Although the criticism was painful at times, it genuinely helped me become a better artist that was able to see the faults within their own work and strive to improve instead of stagnate. Without these educators, I probably wouldn’t even be in film right now at all!

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