© Sara Elle Jone
My name is Sara Elle Jone, I go by “Elle” and I am 27. I am Portuguese born and raised in Lisbon. I have a bachelor of fine arts in acting for film and television at the New York film Academy in LA. I currently live in Barcelona, Spain.
I have a documentary series on YouTube that I’ve been working on for about two years now ¹. I’m in charge of the entire production process, from writing to editing the series. I gather conversations that I have with different kinds of people in various scenarios of life and then they get mixed with interviews with specialists like Hiroya Tanaka ², architect and a Gaudí Specialist.
² Interview with Hiroya Tanaka “Qué es compasión sale de la naturaleza”
What is the main theme of your series?
The main theme of my docu series is evolution and how we are all part of a bigger plan that we’re all doing here. Something really special that we are meant to do as a collective consciousness on earth. So it’s a journey of discovering more about that and hearing different perspectives on what they think that this mission could be.
How did the subject of evolution come to you?
Evolution for me is quite important because sometimes it can be difficult to understand where things are moving towards, what is the purpose of life, and of the world, and why there are so many terrible things happening on a daily basis. By diving into a deep introspection of our Evolution as a species, answers to these challenges can be arrived at.
Sara Elle Jone with Hiroya Tanaka in Colonia Guell, Barcelona © Sara Elle Jone
What cause or charity do you support?
I am a certified green consultant of audiovisual productions which means to calculate the CO2 equivalent of each production. I find this to be where I bring out my activist side because I truly dream of having productions and being on sets that are the most sustainable and that don’t produce any waste at all. Which ultimately can then be reflected on society as well. But the job of a green (or Eco) consultant is not just waste and the carbon emissions – it’s also the impact that you can have on society, and more specifically, on the place that you’re filming.
For example, creating productions that are truly diverse that include people with disabilities, only hire local people to avoid travel of great length, and compensate the emissions on a local project that benefits the community directly, even if that project doesn’t officially offset the emissions. These are some of the things I aim to do with my project wherever I go.
I also do physical art work with recycled materials or with literal trash. I have now started creating pieces that directly connect to the themes presented in my Docu series but the goal here is to see every single material as valuable, and to get it all from different sources: I either pick it up from recycling centers, the streets or from leftovers of the audiovisual productions I participated in. As a green consultant I had to supervise the trash separation on set and because of that I kept so many different materials that were going to be thrown away that I now have turned them into art pieces.
© Sara Elle Jone
Has a film ever changed your views on a political, social or a climate issue?
Yes! My favorite movie of all time is “12 angry men” because of how deep it’s message hit me and how impactful it was afterwards. It is just so beautiful how simply through dialogue and good communication we can all arrive at the bottom of our essence as human beings which is that we are all love and made up of love. Also Cinematically, it is such an inspiration because it’s all shot in one living room the whole time except for one or two external shots at the end. That’s exactly what I do with my documentary series- it’s all in one place, one conversation and through the dialogue, it allows the audience to imagine the circumstances and all the scenarios that are being talked about.
Do you think filmmakers can make a change regarding these issues?
Absolutely yes! I believe that anything that is shown on the big screen and on a stage are the most powerful tools on earth. To me, storytelling is really the key to address most of our issues because it changes people’s beliefs systems and can shape imagination.
Who are your influences and why?
My two biggest influences are Meryl Streep because of everything that she represents for an actor – her career, the projects that she is involved with, her work ethic, how she approaches a character, how she delivers it and also her position in the industry, and how she sees the world. I truly admire all of these attributes that she has. My other inspiration is James Dean because of the acting he delivered back then. It gives me such a peculiar feeling. Almost like he created his own type of acting! truly based on emotional and genuine responses and with great presence which is something that I am to work towards as an actor and a performer.
As far as filmmakers, Terrence Malik‘s movies have always blown my mind perhaps due to the deep philosophical aspects that he incorporates with every story.
Brief analysis of one of your artworks:
“El perdón Parte III” which translates to forgiveness part three– which is already available on YouTube- was a beautiful journey that I had the pleasure to go through with my documentary series. Interviewing Kunga, a Buddhist monk, was actually the first time I got truly nervous. Maybe because it was in Spanish but also because I could feel her depth and how much she knew about life- her wisdom, and because nothing was planned. We didn’t have much time. I knew that that was it. I only had those 40-50 minutes to make it work. And I was alone so if I messed it up it’s not like I could come back and do it again.
I also truly enjoyed the whole journey of gathering perspectives about forgiveness and what it means to forgive and why it is important and why it matters- or why it doesn’t. This theme is not something that I ever looked for consciously; it just sort of came to me effortlessly and it made sense as I went through my everyday life.
Your favourite quote :
I will go back to James Dean here hahaha. He beautifully puts it: “ to grasp the full significance of life is the actor’s duty, to interpret his problem, and to express it his dedication” which I think ultimately describes the essence of my being.
© Sara Elle Jone
Photo Credit: Sara Elle Jone Click here to visit Elle’s Youtube Page Les Corujas Click here to find out more about Elle’s Green Consultant job