think visuals stick with a person a lot more.” During her time at the Academy however, she quickly realized that although she loved the idea of personally creating her own world in 3D, she didn’t enjoy the actual modeling itself. She saw it as just one step in creating that universe. “I was always the one who took all the notes in class and emailed it to all my friends. I found joy in organizing group meetings, assignments, and being the one people go to, to fix things. Eventually, one of my classmates pointed out to me that I’m not a 3D modeler, I was a producer. At first I got offended, but then I realized--- yes, I think he’s on to something. So I dipped my hands into that, volunteering and working as a production assistant whenever I could.” Her hustle and relentless spirit gave Jumanah the break she needed upon finishing her degree. She managed to get her foot through doors because of her willingness to put in the hard work, sometimes volunteering for projects just to gain experience. When asked what makes a good producer, she shares, “I’ve worked with a lot of amazing producers. It’s hard to say that I do something better or not. The one thing I have noticed that the difference
lies on whether a producer or supervisor has empathy or connection with their team. I’ve worked with a producer who didn’t know the artists names on the project.” Jumanah’s senior portfolio included visual effects coordination for award winning pictures such Fruitvale Station, Adventagrous, and Theeb. Shortly after graduation, she moved to Los Angeles where she went on to produce visual effects for Modern Family, Black-ish, Fresh Off The Boat, Arrested Development, and music videos for Maroon 5, and most notably Taylor Swift’s record breaking music video, Look What You Made Me Do. After spending a decade in Hollywood, Jumanah decided to come back and see how she can put her experience to good use in building the local industry. She sees herself working in between both markets, importing best practices in the Kingdom, while, through various film projects translating her cultural identity for a global audience, she says: “Every kid in Saudi knows that in America you live in suburbia with a white picket fence. There’s that imagery that everyone is familiar with for Paris, Amsterdam, Italy... An image of how that life is lived. I just want for Saudi to have its
own way of life shown too. One that is accurate in its depiction, that shows we’re not the stereotype others assume.” Since her return, Jumanah has worked with local talents and is working with different agencies to see how she can best contribute in developing the Saudi film industry. “Thankfully, Saudi is opening up to the industry and providing all these amazing resources to the younger generation. When you’re trying to do something really good, and perfect it, you try and learn it from someone who has perfected it, then you can make it your own... I feel like LA and California in general, has already an established track record for creating incredible animated series and films. Between here and there, I want to do my best to create that link. It’s really an industry you can’t snooze on, it’s changing on a daily basis. So we’ll see!” From coordinating productions for award-winning films as an undergrad teenager, to producing visual effects side by side with some of industry’s most talented artists in her early 20’s, it’s suffice to say that we haven’t seen the last of Jumanah Shaheen’s mark on not just the Saudi film industry, but also in Hollywood. jumanah_shaheen
54 SEP/OCT 2019