JESSE MICHAEL-JERÓNIMO VALENCIA
AWARD-WINNING INDIGENOUS SCREENWRITER
FILM INDUSTRY ORGANIZER & EDUCATOR
Hi! I'm Jesse. I am an award-winning Indigenous (Yoeme) screenwriter, multidisciplinary artist and entertainment industry educator and organizer based in Portland, Oregon. My experience includes working with directors of Academy Award-Winning Films, entertainment industry veterans, freelance script coaching and workshopping with fellow professionals. In addition to an MFA in Creative Writing and an MA in Literature, I am a graduate of the David Lynch Graduate School of Cinematic Arts and am excited to be teaching Screenwriting this year at Portland Community College! Please reach out if you'd like to read some samples, be interested in working on something together, or if you would like help with your screenplay! My rates are as follows:
EDITING/REWRITING/CONSULTING - $50/hr
SCRIPT COVERAGE - $100 per pilot, $200 per feature
I also have over 13 years in the movie industry as an exhibitor and movie theater worker, and championing both independent cinema and independent theaters, as well as bringing them together, is one of my deepest passions. I believe that the best path forward for independent filmmakers is by working directly with indie cinemas. Where these two things meet is where the true cinema-loving community exists.
I tend to write character-driven stories that examine how meaning is constructed by institutions, narratives, and social systems, and what happens when those structures fail. Working across genre, I love to explore ontology, belief, and identity through stories of people confronting the gap between how the world claims to work and how it actually does, but that's not all! I love analyzing text, and work best in a collaborative environment. More than anything, I want to help people tell their own stories, especially ones we do not get to see or hear as much as we could or should.
As a professional musician for the past 25 years, I am well-versed in how music, sound, and image work together, and have composed score for film as well (see ‘Gorky’ tab for music!). After earning a full-ride scholarship for theater, I made the transition to screen acting in the 2010's, starring in my first onscreen role opposite the late Tom Sizemore (check out ‘Acting' for more!), so music and the craft of acting are two of my key focuses as a writer.
CURRENT WORK:
IN THE LAND OF GOOD OAKS (musical, neo-western, NEO-noir)
In the backwoods of Sitgreaves County, Arizona, a furious, gifted musician battles grief, masculinity, and the ghosts of violence, learning that survival, love, and the American Dream may only be possible once he lets go of the anger that made him who he is.
NICHOLAS KRINGLE (action-adventure, FANTASY, holiday)
When an ordinary, skeptical kid is pulled into a hidden winter realm under siege, he discovers he’s the last heir of the Kringle line, and must embrace his destiny as Santa Claus to stop an exiled ice queen from conquering Earth and destroying Christmas forever.
GRAD SCHOOL CONFIDENTIAL (comedy, romance)
A chronically overeducated, emotionally stalled writer enters yet another prestigious MFA program hoping it will finally “fix” his life only to discover that ambition, romance, and academic politics are far more destructive than failure, forcing him to choose between endless preparation and actually living.
AMERICAN DREAMS (musical, comedy)
When a struggling Portland rocker collides with a corrupt developer’s plan to “revitalize” the city by erasing its people, he’s forced to choose between selling out to survive or using his music to help ignite a grassroots uprising that could cost him everything.
THE MOVIES (½ HOUR PILOT; comedy)
At a rundown small-town movie theater, an overworked but idealistic floor manager struggles to hold his chaotic crew, abusive bosses, entitled customers, and a collapsing building together while trying not to completely lose his mind or blow his one shot at love.