Jonathan 'JJ' Augustavo directs Bad Girl, the first of four videos he's made for SOULS, in which he's creates an authentic culture biopic of America from his unique perspective – what he calls "a postcard of this country that is not based on stereotype but actually something real and spiritual."

As Augustivo explains below, it was an unforgettable experience. And in the first, he presents it's a diverse portrait of a community in New Orleans: Black Lives Matter protesters, pool players, women bikers and drag queens. All human life is here. 

 

JJ AUGUSTAVO:

“Not since my work on the Same Love (Macklemore) film have I felt a deeper and more powerful connection. Selfishly this was an experience I needed as a director, artist and person…it was the hardest, most stressful and trying process for all of us but in the end what we made is beautiful and authentic. And in a way I fell in love with filmmaking again because of it.

"You could have given this project to a million different directors and had so many different and amazing projects. However what I made is my perspective of my country. Of what America is. To a mixed Filipino-American from Seattle collaborating with a white guy from Ohio, a chino-Latino from the Bay, and a producer from London. A postcard of this country that is not based on stereotype but actually something real and spiritual.

"We bled to make this and I could not be more proud…there are hundreds of wild stories of how this was made, the stress, the doubt, the lack of sleep - but ultimately it’s a set of films I love and hold dear to my heart."