This story was originally posted by Laura Rice and written by Shelly Brisbin at KUT’s Texas Standard.
Dallas native Josh David Jordan has worked in the entertainment industry for 20 years. He’s an actor, but he also wrote and directed his first feature film, “This World Won’t Break.” It’s the story of an artist coming to terms with his career, and grappling with feelings of inadequacy – something Jordan has struggled with in real life.
“I thought I’d be a lot farther along. I thought the red carpet would have already happened,” Jordan says. “You start to second guess yourself. … Do I choose a different path, or do I keep on this path? What do I do?”
Jordan got the inspiration for “This World Won’t Break” from singer-songwriter Greg Schroeder, who had experiences similar to Jordan. One of Schroeder’s songs is also the film’s title.
“I was like, ‘You are my vessel,’ so I wrote it with my feelings, but using Greg’s music, and Greg’s face and Greg’s beard,” Jordan says.
Jordan has mixed feelings about his home city of Dallas, a place he partly blames for his struggle to be as successful as he’d hoped.
“I feel like I’m writing a love letter to Dallas, Texas, even though I felt hurt by the city, a little bit, for not recognizing me along the way,” Jordan says. “But then I realized I hadn’t arrived. I hadn’t made something that even I was proud of yet.”
Jordan says he’s proud of his film, and it seems that the people of Dallas are also proud of him. He lost some funding during the production of “This World Won’t Break,” but locals donated to help compensate for the loss.
“Every day, I didn’t know how we were going to film that day,” he says “Somebody would come through with dinner for everyone, or a donation. So we were able to complete the film with the help of the city.”
“This World Won’t Break” premiered Sunday at the Dallas International Film Festival.
Written by Shelly Brisbin.
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