How Joshua Shultz Became an Award-Winning Filmmaker

The next guest on Reveel’s original show, Hearts of Stars, is a director, photographer, screenwriter, and actor but at his core, he is an artist with a passion for creating meaningful stories. Joshua Shultz sits down with Jennifer Silliman on the next episode of Hearts of Stars where he tells us all about his career and the creation of his award-winning short film Americana. Americana is a neo-western that has gotten a lot of media praise for its shrewd focus on the world of child trafficking. Now that we’ve been introduced to Joshua Shultz, let’s get to know him even better.

Joshua Shultz and Photography

Joshua is a Los Angeles native who knew he wanted to be an artist from the young age of 6. He always had a love for storytelling and art but sidelined his passion to become a business consultant. At the age of 28, Joshua decided that it was time to pursue his dream of being an artist by becoming a full-time photographer.

When he had the opportunity to publish Imagine Dragons photos in Rolling Stone magazine, his photography career skyrocketed. Celebrities and magazines began contacting Joshua for photo shoots and he would do up to four shoots a day.

Getting into Directing

Eventually, Joshua discovered his love for filmmaking and decided to pursue a career in directing. Joshua filmed a fashion film that received awards years after and ended up being featured on the Fashion TV Network. He then got into the music video scene where he produced viral videos for multiple famous artists.

While photography was still a big part of Joshua’s career, directing became a newfound love. Joshua now balances his time between directing and fine art photography. His directing has progressed to narrative filmmaking which leads to the creation of Americana.

Americana: The Neo-Western Short Film

Americana is a neo-western drama that follows a grieving father (Jack) and social worker (June) in a world where children are being kidnapped and trafficked. Joshua Shultz directs and stars in Americana in his first-ever narrative film. Americana is a gripping story that has won awards in various film festivals and has gotten traction in the media. Joshua’s goal with Americana was to bring awareness to the reality of child trafficking and make a meaningful statement in the film industry.

The short film has a talented cast full of stars such as Andrew Walker (Maple Valley Christmas and An Unexpected Christmas), Ruby Modine (Shameless and Happy Death Day), Kristina Wayborn (Octopussy and General Hospital), Haley Reinhart (American Idol and F is for Family), Andy Biersack (Average Joe and The American Satan), Travis Mills (Flaked and How To Be Single), and Ty Quiamboa (Inhumans and Beyond Paranormal).

Americana is available to watch on YouTube

Learn More About Joshua Shultz and Americana in Hearts of Stars

In this Hearts of Stars episode, Joshua Shultz sits with Jennifer Silliman to chat about his career, Romadrama 2022, and his latest award-winning short film Americana. Tune in to Hearts of Stars this Saturday, November 19th if you want to get an inside look at the making of Americana and Joshua’s journey as an artist.