By : Daniel P’Lopez
Photos by: Doug Ellis Photography
Emiliana Jasper, an up-and-coming new actress on the scene, stars in the new movie called Mia. A new slow-burning psychological thriller starring herself and Shah Motia, directed by Luis (Lou) Ferrer, an award-winning writer/director whose screenplays have been optioned by Netflix and big-name directors like Spike Lee.
Emiliana explained that she got this first significant role from a listing on Backstage, a site that helps young, new actors and models find roles and gigs. After applying, just an hour later, she got a request for a self-tape audition while at her nine-to-five job at a tax accounting office.
It was during her lunch when she went to her nearby friend’s place, did an audition, submitted the role, and got the part just like that. Was it luck, hard work, her audition, determination, or a combination of all of these things? Twenty-four hours later, she was in Pine Mountain Club, California, filming the movie.
Emiliana’s character, Mia, gets kidnapped by a man named Aaron, played by Shah Motia, who is convinced she is his long-lost daughter named Emma. Mia, or Emma, is lost and confused and denies even knowing the man. There is tension and uneasiness, but the film moves at a fast pace. You get to know the characters and wonder what is true and what is not, like a mental twist of the mind.
Emiliana was born in Saint Paul, Minnesota, to a conservative Catholic family with five siblings. Emiliana was home-schooled till about middle school. So Emiliana had a lot of free time outdoors and with nature in their huge yard. Emiliana went to a private high school called Trinity Schools at River Ridge.
Emiliana’s mother put her into a little children’s theatre show in Minnesota because she had extreme social anxiety, being scared to talk to people, even to order from a restaurant. Emiliana admits, “It didn’t cure my anxiety, but I did fall in love with acting.”
Emiliana went to Westmont College in Santa Barbara, California, and studied theatre, and was the only person in her class who was a theatre major.
After college, Emiliana began a new experience for herself, figuring out how the film industry works. Emiliana’s first role in film was playing an evil headmistress character in The Secret Garden.
Emiliana is constantly auditioning for new roles and just wrapped another feature film called The Curse Party. Surprisingly, the photographer of Mia is now the director of her latest film, which comes out sometime next year. Emiliana admits she works best in dramatic roles, “I’ve been testing the waters with comedy currently and am trying to get more into that, push my boundaries. I love roles that I am not very good at initially, and then I can get better at them; that’s what I love to do. I’m always looking for things that will challenge me and push me to new heights.”
When Emiliana is not working on films and auditioning, she works at that nine-to-five job, which she admits she enjoys. She loves going to the beach and hanging out with her friends, most of whom are not in the film industry, explained Emiliana.
“It’s nice to get a break from that wall I immersed myself in.”
Emiliana is currently single and focusing on her work and career.
To learn more about the actress, visit EmilianaJasper.com
Mia is available on TVOD platforms like Apple TV, Amazon Prime Video, and Google Play.