Juliana Folk on Launching Napa Valley StreamFest, Championing Mid-Career Creatives and Reimagining the Festival Experience
…For me personally, I try my hardest every day to wake up with a smile on my face, no matter how stressed I am, and to find something good about the day and the people in it. I’d say leading with love and compassion and spreading that is so important, especially right now. The world feels a little crazy, and it seems like we’re all at odds. But at the end of the day, every one of us has a story that’s unique, and we all have hardships we’re dealing with — most of which others don’t see. So I try my best, and I’d say if more of us just met each other with simple kindness and compassion, the world would start to vibrate on a much higher frequency. We’d begin to find more and more common ground. So yeah — find us in love, as corny as that sounds…
I had the pleasure of talking with Juliana Folk. Juliana is a California-based actor, writer, producer, and co-founder of Napa Valley StreamFest, a new entrant in the film festival circuit that blends traditional cinematic storytelling with modern formats such as podcasts, streaming series, and social media content. Her work in the entertainment industry spans more than a decade, during which she has transitioned from performing to producing, with a growing focus on expanding opportunities for mid-career creatives.
Raised in Highland, a small town outside of Los Angeles, Folk grew up in a household that placed a high value on creativity and the arts. Both of her parents were musicians and writers, and their encouragement shaped her early aspirations. As a teenager, she found an affinity for on-camera work while producing and hosting her high school’s morning show. She later became involved in theater and continued to develop her interest in visual storytelling.
Folk’s professional path has taken her across California, from Orange County to Los Angeles and eventually Northern California, where a volunteer position at the Napa Valley Film Festival became a pivotal step in her career. Initially helping with basic event support, she rose to become the festival’s sponsorship manager. It was during this time that she met her future business partner, Fearon DeWeese. Their shared background in the arts and simultaneous experiences of motherhood helped solidify a creative partnership that would eventually lead to the founding of StreamFest.
The concept for Napa Valley StreamFest emerged in the wake of the original film festival’s dissolution and the broader industry shifts brought on by the COVID-19 pandemic. Together, Folk and DeWeese developed Uncredited, a short-form television pilot loosely inspired by their experiences behind the scenes in the festival world. The project toured the festival circuit and provided firsthand insight into both the challenges and opportunities facing creators today.
Frustrated by what they perceived as the increasingly homogenous nature of traditional film festivals, Folk and DeWeese sought to create a more streamlined and inclusive experience. StreamFest, based in Napa, is designed around a centralized model that removes some of the logistical burdens of traditional multi-venue festivals. The programming includes live podcasts, film screenings, and curated panels, with an emphasis on keeping attendees in one main theater to encourage community and engagement. The festival also seeks to mitigate some of the promotional pressures placed on independent filmmakers by building audiences in advance, ensuring that creators are not responsible for filling seats themselves.
In addition to its public programming, StreamFest serves as a fundraiser for the StreamFest Society, a nonprofit initiative that supports mid-career artists — particularly those over the age of 35 — who may be entering or re-entering the creative workforce after years spent in other industries. Folk has spoken openly about the limited support structures available for people in this demographic and sees StreamFest as a way to help bridge that gap. Through fellowships, mentorships, and curated industry connections, the Society aims to help participants translate their life and professional experiences into viable creative careers.
Folk’s own experiences in the entertainment industry have shaped her perspective on the value of persistence and self-belief. She has described early missteps, such as an unprepared audition at Paramount Studios, as learning moments that underscored the importance of confidence and preparation. She also credits informal mentors — particularly her late uncle, actor Gary Graham, and agent advocate Stacy Sadkin — for encouraging her to take ownership of her voice as a creator.
Though much of her recent focus has been on StreamFest, Folk continues to work as an actor and writer. She describes storytelling as a throughline that connects all facets of her career, and has expressed a particular interest in creating work that reflects underrepresented experiences, including narratives shaped by trauma, motherhood, and personal reinvention.
In interviews, Folk has emphasized the challenges of launching a new festival, citing logistical hurdles, funding pressures, and the emotional labor involved in balancing creative and administrative responsibilities. Still, she views the project as a natural extension of her values. Her vision for StreamFest is rooted not only in showcasing diverse forms of storytelling but also in creating sustainable pathways for artists who might otherwise be overlooked in an industry often preoccupied with youth and prestige.
Folk describes her broader mission in terms of compassion and community. She frequently returns to the idea that kindness — whether in the form of encouragement, opportunity, or collaboration — costs nothing but can have far-reaching impact. Through StreamFest and her wider body of work, she continues to advocate for a more inclusive and collaborative future in entertainment.
Yitzi: Juliana, it’s a delight and an honor to meet you over. Before we dive in deep, our readers would love to learn about your personal origin story. Can you share a story from your childhood and how you grew up?
Juliana: Great to meet you as well. My personal origin story — I grew up in Southern California, outside of LA, in a small town called Highland. I went to Redlands East Valley High School, then moved to Orange County for a bit, and eventually landed in LA — Studio City specifically — right around the 2008 writer’s strike.
I grew up in a very creative, artistic family. My dad’s a musician and a writer, and he’s been that way my whole life. My mom is also a really talented musician and creative in her own right — she writes too. So I was always encouraged to follow my dreams. When I was a kid, that dream was music. I wanted to be a pop star.
As I got older, I found on-camera work to be really liberating and exciting. So yeah, I was always encouraged to do performing arts and to chase that dream. I’m really fortunate — I always say I’m lucky to have had artists as parents because they supported me in leaning into it.
When I got into high school, I started doing video production. I produced my high school’s morning show and was also the host. That’s when I really got a feel for being on camera, producing, editing, and cutting my own work. At an early age, I thought, “This is exactly what I want to do.”
Later on, I got into theater and things like that, but I was never super deep into the theater world.
Yitzi: Amazing. So what led you to start this amazing project, StreamFest?
Juliana: Ah, StreamFest. StreamFest kind of fell into my lap. I’ve been an actor pretty exclusively for the past ten years — pursuing it even longer — but working consistently for the last decade. Around 2015 or 2016, I went to volunteer at the Napa Valley Film Festival. I was living in Northern California at the time, working in the Bay Area and the market up there, and I found out about the festival. It was so close to where I lived — basically in my backyard — so I started volunteering.
Every year, I came back in a bigger capacity, and by 2019, I was the sponsorship manager. That’s when I met my co-founder and business partner, Fearon DeWeese. She was basically running the show at Napa — managing events, parties, and the patron circle. I was kind of in awe watching her work because she’s such a go-getter. We didn’t get close until around 2017 or 2018, and then we ended up getting pregnant at the same time. Our kids are just four weeks apart, and going through that journey together really bonded us.
Fearon had always talked about this idea for a show based on her life — basically what it’s like to run a film festival behind the scenes. In 2019, when the festival kind of dissolved and laid off its entire senior staff, and then with COVID hitting in 2020, we saw an opportunity. We took that time to write a 30-minute proof-of-concept pilot episode for a show called UnCredited, which was loosely based on her life — running a festival and becoming a mother.
We pulled from both of our experiences, wrote it, and shot it in the Napa area. Then we took it on the festival circuit for about a year. We had a great time and learned so much — especially about the festival world from both sides. We had worked behind the scenes, but now we got to experience it as filmmakers, as creators, and as guests. So we really saw it from all three perspectives.
When we wrapped up that circuit, we realized that a lot of festivals felt kind of cookie-cutter. I’d heard before that festivals were becoming a bit of a dying breed, so we asked ourselves, “How can we bring something fresh and new?”
Napa had this incredible space available, and with the original film festival not really active anymore, we went to the city last summer and pitched the idea for Napa Valley StreamFest. They were so excited and have been incredibly supportive. Everyone in Napa has been on board and really eager for this to happen. So it just felt like a no-brainer.
We already knew so many people in the Valley — it’s a very tight-knit, supportive, and art-friendly community. Plus, it’s such a beautiful place. Whenever we pitched the idea to someone, their response was always, “Napa? No problem. I’ll be there.” So it was kind of a win-win. We didn’t really have to push hard to get people interested, and we’ve just been rolling with it ever since.
Yitzi: You probably have some amazing stories from your career — across all the different parts of it. Could you share with our readers one or two that really stand out in your mind from your professional life?
Juliana: Ooh, good or bad? Oh gosh. Okay, I’ll tell a story from the festival world.
Back when I was working at the Napa Valley Film Festival — maybe around 2018? I can’t remember the exact year — I wasn’t just a volunteer anymore. That year, I was assisting Fearon directly. I was her right hand, just helping with whatever she needed.
We had our opening night party at Italics Winery, which unfortunately isn’t there anymore, but it was such a beautiful spot — in the caves. They’d called for rain, but it wasn’t a big deal because the party was indoors.
So around 8:00 p.m., the party was just getting started. We got up there and everything seemed fine — it was a bit of a muddy track getting in, but nothing major. Then at 8:01, it just started pouring — like a torrential downpour. And while the party was indoors, getting people from their cars into the building became a bit of a mess. This was an upscale event — celebrities were arriving — so we were scrambling, grabbing umbrellas, shuttling people inside as quickly as we could.
Despite all that chaos, the party ended up being amazing. It went off without a hitch, and everyone had such a great time. But toward the end of the night, as people were heading to the valet, we found out someone’s car had ended up in a ditch at the winery. I don’t know if they accidentally drove it off the edge or what, but luckily they were okay. Still, they had to bring in some kind of crane to pull it out — it was wild.
What’s funny is, I spoke to someone in Napa the other day who brought up that exact story. We’d never met before, and he was like, “Yeah, and remember when the car went into the ditch?” I was like, “Oh my God, I do remember that!” Just one of those behind-the-scenes moments that shows how crazy the festival world can be. I have a ton of those stories, but I won’t bore you with all of them!
As for my career in general, I’ve had so many amazing “pinch me” moments where I can’t believe I get to do this. One that stands out — I worked on an independent film early this year. A friend of mine was directing and reached out saying, “Hey, I’ve got this role — if you want to come out to Mississippi and do it.” So I flew out there, and I got to shoot scenes with Theo Rossi. I’m such a fan — I loved him in Sons of Anarchy — so that was really exciting for me.
The plan was to fly in Sunday night, shoot Monday, and fly out Tuesday morning. But it just so happened that it was the week of the Gulf storm. They shut down all the airports, all the roads — I got snowed in for about a week in Mississippi! I ended up just hanging out with the crew, and we ate at Ruth’s Chris every night because it was the only thing open and it was in our hotel. It turned into this unexpected little adventure, and it was honestly a blast.
Yitzi: I just read that you replaced Tatiana Zappardino for New Day . I just interviewed her. That’s funny.
Juliana: Really? Oh my gosh. She just had her second baby! She’s so sweet. I’m really impressed by her career and everything she’s been able to do after New Day.
Yeah, I feel really lucky to have this spokesperson job — especially in today’s entertainment climate, with how much Hollywood is changing.
It’s funny because I wear a blonde wig for it, and some people think that’s my real hair, which I actually love. Then they find me on social media and they’re like, “Wait, you look totally different. Why’d you dye your hair?”
But it’s such a fun job. I get to play this upbeat character, wear clothes I’d never wear in real life, and just step into a totally different version of myself.
We shoot something like 26 spots in one day, and I change outfits maybe 16 to 20 times — it’s a wild day, but honestly, it’s really, really fun.
Yitzi: It’s been said that sometimes our mistakes can be our greatest teachers. Do you have a story about a humorous mistake that you made when you were first starting in entertainment and the lesson that you learned from it?
Juliana: My late uncle, Gary Graham, was one of my biggest inspirations when I was growing up. He was a star on Alien Nation and Star Trek, and he just had such an amazing career. So I spent a lot of my childhood kind of idolizing him and looking up to him.
By the time I was around 17 or 18, I had moved to LA. He was living in Van Nuys, and I’d go over to his place, and we’d talk about the industry. At one point, he got me an audition. Mind you, I wasn’t repped at the time. I was very green, very new to LA. He got me an audition, and it happened to be on the Paramount lot.
So, of course, the young, bright-eyed me is thinking, “Oh my God, this is huge.” I pulled up to the Paramount lot, I had a drive-on — which, for people who don’t know, just means they give you a pass to get in. I go park and find the building where the audition is.
It was a cold read, too. They didn’t give me sides ahead of time — sides are the script pages you’re supposed to read. All I knew was the time, the place, and the person I was meeting with. That was it.
I walked into the room and completely blacked out. All I remember is someone — either the director or casting director, no idea who — handing me the sides and saying, “Here you go, we’re going to give you a few minutes with this and then bring you back in.”
So I sat there, looking at the paper for maybe three minutes. I don’t even remember reading anything — I just remember staring at it. And I’m actually a pretty good cold reader! Then another actor walked in. He looked familiar, but I didn’t know his name. At that point, the casting director or director asked, “Do you have any questions?”
I smiled and said, “Nope.” And then we began.
I left that room feeling like I’d had an out-of-body experience. I was thinking, “What just happened?” I couldn’t even remember the words I had just read. The guy said, “Thank you very much. Great,” and that was it.
Later, I realized just how unprepared I was. I was so insecure and nervous, and I let the moment become bigger than me.
I learned two big things from that. One: confidence is key. It’s everything. If you walk into a room like you’re meant to be there, own it. You’re there for a reason. And two: if they ask if you have questions, always say yes — because I absolutely did! But I was too nervous to admit it.
As an actor, you’re often just waiting for someone to give you permission to do your craft. But in that moment, I had an opportunity to take ownership of the role, to make it my own, and I didn’t. I let my nerves get the best of me.
So yeah, confidence and asking questions — those are the two biggest lessons I took away from that experience.
Yitzi: We love hearing stories where somebody who’s a bit further ahead opens up a door or creates an opportunity that changes someone’s career trajectory. Do you have a story where someone did that for you or where you did that for somebody else?
Juliana: Mm, that’s such a good one. I’m a firm believer that if and when I get to a position where I can help boost someone, even just a little, in this industry, I’ll absolutely take every opportunity to do that. I’ve been really lucky to have so many cheerleaders in my corner — my family, my aunt and uncle, my siblings, and just people around me who’ve always been super encouraging.
I also think we attract what we put out. I try to put out confidence, encouragement, and positive energy, and I think I get that back. But I will say, I don’t think I’ve had anyone necessarily open a door for me or hand me an opportunity that I didn’t earn. I’m trying to think if there’s someone who really qualifies in that way.
I guess, in a way, there is. During COVID, Clubhouse became really big — it was kind of like live podcasting — and I used it for networking. There was an agent on there, Stacy Solodkin, who has since retired. She was such an amazing advocate for me. I never met her — still haven’t — but we would talk on Clubhouse.
If you remember, Clubhouse was mostly audio and your profile photo, so everything was just voice-based. We’d talk, I’d ask questions, and she would always be so encouraging. She’d say, “You sound like you have this spark about you.”
So when it came time for me to look for an agent in LA, as I was moving here, she helped me get one. She said, “I’m going to connect you right away. I think you’re amazing. I think you’ve got that spark.” And she connected me with Jamie Love, who’s still my agent today and who I absolutely adore.
So, even though we’ve never met in person, Stacy really was a big advocate for me. She did open a door for me, and she’s continued to be such a great cheerleader. So — thank you, Stacy Solodkin.
Actually, someone emailed me today, and I think that’s why she popped into my mind. The email was about StreamFest — we’re working with someone she used to represent — and the person wrote, “Your name sounds so familiar. Were you ever with Stacy Solodkin?” And I was like, “No, but your name sounds familiar too. I think she tried to connect us.”
It just reminded me that people come into your life for a reason, a season, or a lifetime. And I definitely think Stacy was one of those people.
Yitzi: What has been the most challenging role you’ve taken on so far and why?
Juliana: This. Launching StreamFest. I feel like before Napa Valley StreamFest, motherhood was the biggest challenge. I was talking to my mom about it the other day, and I said, “I feel like I haven’t been this challenged or out of my comfort zone since I had my son six and a half years ago.” And she said, “Well, in a way, it’s like you’re giving birth again. You’re birthing this new baby, this project of yours.”
That was a really eye-opening moment because it absolutely feels like this is my baby right now. It’s new, it’s out of my comfort zone, it’s out of the box, and it’s not something I necessarily feel equipped to deal with — but at the same time, I am doing it. I’m wearing a lot of hats, and I do find a lot of joy in accomplishing the tasks that are thrown at me, as hard as they may be.
Yeah, so launching anything brand new is so hard. I think everybody in my corner has said, “What you’re doing is a big deal. It’s bigger than what a lot of people would try to do.” I’ve had so much encouragement from the people close to me. It feels like a heavy lift, but I’m also really, really lucky to have a business partner I can rely on. We lean on each other in the hard times, bounce ideas off each other, and lift each other up when one of us is down. I feel really lucky to have a business partner I work so well with.
Yitzi: You’ve reimagined the traditional festival model. Can you help articulate what exactly is unique about StreamFest from all the other festivals out there?
Juliana: Yeah, so most festivals, if you look at them, focus on either just film or just TV. Only recently have people started to incorporate maybe a podcast segment or other forms of storytelling.
Another thing is that most festivals last about a week, and you’re running around to multiple venues, multiple screening spaces, convention centers — you name it. What StreamFest aims to do is bring all storytelling together in one theater, in one central space, so we can all gather — commune, for lack of a better word — and enjoy what we call a binge-worthy experience together.
We spend so much time on our phones or at home streaming. It’s rare that we go to a theater anymore. So what we want to do — and what we are doing this year and plan to do in the years to come — is bring podcast, TV, film, and social content into one theater. We’re creating a variety act. We’re curating the on-stage experience.
Even though it’s a four-day festival, two of those days are spent in the theater, and the other two are on-site with our partners, doing panels, tributes, and awards. But in the theater, we’re saying, “Hey, come in, sit down, enjoy yourself — we’ve got you.”
You don’t have to choose which film to go see. You don’t have to choose between venues. At most film festivals, programming overlaps, which is great because it lets them show more, but it also means guests have to make tough choices. You’re constantly thinking, “Do I want to go to that screening or that panel? I don’t want to miss either.” We’re taking that stress out of the experience. We’ve curated the lineup for you. Just sit down and enjoy.
Another thing — for a filmmaker like myself, an independent filmmaker — when you go through the festival circuit, you’re often expected to bring your own audience. It’s rare to show up to a packed theater unless you filled the seats. You might be out there handing out flyers, meeting people, inviting friends and family. And that can be really tough, especially if the festival’s out of town.
So what we’re doing for our filmmakers is saying, “Hey, you got in. That’s a win. You’ve already succeeded. Now we’ll pack the theater for you.” We might schedule your film right after a Jason Segel tribute, for example. That way, the audience is already there. Maybe they came to see someone familiar or a podcast they love — but by osmosis, they’re discovering your independent film or your new creative work.
That’s what we wanted to do: bring people together to discover something new. Maybe they came for a star or a show they already love, but they leave with something unexpected that inspires them. We just want to immerse people in this shared experience.
Yitzi: This idea of having a live podcast — I’ve never seen that combined with a film festival. Is that your innovation, or has that been done already?
Juliana: I mean, I can’t say for sure if it’s been done at a film festival, but there have definitely been live podcasts. Big ones, like the one Jason Bateman does with his friends — they go on tour. So if a podcast goes on tour, you’ll get a live experience: you sit in a theater, watch it on stage, and then they release it as a podcast episode.
What Fearon and I loved about film festivals, when we were on the circuit, were the Q&As after the films and the conversations on stage during tributes. We thought, “We usually only get to see this stuff online, and even then, it’s just clips. How can we bring that to life?”
So, a live podcast — at least in the way we’re doing it at StreamFest — we’ve got two confirmed so far, maybe one more coming. We have Was I In A Cult? and Awards Chatter with Scott Feinberg from The Hollywood Reporter.
Was I In A Cult? is really cool because it taps into the true crime genre and kind of crosses over. They’ll be doing their live podcast on stage. I believe they’re interviewing someone from the area about their cult experience, and they’ll also show some things on the screen. So, they’re incorporating visuals too, not just the conversation.
Then Awards Chatter is Scott Feinberg interviewing Jason Segel live on stage. It’ll be a bit of a retrospective — talking about Jason’s career, his role in Shrinking, and how things have evolved for him in the past few years. That’ll be released as an episode, just like any other podcast.
It’s just a more immersive way to experience storytelling and podcasts. I mean, so many people now watch podcast clips on social media or YouTube. We wanted to bring that to life because podcasts have such dedicated followings, and it’s not often you get to see them live.
Yitzi: I read that you want to champion mid-career creators. Why is that your focus?
Juliana: 100%. So, StreamFest Society is our nonprofit, and it directly benefits from Napa Valley StreamFest. StreamFest is essentially a big fundraiser for the Society.
Fearon was 42 when she directed our project — which was her first one. I’m in my mid-thirties now, and I’ve been pursuing this career, actively working in it, for about ten years. It’s felt like a lot of the opportunities — whether it’s fellowships or scholarships — are geared toward people who are either just out of college, like 18 to 25, or people who are 45 and older.
We were like, what about the folks in the middle? What about mid-career professionals? What about people in their 30s who maybe just had a kid, or went through COVID and realized, “Oh wow, I’m a storyteller — I’ve always wanted to do this,” but they’ve spent their life working in finance or another field?
So we decided to focus on people who are 35 and up. People who’ve always wanted to be in entertainment but life took them in a different direction. We want to take our fellowship and mentorship program and sit down with these folks. We’ll have an application process, of course, and vet everything — but we really want people to tell us their stories.
Like, “I studied film in college, got pregnant, never went back to it. I’ve been working in [X industry] for years, but here’s what I want to do now.” We want to help people reach their goals by understanding where they’re coming from — because so much of storytelling is life experience.
Especially at 35 and up, you’ve got years of life behind you. That matters. It’s valuable. But the industry can be really closed off. If you don’t have a long list of IMDb credits, or a family connection in the business, it’s really hard to break in.
We want to help people with transferable skills pivot into the entertainment world. Someone who’s worked in finance or accounting could start line producing or working on film financing. That knowledge is so important when building a project.
Or take someone like Fearon — she’s produced events and festivals her whole life. When she stepped into directing, it made sense. She already knew how to manage a live format. She just brought it to the camera.
It’s about making the bridge. We have an amazing advisory board, and we’re working to connect these industry professionals with mid-career folks who are pivoting. We’ll get them on Zoom calls, real conversations, tailored connections.
If I sit down with an award-winning editor, and I want to become an editor, they can talk directly to me. I can explain where I’m at in my life, what I want to do, and they can help me map out a plan that makes sense for me.
Because let’s be honest — when you’re 35 or older, especially if you have a family — you don’t always have the time or luxury to go back to school, get a film degree, and start from scratch. We want to meet people where they are and help them take that next step forward.
Yitzi: So as a gatekeeper for what gets screened, what are the qualifications or factors that make you decide to include a certain type of content, a particular artist, or a specific filmmaker?
Juliana: Good question. First and foremost — for me personally, and I won’t speak for the rest of the team — it’s the story. If I’m watching something, yes, quality is important: production quality, sound, visuals, all of that matters. And acting, of course — if the acting isn’t great, it can take me out of the experience.
But at the end of the day, the story is what matters most. Whether it’s a five-minute short, a 65-minute feature, or a pilot — what I’m really looking for is a clear beginning, middle, and end. Does the story have an arc? Do I care about these characters?
I’ve watched a lot of stuff lately on the big streaming platforms, and I’ve found it hard to care about the protagonists. That’s a big deal for me. I want to root for the characters. I want to see them grow and change. I’m also a writer, so I know the beats, the moments of transformation that should be there for the story to really land.
If I don’t see that, it’s usually pretty easy for me to tell within the first five minutes whether a project is going somewhere, if it has legs, and if I’m going to stick with it. That’s what I look for when I’m watching: Am I into this? Do I care about these people?
Then, of course, I look at everything else — Is the sound good? Is the acting solid? Image quality isn’t as important if your sound and acting are strong. And I also look for uniqueness and creativity. Is this a story I haven’t seen before? Is there a creative take on it?
For example, we’re showing a three-minute short film by Aria Pullman called The Fircle of Life, and it’s just so unique and creative. I watched it — again, it’s only three and a half minutes — and I laughed and smiled the whole time. I thought, “This is such a cute story. We have to find a way to show this.”
Up until about a week ago, we didn’t have it programmed, but I kept holding onto it because I really wanted to include it. I eventually found a spot for it, reached out to the filmmaker, and told her she was in. She was so excited — and it turns out she’s local, which I didn’t even know. We made it happen because it was important to me to show something that, A, puts a smile on the audience’s face, and B, is extremely unique. That kind of story is rare these days, unfortunately.
So yeah, I think overall, that’s the main thing I look for.
Yitzi: What do you want attendees to bring back with them after they attend your festival?
Juliana: I want attendees to leave feeling inspired, for one. I’d love it if they discovered someone or something new. It would be amazing if they left the festival as a fan of something they hadn’t experienced before. Whether that’s a genre of storytelling — like, if you’re not a podcaster, maybe you don’t usually listen to podcasts, it’s just not your thing — but then you come to our festival, meet some podcasters, watch live podcasts, and realize, “Oh, that’s actually really cool.” It’s a different way to absorb a story, and I think that would be amazing.
I also think the Napa community is so supportive of the arts. What we’ve seen in the past is that people who support the arts come, meet new independent artists, and often end up wanting to collaborate. That can be really helpful for a struggling artist — to find someone who wants to champion their work.
So for filmmakers, I really hope those who attend leave with a fan — someone who wants to support them. And for guests who are just coming to enjoy, I hope they discover something or someone new, leave inspired, and also leave excited to come back next year.
Yitzi: This is our signature question, and then we’ll wrap up. You’ve been blessed with a lot of success, and looking back to the beginning of this project, can you share five things you’ve learned that you need to create a successful film festival?
Juliana:
- First, you need the support of the city you’re doing it in. That’s probably the biggest hurdle. Luckily, we have that.
- Second — and this ties into the first — make sure you get all your permitting and event logistics done early. Get that out of the way. Talk to your city officials, talk to the mayor, talk to parks and rec, talk to everyone in charge of closing streets or sidewalks — whoever you need to coordinate with. And be nice. You want those people to be your best friends. We learned a lot about that this year.
- Third, don’t try to go too big too fast. Don’t let what you’re creating outgrow you in the first year. Lay the bricks one at a time. Our goal was to keep this small — and by the standards of this team, who have done much bigger things, it is small — but for a first year, the lineup we have is huge. There’s so much amazing talent and programming. I feel really lucky. But sometimes it feels big, and that can be overwhelming. So yeah, keep it manageable.
- Fourth, make sure your family or close friends are on board to support you. It’s a roller coaster for at least a year, and sometimes it’s all I can talk about. I’m sure it gets exhausting for them, but their support really helps because it is a stressful process.
- And lastly, find every opportunity to enjoy what you’re doing. Take every moment you can to remind yourself of the “why,” the bigger picture. Try not to get too ahead of yourself or future-trip too much. Just think about each day and why you’re doing this. The nitty-gritty details — permitting, liquor licenses, all of that — can get really tedious, annoying, and overwhelming. But if you step back and look at it from a bird’s-eye view, it helps. Remind yourself daily of the bigger picture and the purpose behind it all.
Yitzi: This is our final aspirational question. Juliana, because of your great work and the platform you’ve built, you’re a person of enormous influence. If you could spread an idea or inspire a movement that would bring the most amount of good to the most amount of people, what would that be?
Juliana: The most amount of good to the most amount of people… I’ve said this in other interviews, and I guess I’ll just keep saying it: being kind to people costs nothing. So I would say, if you come from a place of love and compassion above all else — as hard as that might be sometimes — it can outweigh any negative feeling.
For me personally, I try my hardest every day to wake up with a smile on my face, no matter how stressed I am, and to find something good about the day and the people in it. I’d say leading with love and compassion and spreading that is so important, especially right now. The world feels a little crazy, and it seems like we’re all at odds. But at the end of the day, every one of us has a story that’s unique, and we all have hardships we’re dealing with — most of which others don’t see.
So I try my best, and I’d say if more of us just met each other with simple kindness and compassion, the world would start to vibrate on a much higher frequency. We’d begin to find more and more common ground. So yeah — find us in love, as corny as that sounds.
Yitzi: Beautiful. Juliana, thank you for this amazing interview. I wish you continued success and blessings, and I hope we can do this again next year before StreamFest Year Two.
Juliana: Absolutely. I appreciate you taking the time and being interested in me and this project. Thank you.
