Advice to student filmmakers, from a filmmaker
At this year’s Charlotte Film Festival, I had the pleasure of interviewing Rodney Stringfellow. Rodney is a filmmaker based in Charlotte, and he is also an adjunct professor at UNC Charlotte. One thing Rodney was asked about was if he had any advice to give to student filmmakers who are looking to submit their films to a film festival. As a film professor, Rodney has sufficient experience in working with students, especially those who have a passion for filmmaking. The most striking point that Rodney makes to students is, “If you’re an artist, you have to have your work seen.” This statement can be true in many different forms of art, whether it is music, visual art, film, or anything else.
“Sometimes it is incredibly heartbreaking to submit [to a festival], and not get your work seen. Sometimes we tell ourselves, ‘you know what, I’m not going to go through that, so I’m not going to submit,’” Rodney said when talking about getting work rejected.
Even he, an experienced filmmaker, does not get accepted into every festival that he submits to. He comments on this when talking about his latest short film, Manhood, “The first two festivals that I submitted Manhood to, I didn’t get accepted into.” He eventually got Manhood accepted into multiple film festivals, including the Charlotte Film Festival.
His advice expands, and he would like to tell student filmmakers that if a film does not make it into one festival, then submit the film into another festival. Continue to submit the film into different festivals until it makes it into one. To break down what he is saying in the simplest of terms: never give up. Not every film appeals to every person, and one film may appeal to one festival, but it then may not appeal whatsoever to another festival. Any film will eventually make it somewhere.
Rodney then refers back to his initial point, “I can’t urge people enough to get your work seen. You did not make your film for just your mom or your friends. You made the film to be seen by an audience.” The sticking point of this advice is a metaphor for all art, “We who are artists don’t simply put it in the drawer of our desks, we have to put it out there.
Mock Tweet: The phrase “never give up” applies to many aspects of life, including filmmaking. Read about why you should never give up as a filmmaker.
