Borrowing the title of the satirical classic by LEGENDARY filmmaker, Robert Townsend, to break down how we watch more original films and support independent filmmakers! 

Now this episode is going to look a little different. We’re taking a short break between honoring Black directors for a second to talk about something that’s been on my mind for quite some time. Hollywood continues to play in our faces when it comes to original stories. If we really love films and we really want more original stories, that means doing a little more work on our part. (Just a little!) And I’m going to take you through that right now.

Please let me know in the comments if you want more videos like this! If so, you have to let me know! 

As per usual, you can find us on YouTube, Facebook, Instagram, Tiktok, and Threads. You can also visit ourvoicesproject.com for more information about what we do. Support the indie filmmaker you’re listening to right now by signing up for our newsletter on our website to be the first to get notifications about new podcast episodes, upcoming community screenings and panel discussions, and new film projects!  

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Our Voices Project - Land Acknowledgement

Hello Pod, and welcome back to Representation in Cinema.

I'm your host, Jackie McGriff and if this is your first time listening or watching, we talk about the films that center black, Brown and Indigenous voices, as well as discussing and critiquing the film industry itself.

I'm not only your host, but also the founder, director and co producer of Our Voices Project, a production company that is committed to sharing the stories and lived experiences of Black Brown Indigenous peoples through visual storytelling and truth telling.

We're community engaged filmmakers who firmly believe that you, you can't center the stories of Black Brown Indigenous peoples without being in community and in solidarity with them.

If you're watching this on YouTube, hit that subscribe button and the little bell to get notified about when new episodes drop.

If you're listening on your preferred podcast platform, hit that follow button.

If you love what you hear on tonight's episode, make sure you rate us 5 stars and leave a comment to share your thoughts about what you loved and any of the things that we brought up in this episode.

Now, this episode is going to look a little different.

We're taking a short break between honoring black directors for a second to talk about something that's been on my mind for a while now, actually, let's, let's just say years.

But since it's been coming up recently in conversation across the board, I thought I would bring it up today.

Hollywood continues to play in our faces, especially when it comes to original stories.

We're seeing the live action version of literally every Disney film to ever come out.

There are more remakes, sequels, prequels, constantly trying to reinvent, recycle narratives.

Right.

That we, you know, that have already been put out there time and time again.

I don't know how many Wuthering Heights films that we're going to continue to get, but here we are.

Maybe that also should be another episode.

But I feel like so many people have have actually clocked that film for all of the ridiculousness that is in this newest one.

But anyway, I digress.

Even when original films, you know, do well at the box office, namely Sinners, because of course we're never going to stop talking about that film.

We're never going to stop talking about that film.

We're still slapped with yet another adaptation.

Now this is of course no shade to book, play and musical adaptations, nor is it at documentaries or any narratives based on true events from news stories, because those, while not original, are still taking creative licenses, you know, with the source material, thus making it its own thing.

Right.

For instance, so you have something like the Hunger Games franchise.

You know, those were originally books, but then they were made into films.

And each if between the books and the films, each is its own separate thing again.

While it's taking from the source material, the Hunger Games, the movie versus the book, it's still its own thing.

And by the way, you know, for anyone who appreciates hot takes, I actually liked the films more than I did the books.

If you want to argue with me, you know what, that's fine.

You can go into the comments, feel free.

But I, it.

I'm sorry, much respect, but I think the films did better.

But anyway, I would argue now because audiences want original stories, as we've seen, you know, with original stories, you know, having, you know, their success stories, you know, we're seeing, you know, these films perform well at the box office.

There's room to fund so many other original stories from independent filmmakers.

For everyone who has been arguing this with me across the board and have been stating this for a long time, it's.

It's not going to happen in Hollywood, not at least at the rate in which we'd like to see it.

And even with our own demands, you know, just with buying a ticket at the box office, studios are still going to continue to milk, you know, these franchises, you know, these remakes and everything for everything that it's worth.

If I have to see another Fast and the Furious franchise, I'm going to, or like one another, another thing, another saw of any of these, like, films that, you know, obviously people are going to, you know, they love it.

But I'm like, there's also room for original stories.

So with all that said, what can we do?

Well, if we really love films, right, if we're as big of a film fan, you know, that we say that we are and we want more original stories, that means doing a little bit more work on our part.

Just a little bit.

Just a little bit.

I'm going to take you actually through several different ways in order to do that.

Being an independent filmmaker myself and being someone who loves films and supports other film, other filmmakers, you know, just out here doing everything that they can, not only just to tell original stories, but then to also get that out there.

I have several ideas about this.

So I'm going to take you on right through all of these, starting with visiting your local art house theater.

Now here in Rochester, we have a little theater which holds both independent as well as foreign films.

And speaking of foreign films, I'm going to quote the incredible director behind Parasite and Snowpiercer Bong Joon Ho, who said once you overcome the 1 inch tall barrier of subtitles, you will be introduced to, to so many more amazing films.

And boy was he right.

If you're not already watching foreign films, you're, you're, you're seriously missing out.

But movie theaters like the little theater offer so many of these films that you may not have heard of.

You know, if you're regularly going to Cinemark or Regal, actually Regal, that that reference actually might be old now because there are so many Regal theaters that have gone.

But you know, if you are more used to these, again, bigger sort of like movie houses and everything, right, it's less likely that you're going to see more of these like independent and foreign films.

So if you do have an art house theater near you, I would highly recommend that you go and you watch.

You're going to see some very, you're going to see the original films.

You're going to see some very weird films.

You're going to see films that make you think about things that you may not have ever thought of.

You're going to get some insight into other cultures, especially when you're talking about foreign films.

But even here within the United States, there have been so many things that have been touched on that I wouldn't normally get in like a big blockbuster or you know, even with your like standard drama or romantic comedy or anything like that.

These are the kinds of films that folks tend to flock to, especially, you know, with challenging your own world view.

I know I've watched so many documentaries that do this.

I've watched so many foreign films that do this.

If you've ever watched the Oscars, shout out to my people who do watch the Oscars.

You've short best, you know, short doc, best live action short, and you're wondering, where the heck am I supposed to watch these?

That's where you go, you know, these art house theaters.

That's where you go to watch these films, the little theater being one of them.

So if that is you, if you're in a city that has a, a movie house like that, I would highly suggest that you go to that theater regular attend.

You're going to see some interesting things.

Now if you don't have that around, if you're not sure where else to go or what else to do, how to get access to more independent films, what I would also suggest is that you go and visit film freeway.com now if you're wondering, Jackie, what the heck is film freeway.com this is where independent filmmakers like myself go to actually enter film festivals.

So oftentimes what will happen is, okay, we, okay, we finished the film, now we have to get it out to the masses.

We have to get it in front of audiences like all over.

You know, we're building strategy to try to build our audiences around this to either hopefully get it on a streaming service or you know, into theaters.

You know, there's plenty of ways in which we can get people to see our film and film festivals are definitely one of them.

So if you're wanting to support independent filmmakers, you go to film freeway dot com.

So that's all one word, Film freeway, okay dot com.

What you're going to do is you're going to put, you're going to go to that search bar.

You're going to put in the city.

So your city, wherever you're from, you're going to put that in.

It's going to, it's going to kick back a bunch of different film festivals.

Now, depending on where you live, this may or may not be a viable option.

If you're in like cities like New York and la, you have, you're going to have a ton, you're going to have a ton of film festivals to choose from.

You know, if you're living somewhere that is less populated or just has less access, you know, to that kind of capability.

Because film festivals do take a lot of work, they take a lot of time.

These are often volunteer run festivals.

So if you're in a city like that, I have, I have some more options for you.

But for those of you who go in and you type your city into the search bar and you have a few, what you're going to do is you're going to select two or three of these film festivals.

Now again, for my people who are in bigger cities, this may be more difficult because like New York or LA, you're going to have like 10 to 15 festivals to choose from rather than you just like three or four.

I know here, at least in Rochester we have quite a few.

Some that are, the films are curated, some of them are taking from folks who have submitted their films.

This is, this is film festivals like the Rochester International Film Festival.

This is also the Image Out Film festival and there's at least a couple of others that I'm forgetting.

So if you, if I've forgotten yours, please comment below.

But a way in which to sort of narrow down these films, especially if you are in one of those cities where it's a ton, you can also Narrow this down by what it is that you're wanting to support.

So if you're wanting to support more diverse film filmmakers, there are categories for that.

I know, at least for our film.

Being black in America, we are looking the film festivals that center black voices, African voices, African American voices.

And so we're wanting to get around obviously folks who want to hear more from black voices and that center black, Black stories.

If you are someone who is wanting to support more Arab voices, if you're supporting more Latin voices, you know there are also categories, right, that you can narrow each of these film festivals down by.

If you're wanting to support quee film filmmakers, you can also narrow it down by that.

If you are also trying to narrow it down by genre, right?

So you want to find more documentaries, you want to find more like horror.

We also have a film festival, by the way, that does that.

Horror and sci fi.

That would be the Anomaly Film Festival.

See, I didn't forget y'.

All.

I did not forget y'.

All.

Please don't come at me.

So if you're wanting to, you know, search for specific genre films, you can also do that.

There are so many different categories that you can narrow down to.

Now, for my people who don't really have any film festivals nearby, what you can also do, there is an online option.

So you can search for online film festivals where you're able to go and watch.

Now, once you've narrowed down the film festivals that you're looking into, like I said, if you have two or three, that is good enough.

If you're more ambitious, absolutely go for, for, for more film festivals.

But I feel like between maybe one and three film festivals are usually, you know, enough that folks can handle if these, if these are, you know, two or three.

Oftentimes if, especially if they're in within the same city, they don't tend to overlap.

So you can actually like spread, you know, these throughout.

So you're not breaking the bank all at the same time.

Depending on, you know, obviously like the pricing of, of the tickets at each film festival.

So what you're going to do is you're going to have your make note of each of your film festivals.

You're going to go to their website.

Okay.

You're going to sign up for their mailing list.

Do they have social media?

Right?

If you're on Facebook or Instagram, you know, follow them on Facebook and Instagram.

If they are still using Twitter and you're still using Twitter, I don't know whether or not to judge and it's.

And it's active.

Feel free at your own peril.

Whatever social media that they're on, feel free.

And.

And I don't just mean feel free.

I mean, actually follow them.

Just so you're getting all the updates about, you know, the films that are coming in.

You're getting the programs right.

You are finding out what the price is, you know, what is the price per film?

Or, you know, is there a pass?

And if you just want to go and kind of pick and choose, you know, while you're there, you know, look up, like I said, the price point.

But also look, look and see if there are panels, you know, with the filmmakers.

Oftentimes these film festivals will have, like, Q and A's with the filmmaker.

Not all of them, but.

But quite a few of them.

But also look up the films that really pique your interest.

You can, you know, go through all of the films once they finalize, obviously, their programming and everything.

You can go through the.

The plot synopsis.

You can see if there's any, like, you know, actors that you, that you like, because sometimes in these independent films, they'll cast, like, a bigger name.

But at any rate, you know, if it's a movie that really speaks to you, you're reading the description, you're like, oh, that sounds interesting.

Make a note of that.

Go see if that film then has social media, has its own page, has its own website or whatever.

Look and see who the filmmaker is.

Go and follow that filmmaker.

These, you know, are steps that you can follow.

So to make sure you're not only following that film festival and, you know, putting money into that film festival that's bringing all these independent filmmakers to you, but then also supporting the individual filmmakers who are making that happen.

Because then what happens, it's, you know, there's more than likely that they're not only showing their film at just one film festival, you know, they're doing a film, a film festival tour of sorts.

You know, if it lands in the theater, if it lands, you know, on streaming.

Now, you are someone who's seen the film, and if you enjoyed the film, you could tell other people to go and watch it.

This is how we build audiences around our films.

It's not just because people are coming to see the film, but they're also because they love the film and they are supporting it by sharing, you know, what they.

What you loved about the film.

They're sharing their feedback, they're sharing, you know, information about the film, about the filmmaker.

And now for the future, you Know when that comes out, they already have an audience built in.

And then for any other projects that come after that, now they already have a built in audience and they can get seen by even more people because of that feedback loop.

You're telling people and then other people are going to see it and then they're telling people and it just again, continues to build on itself.

Like I said, find those two or three film festivals, follow their mailing list, follow their social media, find the films that really intrigue you.

Buy a ticket, attend if you love the film, tell people, tell people, tell, you know, tell your friends, tell your family.

You need to go see this film.

It's just how we again, kind of build this system of not just depending on Hollywood to bring us the stories, but then also doing our own work and, and seeking independent filmmakers who are telling the kinds of original stories that we really want.

There's only so many that we get.

I know there's been talk about films like Is God is and Yumi and Tuscany that's coming out even though, again, that's more of like a bigger.

It's.

That has more like funding behind or backing behind of it because of a studio.

But it's like these unique stories that we don't, we don't get to see.

There's also, I love boosters that's coming out, you know, directed by Boots Riley.

But had it not been for people talking about, sorry to bother you when that came out, we would not see Boots Riley continuing to make more films.

We need to be making the right people famous is what I'm saying.

So there are like so many other things that you can be doing, you know, not just with the film festivals, but then also taking time to go through your streaming services, not being afraid to just spend a little extra time going through films, seeing what these are all about.

I am going to say this.

I know the reputation that to be gets.

I know, I know, okay?

There are some.

Listen, every film is a miracle, okay?

Every film is a miracle.

Every film that is made, okay, is a miracle.

These are, these are so hard to make.

Films are so hard to make.

I'm just gonna say that.

I'm gonna preface that right now, okay?

But some of these films, okay, that's all I'm gonna say.

And, but, but, but there are so many more films, okay, that are absolutely incredible.

There was a film, okay, there was a documentary made about the Alabama Brawl, okay, called the Alabama Brawl.

Go figure.

And it's a decent film.

It's a decent film.

It actually Gives a lot of context to what happened, right?

So of course, if you are familiar, you know, with that story, you know, if you're not familiar with it, just, just look up Alabama Brawl like it's, it's all over.

But explaining the context, you know, and the, the.

The historical ties of why there was so much tension as to why this happened really, really gets.

It dives deeper into like what all of us saw, right?

Through TikTok, through Instagram, through Facebook, you know, and providing more context for that and also results, right, because we're only getting a snippet, but it really, that documentary like, dives into so much more that was going on and we wouldn't get films like that if it weren't for streaming services like, to be.

So I would absolutely advocate for you taking your time through subscription services, through streaming, looking at the description of different films.

I have been on a.

Now I'm a documentary filmmaker.

I love documentaries.

That's where my heart is.

And I've watched so many through that that are really.

That are really good and aren't really getting the kind of recognition that they need or the, the kind of eyes that they need.

And is why I highly, highly recommend that you go through streaming services like Tubi, like Peacock.

There's also Quelly tv, so quality tv, shout out to Steph from Be Real Cinema Cinema Club, who brought that subscription service or the streaming service rather to my attention because all of those films are directly from film festivals.

So they, you know, they go through film festivals, those filmmakers, and then they get uploaded like to quality, right?

So if quality tv, if there's a rep from the.

One of those film festivals that's there, you know, to sort of develop the relationship with this filmmaker, to then buy the rights to.

To.

To platform that film or to stream that film, you're.

You're seeing folks like str, like fresh off of, like that, like their film festival tour.

So again, it's another way for you to not only support like an independent streaming service, right, that isn't tied to like a, like a bigger corporation as far as I know, but, but it's also a way to again, support indie filmmakers.

And I would, I would also say, you know, if you are doing the same thing, the same thing that you're doing for film festivals, right, where you're looking up the film, you're looking up the filmmaker, you're following the filmmaker and everything, I would highly recommend that you do the same.

You know, after you've watched a film, you know, on one of these Streaming services.

And it's a film that you thoroughly enjoyed.

Go look up the film.

Go look up the filmmaker.

Follow the filmmaker.

If they have a mailing list, join that as well.

So all of their updates are coming directly to your inbox.

There is so much that we could be doing.

Also, a lot of these filmmakers, they vary in age, but we also have student filmmakers.

You know, we're all about supporting the youth.

There's also opportunity for you to do that as well.

Oftentimes what will happen is there'll be student film festivals and you can just.

That that's just like a quick Google search.

You can also go through Eventbrite and search for film or.

Yeah, community film screenings that are happening, you know, in your city that's also available to you.

Again, a lot of this is free, 99.

Okay.

Like, with the exception of, like, streaming services, most of this is free.

Okay.

It just requires a little digging.

But again, if you want to see original stories and if you want to support independent filmmakers, this is how you do it.

Okay?

So I took you through a lot.

I took you through.

So I took you through so much, so there should be no excuse.

Right?

Right, right.

Okay.

This is what it's going to take.

And again, I'm not knocking anybody, okay.

For going to, like, the bigger movies and also, you know, supporting, you know, any of these films that are sequel.

So I. I can't necessarily say a ton.

I will say a little, but I can't say a ton because, of course, the Devil Wears Proditude was coming out and listen, I could have done without it.

I could have done without it.

But will I be seeing it?

Yes, Yes, I will.

I. I can also share some of the responsibility.

But.

But only a teeny bit.

Okay.

Only a teeny bit.

However, it would be my preference if there were more original stories coming out, you know, rather than the same recycled stories and everything that we continue to get out of Hollywood.

So this is going to be the way that we do it.

So thank y' all for letting me rant.

I'm going to try to put some sort of, like, graphic or something or a link, you know, to everything that I just, you know, outlined in, like, a short, succinct outline.

Right.

Um, for you to, you know, kind of just like, follow through each of these things, especially with searching through Film Freeway for local film festivals.

But again, for anything, any of these, you know, tips that are more accessible to you, I want to be able to provide that for you in the description.

So it'll be in the show notes or in the description if you're watching on YouTube.

But thank you for letting me rant.

I would love to do more of these.

So, you know, in order for me to do more of these, you got to let me know in the comments.

Feel free to put it in all caps.

Jackie, do more of these.

Like, I'll respond to those.

But even if you don't, that's fine too.

I'll respond either way.

Unless you're being problematic in the comments, which, you know, is unfortunately the territory, especially when we're doing this on YouTube.

But that's it is what it is.

So yeah, let me know if you enjoyed this.

I like I said I would love to do more videos like this, you know, providing tips.

Or if you just want me to get on a soapbox, you know, for 15 to 20 minutes, I'm good with doing that too.

You know, rather than me just, you know, talking to myself here in my apartment.

You know, if you also want to see those rants, I'd be happy to give them to you.

As per usual, you can find us on YouTube, Facebook, Instagram, tick Tock and Threads.

You can also follow us or visit us rather on ourvoicesproject.com to find more information about what we do.

Support the indie filmmaker that you are listening to right now by signing up for our newsletter on our website to be the first to get notifications about new podcast episodes, upcoming community screenings and panel discussions, and new film projects.

Again, I'm Jackie McGriff, your host for this episode of Representation in Cinema.

As always, thank you again for listening.