Do You Understand that the Future of Film is Up to Us? #atozchallenge #IndieFilm

Comedian/Actor Marlon Wayans takes a selfie with fans at the L.A. Premiere of the horror comedy film "A HAUNTED HOUSE 2." Photo courtesy Le Studio Photography, Getty Image, HipHopWired.If you are to take away anything from reading my writings today, understand this:

Shaping the future of film is up to you, me and everyone we know.

• As an audience member, it is up to you to actively seek out, support and watch the kind of movies you want to see.

• As independent filmmakers, it is up to us to not only create and capture stories that resonate with people other than our parents; we must also make our movies accessible to audiences, which include doing our due diligence in letting people know that these motion pictures even exist in a crowded world.

• As citizens living in an ever-changing 21^st century world, we must be open to exploring new ways of how we consume media; we must embrace both the old-world traditions and innovations of live entertainment as well as home entertainment that work for us, while refraining from devoting our time, money and attention to that which hinders the possibility of having a grand user experience. 

When all is said and done, it’s one thing to understand this. It’s another thing to put it into practice.

Of course, I am merely one person who cannot make anyone do anything or convince grown folks to move in one direction or another. My only hope is that more people than none will at least have an understanding of how the power is in all of our hands to decide what the state of the film industry – specifically that of independent films – will be from this day forward. 

By the way, if you missed yesterday's post The Truth is, We're Shooting for that Theatrical Experience, read it will ya?!

The Truth is, We’re Shooting for That Theatrical Treatment #atozchallenge #IndieFilm

A movie screening during the Tiradentes Film Festival in Brazil.After all of the long days spent on a set or location filming one’s latest work,

When you’ve spent months analyzing scene after scene, and then cutting frame by frame from a story that has been years in the making,

Just to bring a concept to life,

Following the moments full of stress, doubt and anxiousness about the constant limitations, closed doors and rejections met…

The lights go down and the screen lights up.

A group of strangers, friends, lovers, couples, neighbors and peers are engaged with the imagery and sounds moving along before them.

Some of them have been anxious to get a glimpse of what’s next while others are in the room out of sheer curiosity.

All of a sudden, people start laughing.

Or somebody in the room gasps.

Or somebody begins to cry in his or her seat.

Or somebody screams, out of shock.

It is the moment that makes this turbulent, uncertain and unpredictable path of independent filmmaking not seem so detrimental, in retrospect.

When your name or work is displayed on the marquee.

When that work has a showtime – or two, or three, or more -- playing at a theater near other living beings.

When these living beings respond to that work, in their shared experience of watching it presented on a larger scale – literally.

THAT is one of the most rewarding reasons to make movies!

Are YOU quiet or are YOU vocal while watching movies at theaters?

Searching for Satisfaction Through the Silver Screen #atozchallenge #IndieFilm

“You gotta Satisfy your Soul, people!” – Akil Dupont

l-r: actors Mykel Shannon Jenkins and Tamara Goodwin during production of "SILHOUETTES" directed by Akil DuPont.Some people make movies for the sheer joy of creating something from nothing. I am not one of those people. I don't want to make movies in my basement that I show to myself in my basement while I get ready for my next shift at the nearby poultry plant (as described in the book "WHAT THEY DON'T TEACH YOU AT FILM SCHOOL").

Some filmmakers also believe that one has to start here – as in, you have to make the movies that you want to make and tell the kind of stories that matter to you. Otherwise, you sabotage your ability to obtain success in film -- whatever that looks like to you. This is the kind of standpoint I can get behind. It doesn't just apply to being satisfied with creating a work; it can be useful in most, if not all, areas that make us reach for the final frame.

As the song "RYDER MUSIC" by 50 Cent goes, you’re better off chasing what's going to open up more doors for you, than going after the byproduct of a larger gain. 

I don't make movies for the sake of making movies. I did, however, make “ABYSS: THE GREATEST PROPOSAL EVER” because something needed to be done. So in a sense, I had to start from aiming for the satisfaction of doing something, which led me to finishing a project, which then created an opportunity for me to get some of the things that I actually want out of this movie making madness.

It all clicks. 

The short film "35 Year Old Man" directed by Amir Motlagh is available to watch online.I asked film director Amir Motlagh what makes him satisfied with his films enough that there isn’t an urge to continue tweaking them. He points out how an endless search for satisfaction in one’s work leaves you with nothing to show. “As Steve Jobs once said, ‘real artists ship.’ In 2014, it's telling that the quote that makes most sense is coming from a tech genius, and not a figure like Goethe,” says Motlagh.

The next time you feel unsatisfied, consider taking a closer look at what you want and figuring out if pulling back a bit -- to start from you’re current position -- will help you get there, or at least, assist you in getting closer to the vicinity of what your aiming for.

When the New Year arrived in 2014, I looked on my wall and was surprised (and happy) to realize that I reached all most of my goals for making this movie, that were written down in 2012 and 2013. How many of us have made New Year's Resolutions that we let fall by the wayside?

How many broken promises of change or growth have YOU made to yourself?

Make sure to read yesterday's post about The Rush that People Get When Making Movies.