Today we’d like to introduce you to Caroline King.
Caroline, please share your story with us. How did you get to where you are today?
I have been in love with the arts since before I could walk and my family and friends were always very supportive of my endeavors. I grew up in New Orleans, Louisiana and started in Musical theatre at the New Orleans Center for Creative Arts (NOCCA) at the age of 14, where I majored in Musical Theatre. After I graduated, I moved to Chicago, IL, where I worked with iO, Second City and Annoyance comedy theaters. Being on stage was always my passion but when I discovered my love for writing, my entire life began to form before my eyes.
I moved to Atlanta four years ago to focus on my career in the film industry. After one year, I wrote my first short film, Church Wives, which was turned into a pilot for a series. My entire team put together an incredible pilot and we toured the country at film festivals raking in several awards along the way. Touring film festivals was another big turning point in my career. Film Festivals are an amazing opportunity to network with other filmmakers and also see all of the up and coming films in the industry. I was so floored by all of the talent surrounding me in each city and jumped at the opportunity to bring the same experiences back home with me.
I had the opportunity to take over to local short film festivals here in Atlanta with my mentor, Mikel Fair of Film Festival Circuit, based in Portland, Oregon. He showed me the ropes of the industry and helped me navigate the world of running film festivals and last year. I went off on my own to for my company Cinema Life with my business partner Stephen Beehler from Role Call.
Since starting Cinema Life, our team has expanded into an incredible group of talented humans that all share the same passion of promoting independent filmmakers and their work. While Cinema Life was growing, I was also growing my podcast, Bitch Beer Podcast at the same time. Bitch Beer started 2 1/2 years ago as a way to make the world of craft beer more female-friendly and now it has grown into a long-standing podcast in the craft beer community, bringing me so many opportunities and has created so many incredible friends in the industry. Watching the craft beer industry in Georgia grow into what it is today has been a huge thrill and privilege and also see how the landscape has changed, making it more diverse. Being able to grow both of these companies has been an amazing journey and there are no signs of slowing down anytime soon!
Overall, has it been relatively smooth? If not, what were some of the struggles along the way?
NO! This has been bumpier than any pothole filled road in Atlanta for sure! I won’t bore you with struggles brought on by COVID because we can all write our own novels on how awful it was but I will say the challenges brought out the best in me and my entire team. The time during quarantine really forced me to slow down and focus on myself and what I wanted to achieve. Being able to focus on my health, physical and mental was exactly what I needed to launch my company and me to the next level.
We started doing filmmaker spotlights online. It was an amazing opportunity to get to know our filmmakers and promote them during a time when they were not able to pursue their passions. Being able to reflect on past work and look towards the future was a great experience to watch and be a part of.
Bitch Beer had its share of struggles as well, I started with a co-host and sound engineer and a year and a half ago, they quit. I was faced with the decision of quitting or continuing and I am so happy I made the decision to keep Bitch Beer going. I taught myself how to record the interviews on-site and then edit into the episodes. I took on the challenge and have been able to triple the following of Bitch Beer in one year, which I am very proud of. With all of the struggles, there have been so many incredible people in my circle that have kept me going.
Please tell us about Cinema Life and Bitch Beer Podcast.
Cinema Life is a collective of film festivals that include: Atlanta Comedy, Georgia Shorts, Women’s Comedy, Summer in the South, Georgia Documentary, Atlanta Women’s, Southern Horror.
In addition to these festival, we also run Film Pitch ATL, where we select five filmmakers to pitch their projects in front of an audience of producers, directors, actors and buyers. It is an incredible community of filmmakers that are working hard to build the Atlanta Film Community. Bitch Beer Podcast is a podcast that makes the world of craft beer more female-friendly. I started it on my quest to learn more about craft beer from the women that brew, sell and market craft beer while also promoting local craft beer.
If you had to go back in time and start over, would you have done anything differently?
Honestly, nothing, experiencing all of my failures, has made me so much better as a person and a much better leader. I love showing my team what I have learned from my failures to help them succeed in their roles with my company and outside for their own endeavors.
Contact Info:
- Website: cinemalife.org; bitchbeerpodcast.com
- Email: caroline@cinemalife.org; caroline@bitchbeerpodcast.com
- Instagram: @bitchbeerpodcast @carolineking88 @cinema_life_org
Image Credit:
Samuel Bonet @samuel_ernesto_1 , Aaron Romano @aaroma1 ; Alicia Fortino @aalicianicole
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