Today we’d like to introduce you to Christina Nicole.
Thanks for sharing your story with us Christina. So, let’s start at the beginning and we can move on from there.
Film festivals saved my life. When I was 24, my therapist said I should volunteer to do something I like to help with my depression, I said I only liked watching movies, and she suggested film festivals. I feel so alive when I’m at a film festival. I stated volunteering at ATLFF and AJFF and just dove right in; I joined the screening committees and volunteered on-site during the events.
I was in between jobs and screening films for ATLFF or AJFF and I just knew the film I was watching wasn’t going to make it for some reason or another, and I thought, “There should be a place for movies like this.” There was nothing wrong with the film, but it didn’t fit the criteria for the festival.
Later, when I was at a screening for Patti Cakes, I was telling my friend Matt about my idea and calling the festival the Rejected Reels Film Festival because I like alliteration, He told me to check to see if the Instagram handle and domain name were available. They were and I signed up in those minutes before the screening started.
It took a while to set up the festival and website and figure out how to get it going. I set my birthday (June 9, 2018) as the date for the first festival because I figured if nothing else, I could guilt a few friends into coming by calling the festival my birthday party. Year one was mildly successful. This year, we tripled our submissions, which was amazing! I’ve been working full-time and in grad school so, year two has been stressful, but as Jason Mraz said, “the sophomore slump is an uphill battle.” I canceled the initial date for the festival and rescheduled it, so more people could come. The 2nd annual Rejected Reels Film Festival will be September 7.
Great, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
When I got started, I didn’t really know all that went into running a festival or the cost. There’s a lot of work. I’ve been on different committees for festivals, but their infrastructure was already in place and was building from the ground up.
Money has been probably the biggest challenge. I said Chase Bank sponsored the first festival because, for the low-interest rate of 33%, you can make your dreams come true. I will be paying it off for a while, but the show must go on.
My sister Chelsea and Karen have been extremely helpful, covering costs and showing how to better use social media.
I have received some hate emails from people whose films we didn’t pick, which was tough. I tried to explain that we can only play so much because venues are expensive, and I had to scrimp and save and borrow and drive Lyft after working a full-time job and going to grad school full time just to pay for the festival.
My advice though, to anyone who wants to start a festival or business or do something they think is cool, is Nike: just do it, because there’s a victory in that. When you overcome the fear and self-doubt, you’re a winner; you’re victorious.
Please tell us about Rejected Reels Film Festival – what should we know?
I run Rejected Reels Film Festival and I love it. I get to watch movies all the time and find gems. I love curating blocks of short films and planning the order they’ll play. I feel like a composer or Rodrigo Desousa or something.
We only take films that other festivals rejected. We celebrate independent film. The way I see it one festival’s trash is our treasure. When it comes to our festival, we like to keep submission fees low, because we recognized the money, time and effort that went into making the film in the first place. We also offer discounted submission fees, the more rejections a film has.
We want filmmakers to feel loved and appreciated. We want them to know we see the work they put into their films and we just want to celebrate it.
So much of the media coverage is focused on the challenges facing women today, but what about the opportunities? Do you feel there are any opportunities that women are particularly well positioned for?
The time is now for women to just start creating. the market is ripe for it. people want women led stories. We are 50% of the population and we matter. I think women can do whatever we want if we organize, and work together. We can be whatever we want if put our minds to it.
Contact Info:
- Website: rejectedreels.com
- Phone: 6784780485
- Email: christinaelocin@gmail.com
- Instagram: @rejectedreels, @christinaelocin
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/rejectedreels/
- Twitter: @rejectedreels, @christinaelocin
Image Credit:
Chelsea Robinson, Aaron Robinson
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