Today we’d like to introduce you to Vanessa D. Fant.
Vanessa, can you briefly walk us through your story – how you started and how you got to where you are today.
My name is Vanessa D. Fant. I am a Dominican-American actress; born January 25, 1991, in Cheverly, Maryland and raised in Lawrenceville, VA. I knew since age eight, after my first school play, that I wanted to be an actress but being that I came from a small, one stoplight town with little opportunity, I never believed it was possible. It wasn’t until I decided to relocate to Brooklyn, NY, with my family after turning 20 years old to pursue my dreams in the Film and Entertainment Industry. Since then, I hustled up many short films, webseries and feature films roles all throughout New York City.
In 2017, I moved to Atlanta to expand my acting network. Four months into my transition, I signed with Alexander White Agency’s Commercial Department. Though signing with agency was one of the happiest moments of my life, I realized that acting wasn’t enough for me. I then developed a passion for working behind the camera and creating my own productions. I written, produced and directed five projects to date.
June 2019, I launched my very first business, Indie Open Screen, a monthly film festival in Brooklyn, New York, providing a platform for indie filmmakers to showcase their work live to their audience and connect with peers alike. This is what I am most proud of. I am now currently signed with Gill Talent Group and fee great about what’s to come this year.
Has it been a smooth road?
Being a creator/artist/entrepreneur, it’s self has been one of the most difficult yet worthy challenges I’ve faced so far. As an actor, rejection can either make or break you and you CANT let it break you. It is important to never take a rejection personal but it’s also the hardest. At times, we get so focused on chasing the dream that we forget how important it is to have a steady income as well. Trying to find a balance between being an entrepreneur and work a full-time job can be discouraging but remembering why you’re doing it and having a plan lightens the headache.
Please tell us about Indie Open Screen.
Indie Open Screen, a seasonal monthly screening series for independent filmmakers running between the months of June and December. This event aims to provide a platform for content creators to showcase their online projects, such as webseries, live to their audience and the opportunity to connect and collaborate with fellow creatives alike. Our first season was absolutely amazing! We screened 3-5 projects per month, each month we catered to/celebrated different themes such as Hispanic Heritage Month, followed by a Q&A with each filmmaker and a networking mixer to end the night.
What makes me so proud about launching this company is that we’ve truly become a home for creators in the Tri-State area to hang out, network and show off their work. After receiving the most grateful reviews from our attendees, I knew that this was a platform that can expand throughout the east coast, starting with Atlanta as a second home. However, being that we are going through a drastic change in our daily lives, we are launching our second season online and have partnered with a new digital streaming service to give our viewers and participants another fantastic year. This will allow filmmakers’ projects to reach 3x more it’s audience.
How do you, personally, define success? What’s your criteria, the markers you’re looking out for, etc?
I have so many definitions as to what success means to me it’s hard to really describe it. I will say that discipline is the first step to success. You can’t say “hey I want to be the greatest boxer ever” and not put the work in, you can’t half-ass it. You have to get up everyday and train.
As of right now, stability is key for me. That’s a success for me at the moment. Today I actually said, “I want to have a helicopter when I get older and live in my hometown (VA) and travel between ATL & NYC to work. And when I get that helicopter and I’m flying to work one day, I’ll look down and say, “this is success.”
Pricing:
- Festival Submissions: $10 each
Contact Info:
- Website: www.IndieOpenScreen.Com
- Phone: 347-566-9008
- Email: IndieOpenScreen@gmail.com
- Instagram: @IndieOpenScreenNyc @Nesfinesseee
- Facebook: @indieopenscreen
Image Credit:
Photos by: @iamsimplyjess
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