My latest film, “The Casserole Brigade,” is gearing up for a packed fall film festival season.
The story is about a family suffering the loss of its matriarch, two brothers trying to navigate that loss and the distance between them, while neighbors and loved ones duke it out in a who-cares-most competition using their main weapons — casseroles.
We love to eat our feelings in the South.
But even moreso, we love to show how much we care by providing the food to do so.
Most of our actors are local North Carolina actors who haven’t appeared in a film previously. And when you create a no-budget film, it truly is a labor of love for both cast and crew.
So it’s super exciting to see it get accepted to festivals all over the state.
There’s just one problem. It’s 2020.
There are no physical film festivals, so that means we forgo the great experience of networking other filmmakers, participating in panels, parties, and Q&As, and our cast walking the red carpet for the first time.
It’s a victory lap and we don’t get to take it.
But as with any sacrifice or shortcoming, there is a lesson to be learned.
Years ago, when I was submitting “Raise Up” to film festivals — a movie from an unknown filmmaker about an unknown culture — I got rejected by 99% of them.
It was disheartening and at times I wanted to quit and just put the film on YouTube.
I became so used to rejection emails that as soon as I saw the words “Thank you for submitting” in the first sentence, I immediately sent it to my trash.
Eventually, I got accepted to one festival — the Hip Hop Film Festival in Harlem (which just happened to be where the film originated). Even though our film was about a fitness movement, it was birthed out of hip hop culture, so this was the perfect place for it. Not only was it the perfect festival, I knew our film would still be unique there.
We ended up winning the whole festival and the next year sold the film to Red Bull Media House.
Since then, I wanted to start writing and directing narrative films — not just documentaries.
With the first one, I didn’t even finish the script. I don’t know if I didn’t think it was good enough or if I just didn’t manage my time well enough to finish it.
Either way, I felt like a failure.
The second one I actually made!
My girlfriend and I wrote a one-act short film about the experience of being in an interracial relationship during the Black Lives Matter movement, amidst a recent police shooting.
It ended up being a well shot (and well written, from the feedback I received), sweet little story about honesty and how to navigate difficult conversations with someone you love.
I had super high hopes for it, given the feedback I’d received and the relevance of the theme. But perhaps it wasn’t unique enough.
No one accepted it. “Thanks for submitting.”
This was hard for me because I had put a lot of myself into this film and it was hard not to take it personally. Plus, I had involved my girlfriend and let’s be honest: I wanted to “win” for her.
Win what, exactly, I have no idea. But I saw it as a major loss.
Instead of just accepting that documentaries were the only films I should create, I went back to the storyboard and tried again. Out came “The Casserole Brigade.”
It isn’t perfect, but it’s better. It was well shot, well acted, well written, and unique.
This time, the festivals responded. But instead of making our travel plans for the Real-to-Reel International Film Festival in Kings Mountain next month, our cast and crew will be watching with the other “attendees” by clicking a link on our computers.
The good news is, many more people will be able to view the film — those that wouldn’t have been able to go to the physical festival (that means YOU, too!).
The bad news is, it’s not quite the “acceptance” we had hoped for.
But the point is, we aren’t in control of who accepts us, at what time, or for what reason. Because we can’t control the outcomes (even when we do get accepted).
Instead, it is us that must accept ourselves, so that we have the confidence to keep going and keep getting better.
(photos by Anna Norwood)
Rain Bennett is a two-time Emmy-nominated filmmaker, writer, and competitive storyteller with over a decade of experience producing documentary films that focus on health and wellness. His mission is simple: to make the world happier and healthier by sharing stories of change.
You can read the rest of “Right as Rain” here, and check back every Wednesday on Chapelboro for a new column!
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