Why Aspiring Filmmakers Must Attend Black Film Space Weekend
The Black Film Space Weekend was short yet impactful. As someone who is a baby filmmaker, I wanted to attend to meet other aspiring Black filmmakers. But when searching about it I couldn’t find reviews so I wanted to share the things I learned/gained during this weekend:
1. The Power of Networking
One of the biggest reasons why I attended was because I felt alone in this work. As I shared in my blog post here, about making my first film with no crew or film school, I made my first on my own. Although that was an accomplishment, I so strongly desired to find community of those who also do film. I have also felt tired of being isolated.
The first night was a mixer networking party on Friday night. Life tip: when you are at an event like this on your own, but want to meet people gravitate to the bar. Then look for people who are alone or in pairs then slowly introduce yourself. This method has worked for me quite a few times.
The networking started that night but didn’t end there. The next day, as we were mingling about, I met more producers and filmmakers. Now I hope to work with someone that I met here in the future. And also most importantly, I have realized that I am not alone in this work.
2. It's Okay To Be Beginner Filmmaker
One of my insecurities was feeling like I wasn’t ‘good enough’ in this work. For example, in my first film the video quality was not the best, color grading was subpar and I didn’t have the best equipment. But I met someone at the Black film space weekend who told me that he met a lot of people who were just starting out in filmmaking. This gave me comfort and made me realize “oh most of us are in the same playing field”.
This was also evident at the shorts film community screenings where people were able to share their short films. I left inspired because these were also people who created beautiful films despite not having much. I think someone even said she filmed her film on her phone in her room.
It made me realize that I have no excuse to not create. Before this weekend, I didn’t have much interest in doing a short film but now I am eager to. There were many panels throughout the day and during one of them, the speaker mentioned to hone in on your craft. That hit my core because oftentimes I am insecure because I am not working more on my craft. We all have to start somewhere. So it’s okay if it isn’t great – in fact it’s normal if it’s not great especially as beginners. That means we just have more opportunities to learn how to grow.
3. Use Social Media More
One of the Black Film Space weekend panels was titled “Unconventional distribution pathways for multi-hyphenate creatives”. This was probably one of my favorite panels because it confirmed something I have been feeling when one of the panelists said, “We need more Black filmmakers on Youtube”. She talked about how there is not enough us on that platform and how Youtube takes patience but is a long term investment.
At this point, I have been considering making my YouTube content more about filmmaking but have been hesitant because as I said in point 2 I never felt good enough. But then I realized maybe that’s exactly why I should be on there – to show that you don’t have to be an expert to do this craft. You don’t even have to go to film school. In fact, You don’t need a lot. It’s fine to be a regular person like me and grow in your video editing skills. Because all you need is drive and curiosity.
She also shared social media tips like sharing regulars shots on set, adding hashtags like #sony to get sponsorships and posting 3-5 days a week and using threads more to connect with people. Her social media tips were gold because she works with these companies that provides sponsorships and these sponsorships can help us fund ourselves as well as our future film projects. Essentially, we should use social media as a creative space and a portfolio of our projects & the behind the scenes.
4. Keep Going
“This industry is hard. Keep going”. One of the panelists said something like this and it stood out to me. Because she talked about how we see their film now on Sundance but what we don’t see was all the rejection that came before. Despite this, they kept going. Not gonna lie I have felt discouraged at times by not getting grants or getting praise in this work. But to hear from people who are pretty successful that they’ve had to struggle and keep going because the industry is hard was encouraging.
One of the panelists woman shared the difficulties of being a woman in the industry. I appreciated her vulnerability because it made me think – besides Issa Rae, we don’t know of many Black woman filmmakers. I don’t say this to scar you but to encourage you to keep going. Your voice matters and the stories that you want to share matters.
5. Embrace Being A Multihyphenated Creative
The theme for Black Film Space Weekend 2025 was about being a multi-hyphenated creative – which I loved. Therefore during the weekend, oftentimes when you met people they shared all the different things that made them a creative whether that meant they were a musical artist, a filmmaker, an actress or whatever – people truly came as their true selves.
Black people at baseline are creative people. So to be in a space where Black people were just being and embracing our multifaceted self uplifted my spirits.
I hope this encourages you to attend the Black Film Space Weekend. My YouTube video gives a better breakdown of day of logistics. But may these words give you the courage and motivtation to grow in your craft and to keep going. And let’s keep growing as beginners together 🙂
