What Two Days at SCAD Savannah Film Fest Taught Me

I went on a solo trip to Savannah this past weekend, where I attended SCAD Film Fest. I only snagged tickets to In Conversation: Wicked for Good with Jon M. Chu and a screening of No Other Choice directed by Park Chan-wook. For a few hours, as I sat beneath the gilded intricacies in Lucas Theatre and listened to these men talk craft and how they got here, it felt like I was where I was supposed to be—surrounded by creatives and absorbing little gems to take back home.

I’ve been to Savannah once before this weekend, but it was a family trip, so I didn't get to do what I wanted. Which is unfortunate because I truly believe Savannah is best enjoyed by and with creatives. Maybe it’s the SCAD students that give it that life, but even as I sat alone in whatever square I found myself in for all of ten minutes before a group of people would come along and take photos in front of the confederate statues and only then would I look up from my notebook and the find someone else on another bench scribbling away in their own notebook or sketchbook. For a moment, I wondered what college would’ve been like if I had gone to an arts school, but no time to reminisce.

When I listened to Park Chan-wook's Q&A after the screening of No Other Choice (which was phenomenal by the way) and Jon M. Chu's Q&A, there was something universal in their answers: trust your timing. You can love a manuscript, or screenplay, or whatever so much, and you're waiting and waiting for the greenlight or the call or the email that would start to get the ball rolling to put it into the world, and it can and will feel discouraging at times, but you have to trust it. If you believe you’re doing everything in your power to make something work and it's not "working,” maybe you need to give it time. That was another thing that Jon M. Chu mentioned: the waiting.

There’s going to be a lot of waiting. Someone I follow on YouTube said, “Don't spend your waiting period waiting." Work on the next thing, and the next thing, and the next thing. I think I needed those little bites of advice because I can get so caught up in one project that I forget to take a step back and remember that this is only one project. So if you're waiting to sell a big piece to a client, or waiting to hear back from an agent, or waiting to get the green light for one project: do something else. A waiting period is not to be confused with a rest period. What’s that saying, “rest if you must, but don’t quit.”

Just because you're waiting, that doesn't mean you stop creating. It doesn’t have to be some big life-changing project, but a creative is always going to create. Even if it’s for fun and no one else is going to see it--especially if no one else is going to see it. I feel like I lost the thread a bit, and it turned into some motivational essay, but I encourage you to seek out events where you can hear artists, writers, and other creatives discuss the craft. As someone who is surrounded by non-practicing creatives 24/7, it makes a difference. It'll re-energize you. Don't become a non-practicing creative.