"Many of you guys are really, really good. You're really strong directors, but there's so many of you that are so strong. When I think about what it takes to stay in a career as a director, as a feature film director, it is whatever the hell you need to do."
"I made a movie for $15,000 with friends I went to film school with. I then worked at Banana Republic for three and a half years while I had a deal at Focus Features and an agent at CAA, because having a film on the year-end list at The New York Times doesn't pay the rent."
"I literally had a movie screening at the Toronto International Film Festival, and I was the concession stand manager at the Telluride Film Festival. You know why? I just wanted to be where cinema."
Barry Jenkins, the acclaimed screenwriter and director of Moonlight and If Beale Street Could Talk, shared career advice at a Directors Guild of America seminar on representation and filmmaking. Jenkins emphasized that success in directing requires doing whatever is necessary to sustain a career, as opportunities are limited and competition is fierce. Despite critical acclaim for his feature debut Medicine for Melancholy, made for $15,000, Jenkins worked at Banana Republic for three and a half years while having representation at CAA and a deal at Focus Features. He also worked as a concession stand manager at the Telluride Film Festival while his film screened at Toronto International Film Festival, demonstrating that even successful filmmakers must balance survival jobs with their creative pursuits.
#filmmaking-career #creative-industry-challenges #persistence-and-survival-jobs #film-industry-representation
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