Hey Friends!

Back in May, we hosted Filmmaker and Head of Creator Success at Seed&Spark Meghan Ross, along with Writer/Director Kayla Abuda Galang and Writer/Actor Yola Lu to discuss all things crowdfunding. Galang recently made the Sundance and SXSW award-winning short WHEN YOU LEFT ME ON THAT BOULEVARD and Lu is currently in post-production on a film she wrote called PATSY. Additionally, Ross is about to premiere her short, HERE TO MAKE FRIENDS which went through the Sundance Development Labs.

Here are some key takeaways from this conversation:

Building community is key, you cannot make a film on your own. Your community will be the people who will support you and your film in a myriad of ways, from making a donation to following your film on social media.
Filmmaking is very collaborative, it is vital to make sure everyone on your team is heard and respected on and off-set.
Trusting your instincts is the key to having a successful crowdfunding campaign and film.

We hope you find this panel informative, thought-provoking, and most importantly, inspirational. Everyone on this panel came into the world of filmmaking from very different backgrounds and at different points in their creative careers, there is no set path to make your movie-making dream come true!

AAAFF was lucky enough to screen both Galang’s and Ross’s films this year!

Photos by: Heather Leah Kennedy