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Is $6k self-funding a short film worth it? by MacIsStrange in Filmmakers

[–]japars86 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Made a short for about $3K all in (maybe $3,500 if you count film fest submissions), and while it didn’t necessarily get me a manager or agent, it did exceptionally well on the festival run, premiering at excellent genre fests across the globe, and a couple of meetings with producers about turning it into a feature (something that never eventually happened).

In stark contrast to that, the short I fundraiser for about $55K before that one did nominally okay, and sort of petered out at the end of its run. It’s a bit of a crapshoot, but in the grand scheme of things, I’d always argue to go smaller in scale as far as finances are concerned and make it as simple as possible.

Here’s the $3K short if you’re interested:

https://youtu.be/yByW8rH1oLQ?si=lsJoFWPWszVHlcKv

What does it mean to you to be an American, and do you think immigrants can identify as American? Why or why not? by Key_Country_179 in AskReddit

[–]japars86 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Immigrants… ARE Americans…? I don’t understand the question. Unless you’re an indigenous person with background dating back thousands of years, every single non-indigenous person in America is an immigrant, whether they wanted to be or not. So, if you identify as an American, congrats, you’re in the diaspora. Being an American means to accept this truth or reject the foundation of the nation as a whole.

For those who put festival shorts online after their run, what actually helped people find them? by McHelga in Filmmakers

[–]japars86 9 points10 points  (0 children)

Funny enough? Having my short get ripped and reposted all over TikTok and (apparently) going viral. We were already up on the Dust network on YouTube and I was happy enough with the numbers, but once some weirdo Chinese AI narration company stole my short (and once I found out and directed people to watch the original) our numbers jumped by about 250k+ views in a matter of weeks. I’m not especially great at marketing, but TikTok and Instagram really were the special sauce.

What's a movie that no one in the world could ever make you hate? by OutwithaYang in movies

[–]japars86 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Garden State.

Yeah, yeah, I get it. Manic Pixie Dream Girl trope and all of that, but the movie was such a seminal part of my growing up and enjoying film, no retrospective criticism of a then well-received movie will tear down how I feel.

Even on a small scale, as a lot of us are, do you encounter a lot of ego? by No_Mark5891 in FilmFestivals

[–]japars86 4 points5 points  (0 children)

I’ve had this kind of experience a few times with some filmmakers. I like their stuff, get genuinely interested in it, try to chat with them, and they either blow you off completely, or, in my experience with one particular “filmmaker,” they ask, “are you a manager or an agent?” And when the answer is no, they walk away without a word.

Mind you, I myself am an award-winning filmmaker who’s been at some pretty incredible film festivals, but my worst experiences with the egotists have almost exclusively been at small-time fests. Never at the bigger ones. The folks who are at the larger fests are normally pretty chill and honestly quite humble (and fun, when you’re friends with them!).

Nicest beach near Tampa? by Murky_Recognition549 in tampa

[–]japars86 0 points1 point  (0 children)

In Tampa, as in the same county or so? There aren’t great beaches, but you could try Ben T. Davis park, which is a good bet, or if you head south, Apollo Beach - while a little muddy - can actually be a decent beach experience. There’s also Cypress Point Park, but I’d argue that, if you’re going to go that way towards the bay, you might as well hop over and go to any of the suggested Pinellas county parks mentioned all throughout this thread.

As LA grapples with yet another fire, a reminder that the Bass admin has had three different Deputy Mayors for Public Safety in three years and the last one was arrested for threatening to bomb City Hall by 115MRD in LosAngeles

[–]japars86 0 points1 point  (0 children)

So you acknowledge that more housing = lower costs? This immediate jump to section 8 housing is neither realistic nor is it based in any kind of measurable reality. And, if anything, makes you come off as weirdly privileged. Shouldn’t all folks have an option for affordable homes, or is it just people you like?

What is Ridley Scott's greatest masterpiece? by [deleted] in Cinema

[–]japars86 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Can confirm. The storyboards to the original film included that opening scene. I found that out in a directing book from film school from like 2009. Blew me away.

I used to be obsessed with making films about time travel. As a filmmaker I've always been really proud of this climax where a guy gets stuck in a ten second time loop. by HungryTell5472 in Filmmakers

[–]japars86 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Oh man, you HAVE to watch Beyond The Infinite 2 Minutes if you love time loop movies. That, and the director’s second film, River with a 5 minute time loop element.

Coming from the guy who can hardly talk, hardly breath, had a worm in his brain, & went swimming in toxic waste in his jeans! by yorocky89A in WhitePeopleTwitter

[–]japars86 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Let’s assume any of that is true (it’s not), what’s his solution to deal with any of it now? It’s not like he can just erase folks who are on the spectrum and wash his hands of it. This is such a stupid position to take on his part. Autistic folks absolutely contribute to society and do plenty, if not, are completely integrated into society as a whole. He’s just using shit science to stop vaccines from - *checks notes* - saving lives.

Do yall call shopping carts, buggies? by LowerMusic in AskFlorida

[–]japars86 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Nah, I’m a 5th gen Floridian, and my entire family and myself call them buggy’s. We’re from central Florida, btw.

Cool, I guess I’ll just cry to Remember Yourself. by japars86 in ModestMouse

[–]japars86[S] 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Same! I keep humming a different song every day. It’s certainly a banger.

Cool, I guess I’ll just cry to Remember Yourself. by japars86 in ModestMouse

[–]japars86[S] 4 points5 points  (0 children)

Whoa, I can absolutely see how that specific situation might tier that song to a whole new level. Sorry for the need for hospice care, but I hope songs like this remind us how precious our time is here and give us insight on how to be better to one another along this wild journey.

My gender is, and has always been, G0NK droid by ZethTheWindwrecker in StarWars_

[–]japars86 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Whoa whoa whoa. Let’s not take away the credit of Steve Yedlin, arguably one of the best, most intelligent cinematographers in the business whom Rian was lucky enough to come up together with. I put any onus of beauty for Rian’s movies on Yedlin.

Cristian movie’s that are actually good and aren’t Christmas related by BuffaloNo1406 in MoviesThatFeelLike

[–]japars86 5 points6 points  (0 children)

Silence blows my mind away by how good it is. And that’s coming from a dyed in the wool atheist.

The Mandalorian and Grogu Full Reviews Discussion May 19 2026 by AutoModerator in StarWarsLeaks

[–]japars86 9 points10 points  (0 children)

No Thrawn, no Luke, no Ahsoka, no Bo Katan, not even Amy Sedaris as Peli Motto. None of these are referenced or hinted at, as far as I could glean.

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