I had been debating about doing the Z-Fest Film Festival for a while now and finally decided this year to dive in and hopefully make a splash. I felt pretty good about our film, but I’m never truly satisfied with anything I do. I always think it can be better. I think if you talk to any filmmaker/artist they might just feel the same way.
After ‘Concussed’ screened at the festival and I saw all our nominations I was a little surprised. And then at the awards I was even more surprised when we won:
- ‘Trailer Contest: 1st Place (thanks for all the votes!)
- ‘Best Actor’ (Jarrod)
- ‘Best Cinematography’
- ‘Best Sound Design’
- ‘Best Editing’
- ‘Best Action/Suspense film’
- 1st Place Best Film
For as long as I can remember people would tell me to stick with one thing. Told me I shouldn’t act in my own films and just direct, or that I shouldn’t run camera and also direct. But I really enjoyed doing all those things. I never felt overwhelmed by it all. I liked it. Everything took some time to get good at, but I could always see the growth. That’s the beauty of filmmaking. You can visually see the growth. You can look back and see where you started and then look at your most recent creation to compare.
Looking back can be embarrassing. Especially stuff I did in high school. This was before it was cool to make videos, before the days of youtube. I showed those films to my peers. Infact I used to play those films on public access for people to watch on cable in their homes. I was so proud of those films. 
Ugh! Those poor poor people watching me embarrass myself. 
But I wouldn’t change a thing. I love the journey I am on and I’m excited to keep growing and learning and becoming a better filmmaker and person.
I’ve thanked you already, but again, a big thank you to my Zfest team. I had a blast with you guys. Thank you for making it fun and believing in me!
Also a huge thanks to Zfest for putting this festival together. Thanks for giving us a platform for us filmmakers to come together and share our work with one another. Until next time…
