Producing a film has been by far the second most difficult experience that I have had to do in my entire life. The first was the childbirth of four children. Giving birth to a human can be mentally, emotionally, physically, and financially taxing. Then the worries creep in. Do I have the tools to make sure this person is a productive, informed, honest, and capable human who cares about others? Being a parent is a hard job. It is 24/7! Nonstop! No holidays, no time off. You are responsible for the well being and progression of someone’s life. And the kicker is that you will not know how well of a job you have done until they fly out on their own.
It is terrifying, rewarding, challenging, and the most life-altering job that you can have. There is no instruction manual, there is no syllabus, and you have to figure it out on your own. And, each kid will have a different spirit! On this weird parallel creating a film has some similarities. You will be pushed to the limit. You despite being emotionally drained at times. Financially, you will be stretched. You will get knocked down. Then you will have to figure out how to get back up. You will have to learn how to push forward despite all of the turmoil and chaos that is going on around you!
If you dare to set out to produce and distribute a film INDEPENDENTLY…. strap in for the ride. I will tell you one thing, moments like this when you hit 1,000,000 minutes viewed of your film it is a magical moment. Then when you start to see dozens of amazing reviews and comments saying how much they could relate to the film or how it changed their perception…….There is nothing like it!
If you decide to get on this chaotic, crazy, rewarding, fulfilling ride I recommend that you go ahead and jump all in! Because not only will you be a part of changing the world, you will be a part of changing the trajectory of your future. You will then start to see the changes in yourself. You will be stronger. You will be quicker. You will be tougher. All of those things will come to you if you do not quit.
There was a moment where I was scared, I was complaining, and I did not know how we were going to make it. The best piece of advice that I was given was by my cousin Jack Jenkins, he said, “There will be times where you just have to go through.” Essentially, there are battles that I had to fight alongside our team and some that I had to stand alone and fight. With prayer and going through I got to push to the other side. I then found out that I had more power in me than I realized. 1,000,000 minutes streamed for an Indie Producer is an amazing milestone. We are blessed. We are honored and we thank you! We will keep pushing!!!
Ashanti Titus, Executive Producer