This is a follow-up to a earlier blogs about Life’s A Beach, my short film entry to The Impact, which had its world premiere on 31st May 2022. Other posts HERE and HERE.
When I directed Life’s A Beach in 2018 I had a few short film credits as director and plans for features were in the distant future. I was thrilled with the 5-minute short film that I had delivered with a tiny crew and an iPhone, and I was so excited that it would be seen on the big screen.
When the pandemic struck and The Impact was delayed (for what turned out to be several years) it seemed like a blow. We didn’t know when or even if we would see the final movie-version of The Impact. If you’d asked me then if I wanted the film to be released sooner, I would have said ‘absolutely!’, but any comedian will tell you that timing is everything. Its remarkable how events can play out in ways you never expected because of a change in timing.
Cut to: Present Day
This last month I have been promoting a Kickstarter campaign for my debut feature film. It’s a contained heist movie called Five Cars. Anyone who’s run a crowdfunding campaign before will know the importance of maintaining audience and building enough credibility to convince backers to put money into your project. You need a constant flow of news, stories and content to feed to your prospective backers.
With the release of The Impact and the fantastic red-carpet screening at the Genesis Cinema, I suddenly had a great story. I was now officially a feature-film director (along with forty others) with a credit on IMDB and even a world record! Not only was great for my credibility as a filmmaker, but with the red-carpet photos I had some great content for the social media channels. Everyone who attended there was there because of the work they had put in over many years to help make The Impact a reality – but to an outsider, red-carpet pictures are a sign that you’re successful, and to be able to put that in front of potential backers of my film, that’s gold-dust!
If you want to learn more about Five Cars, or have a few quid to contribute, check out the Kickstarter HERE:
And next time you are hit with a delay or an unexpected change – just remember that it might all pay off in the end.
Mark Hamton
