I read a LinkedIn post recently and there’s a line there that hit me so hard, I froze.
Who is waiting for your film?
We start with this really cool idea that we think the world will love, we write it, go through pre-production, production and post, and then we have a full film we are so proud of. And we bring it to the market, and expect people to stop what they are doing, watch it, share it with their family and friends (cause after all, that’s free), and to top it off, give us the best reviews that will take us to the next level.
I know what you’re thinking as a filmmaker, because I’m thinking the same thing. We make these films for them. We went through this and that, and did you see that angle I used and that lighting…..
Honestly, I don’t think my non-filmmaker friends care which angle I used, or if it was shot on an iPhone, or how many versions of a track I tested before finding the perfect one. They won’t pause their lives and watch this film I poured my everything into just because I say: “Surprise, here’s my film.” Okay, maybe they will. My friends love me. But am I making a film just for them?
That question “who is waiting for your film?” shook me because the answer, if I’m being honest, might be no one. If no one knows about it, how can they wait in anticipation for it.
We spend so much of our time as filmmakers consumed by the craft. We battle with ourselves, our budgets, our teams, and sometimes with the stories themselves. But in the middle of all that, we rarely stop to ask, who is this actually for? Who is your target audience?
Urgh. I know. I also don’t like that question when it comes up. I want to say everyone, but I’ve heard it being said that a film for everyone is a film for no one. And also, If no one is waiting for your film, then no one will show up for it. People are busy. They have lives. They have endless options at their fingertips. And unless your film speaks directly to someone—their interests, their struggles, their passions—it will get drowned out in the noise.
That doesn’t make the film any less beautiful or important. It just means that beauty alone isn’t enough.
The mistake so many of us make (myself included) is thinking that marketing is something you do after the film is done. A poster here. A trailer there. A few posts online. Then… fingers crossed.
One shift I’ve been thinking about is bringing the audience into the process earlier. Not just showing them the polished final cut, but letting them see the messy process.
Moral of the story, finishing the film is only half the job, the other half is making sure it has an audience. Because the story may belong to you while you’re making it, but the moment it’s done, it belongs to the audience. And if you don’t know who that audience is, or why they should care, then all the hard work risks disappearing into silence.
In the meantime, the question I leave you with is this, who is waiting for your film?
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