Before FIF, I was pretty lost. I graduated with a degree in Theatre, and jobs were pretty difficult to find. Most wanted x number of years experience before they would even consider you, and the ones that wanted to hire you would pay either nothing or dirt for a job that takes all of your time. I was getting stuck because I wanted the experience to pursue the career, but couldn’t afford to work for free. I relocated to Wilmington to start trying out film on a small scale, and a month later, the film incentive crashed. Now I was really stuck.
When I came across your program, life changed so much. Using your methods to get on shoots works and has opened many doors. Since I’ve started the program in January, I have been on 5 shoots. I’ve met people who have never been on a set before and people who have been doing it for years. I’ve managed to stay in touch with a couple of people and am collaborating on ideas and scripts and just trying to learn as much as we can about bringing a film to life.
I think this program really just made me aware of just how stuck I really was, and how badly I wanted to get out of that rut I was in. It showed the endless possibilities!
Ariana M.
(Wilmington, North Carolina)
