Why you should see this short film: The Creator

Opinion Piece by Darcy Welbourn

In 2019 do we need film festivals?

The internet has given young filmmakers avenues that have never existed in the history of film. YouTube, Vimeo, Social Media, Websites, Podcast sponsorship, Email, Reddit, Tumblr. They have become the tools that should be the forefront of the potential audience reach for any short film.

In January this year, I along with my Producer Amanda Allan, finished The Creator – a sci-fi short film. Together we decided on two things that we were going to follow through on.

1) take risks as artists and filmmakers.

2) don’t enter our short film into festivals.

The Creator isn’t too good for festivals, and it isn’t too bad either. Personally, I feel as if I made the film I wanted. A short film under 10 minutes in run time that subverts the viewer’s expectations by the end of the film.

Whether perfect exists in filmmaking or not is up for debate. The Creator is not perfect, but that isn’t the point. Why play it safe? You must make mistakes to learn.

Amanda and I aren’t entering The Creator into festivals because we think there has been something lost amongst the hundreds and thousands of awards handed out to short films every year. Both of us feel that there is something more important; the people watching. We want to get The Creator out there. Just let the world see it. Share it with whomever. What is there to be lost?

There is no disrespect from Amanda and I toward anyone who wants to enter festivals, just to make that clear. We just want to be bold and try something new. Though I know some individuals will take that opinion one way or another, and that’s fine… Just don’t watch the film.

Who exactly is this story about? What events led up to this story alone? What is going to happen next? Is there an obvious message I am missing? These are questions I have no doubt that people will be asking themselves when the credits are rolling.