2: How a filmmaker got his first passion project on Amazon Prime

When Yorgo Glynatsis stepped onto the set of his first short film, 'Trigger,' little did he know the profound impact his work would have on Amazon Prime viewers and beyond. On our latest episode, the mastermind behind House of Glynatsis Productions takes us through his transformative journey from dance and acting into the director's chair.

Strap in for an inside look at the nuts and bolts of the film distribution, where Yorgo's anecdotes become guiding stars for any upcoming filmmaker.  Our conversation is a treasure trove of wisdom. We dissect the essential strategies for navigating film distribution and identifying the right audience for your masterpiece. 

As we round out our chat, the topic shifts to the strategic considerations behind film festival submissions, and the importance of staying resilient in the face of industry challenges. Yorgo's story, peppered with practical insights and inspirations, is a testament to the indomitable spirit of filmmakers. He leaves us with a rallying cry to push forward, to create with passion, and to embrace the bumps along the road as milestones in our growth. Tune in to absorb the spirit of a filmmaker who's blazed his own trail and to ignite your own creative flames.

Guest Instagram:
@yorgo_glynatsis
@houseofglynatsis

Transcript

Speaker 1: 0:00

Welcome to the Loud Whisper Takeover podcast, where we talk about following our intuitions and where we have interviews with athletic creatives and creatives that follow their dreams. Today, we will talk about short films and their distribution. You made a film and now what? Where are you going with it? I'm super excited to introduce you to Jorgo Glinatsis from House of Glinatsis Productions, who's coming with us for a conversation straight out of London.

Speaker 2: 0:31

Hello everyone, so happy to be here and so honored to be a guest in your podcast.

Speaker 1: 0:40

Super excited to have you here, jorgo. So one of the things that I am just blown away by is that you were a dancer and an actor, but then you made your first film, your first short film that you wrote, that you acted in, that you produced, and your first short film was actually a passion project, but it ended up on Amazon Prime. Did you think five years ago that you would have such success and also continue in that direction?

Speaker 2: 1:11

Not at all. I'm still processing. I'm like, did I really do that? And I became a film director, producer now and I've created my own productions company, Hazelnut Ness's Production and sometimes I'm like, no, I'm dreaming, it's not real. Did I really do that? Yeah, I was doing it and I could never imagine that I was going to become a film director, producer, writer, Because, as you mentioned, I started as an actor, dancer, and I thought, oh, I'm just going to be cast in shows and TV show and stands and this is going to be my career. But then I took the leap of faith to be my own storyteller, my own creator and giving me opportunities myself. And this is how it happened, and it happened during the pandemic, actually. Then I started thinking like, yeah, I need to create opportunities for myself and not waiting that projects and roles will come for me. That's the beginning of the journey.

Speaker 1: 2:19

I love it. So you were really taking the bull by the horns. You didn't want to wait for projects to come your way and you were like I'm going to create my own. Also, you told a very personal story. Can you tell us what gave you the courage to write and make a short film about your personal story?

Speaker 2: 2:39

So during the pandemic, like everyone, we had a lot of time. I was watching a lot of, obviously, tv shows and films, and I was watching on BBC. I May Destroy you for Nicolette Cole and one of the scenes of the TV series it happened to me. So the old TV series about sexual assault, one particular scene. I just remember that it happened to me like six, seven years ago in London and the brain is so marvelous because it's protecting you and I literally forgot that this happened to me. But then everything came back to me and I was like, okay, what do I do with this? I went through therapy but I thought I was not enough when I started talking about it amongst my friends and they started to tell me that it happened to them too and I was really shocked that I was not the only one. Fortunately and unfortunately and that's the moment I was like I need to stick up.

Speaker 2: 3:37

I was like taking online classes to how to write, produce and direct, and I was meant by Taz Keller that maybe some of you know now him because he's famous. He is on Netflix playing one of the lead roles on One Piece and he told me that my story, if I was ready. It's a very important story and it happens to a lot of LGBTQ people and women around the world and it will be such a powerful and universal issue and story to tell. And, yeah, that's the moment I was like, okay, let me do it. And it's always told me write something, especially your first, first and second short thing. Try to write something that is more close to your personal, because it's going to feel authentic and truthful and impactful. It was very healing and empowering because a lot of people came to me after being in SimFestival winning awards and, as you mentioned now on Amazon Prime Prime. I inspired lots of people and I felt, okay, my mission is done and I'm glad I was vulnerable and used my personal story to do my first short film.

Speaker 1: 4:55

So your first short film, trigger, talks about content. You had the courage to tell your story. You empowered a lot of people because there is also an empowering message behind Trigger around that topic. You wrote and directed it, but you had never been a writer and director. How did you start that journey of actually writing it down?

Speaker 2: 5:20

on paper. Actually, I was writing and directing my own acting scenes for my showreel. But at that time I was like, yeah, I'm not a directing writer because I'm not paid. But when I started writing the script because I took online classes and I read on Google how to write a short stand and that's how I started writing the first and second draft, and then I was mentored by Tara Scala and then what I've done after, I did like kind of a work, a script workshop with actors.

Speaker 2: 5:53

I was doing acting classes at Anarchy Anarchy is two years in London and the teacher, chris Envey, told me that I can try my script with the other actors so I could see it if it was working and if I can recommend, when you have a script and you're happy, try with actors, because you're going to see the dialogues.

Speaker 2: 6:15

If they're working, if the story makes sense, you see it in front of you, literally you see your film in front of you and I made lots of changes out of that. And then I started posting on Facebook that I was looking for a producer and GOP. And then I started literally working with my co-writer and co-director. So originally Louis Potamiti was my producer, but then she told me that she wanted to do more directing and writing and she's okay to be the co-writer and co-director with me. And I was like, yeah, definitely, because we were working very well and we were already workshopping the script and I could see what getting better and better and better. And then so we had to find another producer and yeah, so I really work with Chloe to workshop another producer. And yeah, so I really worked with Chloe to work Shondon Scripts and then afterwards the DLP. I showed it to him and I was like we can do maybe those shots.

Speaker 2: 7:14

And then he told me how we can do it, and so maybe we had to change some of the scenes to make it happen. And then how can we show in two days with literally one location? On the script there were four locations, but we couldn't make it in one location.

Speaker 1: 7:31

So obviously along the way you were talking to producers, a director of photography, other writers and so forth, and you had no idea how to actually make a film. So were there doubts and fear at some point, or were you just going ahead like a bulldozer and just trying things out Of?

Speaker 2: 7:54

course, the fear and the doubt were always confident, because I felt, you know, the imposter syndrome is oh my God, people's going to see it. I'm a fraud, I'm not that great, I'm not that great, I'm not good and stuff, but it's just this boy that you have to learn to just listen but don't take action on it. I'm surrounded by a team that helped me and when I was doubting and seeing, I was voicing them and I was saying to Chloe, my co-director, who writes all of that this is good, this is good. I was checking with the DLP and then the other rest of the team.

Speaker 2: 8:31

So the tip I can give is, with a team, surround yourself with people that are always passionate about the story, but that you can feel vulnerable with them and telling them guys, I'm not sure what I'm doing right now. I don't know if it's good, because your team is actually your first audience. So if they don't get it or if it's not that great, you have to listen to them because they are the first audience seeing the story and the film and you have to learn to put your ego on the sign and say, okay, I'm going to trust it, I'm going to go in that direction. My best tip is to run yourself with a team that is here for you.

Speaker 1: 9:15

So, first of all, have a team where you feel safe, where it's a safe space. I love what you're saying. My team was my first audience. That says a lot because it's.

Speaker 2: 9:27

It's true, it's literally. You're making a sound and just seeing it lies literally. So if it's not working or they don't feel all the emotions you want to convey, so you have to change it, because if people on set don't feel it or don't believe what you're doing, then the audience will not believe it.

Speaker 1: 9:48

Something that probably happened to you at the very early stages of making your short film is that you needed to network. I'm sure that once you wanted to distribute your film, you also needed to network in a world that you had never been in before. What are some of the networking tips that have worked for you?

Speaker 2: 10:08

okay, so actually now is the tip I'm giving, because now I'm seeing the difference how I I'm behaving and the mindset I'm going when I'm going to networking events. Before I was going like I need people, I need to make contacts, I need to get I don't know a contract signed, whatever. But it's a lot of pressure because you are in an environment where there are a lot of people kind of looking at the same thing what is your relation, want to finance systems or looking for the director they want to work with. So it's a lot of competition and it's a lot of yeah, it's a pressure. And then there is the music and then, let's be honest, there is alcohol. So people can be a bit tipsy and wild. So it's not the best environment to talk about literally business and be like, oh, do you want to be my producer? Do you want to finance my firm? But it's a fast contact with someone and you make a personal, a human connection.

Speaker 2: 11:17

The first step is you make a connection. So now I go to networking events really chill and I'm like, if I meet people, if I talk to people and we exchange emails or Instagram or they're interested in what I'm doing, great. If not, I'm going to make a connection and it might be working for me in the future, because now we know each other other. Because if you come straight to someone, I was like I need something from you. Trust me, it's not very sellable and very nice because you will feel it. You're gonna feel the energy. You would be like, no, maybe not. So be chill, have fun and make connections, bugs, and then, after a few meetings, maybe you can ask them the next time oh, do you want to have a coffee? I would like to talk to you about the project I'm doing, but not in the networking events, because there are a lot of parameters that it begins new and it's very loud, there are a lot of people and there's not alcohol and there's fun and stuff. So, yeah, I always just make human connections first.

Speaker 1: 12:33

And recently you were invited at a big event and you told me, Cindy, I felt like I belonged. Can you tell us more about where you were invited first and that feeling of belonging?

Speaker 2: 12:49

So social media also is a great tool for networking because you can network online. So I was following I mean, we were following each other as cinematographer on Instagram and this cinematographer, ignace Chaussem, called Yendo, was Oscar Chausmisted and Basta nominated this year. So we've been following each other and liking posts and then exchanging messages. And then one day he was like, oh, it would be nice to meet up and to have a coffee and just connect. I was like, definitely. And he was like, oh, let's go to Basta Because he's a Basta member. So I was like, yeah, cool, chill. I was like, wow, fuck, I'm going to the Basta.

Speaker 2: 13:36

So we had a coffee at Basta and, yeah, I had this marvelous feeling to be like, oh, oh, this is very chill and no one is looking at you, like, oh, you don't belong here. It's like everyone is actually working or networking, collaborating with people, and no one's actually looking at you and I felt, yeah, I belong here. There are also filmmakers like me that are just in a different journey or timeline, but I am a filmmaker like them and they started where I started. So it was nice to be in this environment and be like, yeah, it's actually chill and not anything. I feel like you don't belong there.

Speaker 1: 14:19

It was just a really nice feeling to feel like I belong here and here, and I'm gonna have a membership very soon something that really stands out to me is the mindset that you've had since the beginning of your journey as a filmmaker, and especially this event. You said something. I was there having a coffee and I realized I'm surrounded by filmmakers that are just on a different, at a different point on their timeline, but we're all in the same boat. I love that because it's so important not to compare ourselves to somebody that has another journey, and knowing that we're all in parallel timelines, so to speak, that sense of belonging because sometimes we can feel like we are not belonging but really nurturing that feeling really nourishes a mindset of success. And what I also loved is that the day that I happened to you, you texted me and you were celebrating that small win, and celebrating the small wins are also so important on our journey to success. Is there anything else that you think a young filmmaker should nourish as a quality for them to realize their dreams?

Speaker 2: 15:30

Trust your guts, trust your whisper, as your podcast is called Trust your heart. And if you go with your guts and your heart, then everything's going to be possible. You're going to meet the right people. They're going to work with you. You're not going to work with everyone and you don't want to work with everyone, so you're going to work with people that are meant to work with you and you want to work with them. And then just with your story and your feeling. Trust your guts and your heart, especially if you have a message, and then just always your story and your thing. Trust your guts and your heart, especially if you have a message, and I and I suggest you always have a message in terms, I think it's important, but sometimes you can make it just on entertainment and it's okay, but I prefer to have a thing that there is a message, go with that message and everything's going to fall together. I think this is amazing. Just trust your guts, just do it.

Speaker 2: 16:33

Learn on the job. I've learned it on set, I've learned it during the whole journey of direct produce, write and I'm still learning and I will learn until the end. And that's the beauty of being a storyteller, of being creative. We constantly learning, improving and about what you mentioned about comparing is so true. I know it's it's very difficult to not compare ourselves, but there are no different timeline. They started before you. Let's say so. You can't have the same results, you can't be at the same level than Dan because, for example, if I compare myself to a director who's I don't know 40 years old, he has 10 years of experience. Of course he will be further down the line in his career than me and his journey to be motivated is okay, he's done it, so I can do it too. So it's just having this mindset of you might still be jealous, but using a positive way, and be like no, this is good, because he's doing what I want to do, so he's done it, I can do it, and I can see how he's doing it.

Speaker 1: 17:40

I love that. You said I learned and I'm still learning Since your first short film. You've been very busy. You've been working on other short films also, on documentaries and so forth. What is the thing that you're currently learning?

Speaker 2: 17:57

So, as you mentioned, I've done a documentary and I didn't do it before because it was all new for me. I've realized this documentary is still storytelling, but you have real people instead of actors, so you have this human connection with the people you are filming. But that's the beauty, because you're learning to go on a journey with them and probably I'm pretty sure you're going to change a bit by your story because you don't know what they're going to say to you. But you have your main, let's say, topic and you have a vision. But then you have to be flexible. So I'm learning to be flexible and not be stuck with my own ideas and listening to my team, especially the producer and the actors on set, because if the performance they don't feel is coming naturally, then the audience will not believe it.

Speaker 2: 18:53

So you might change a bit the script, you might change the dialogues, because the actors feel like, okay, this is more natural if I say or if I do this, this is more natural if I say or if I do this. So I'm learning to trust that it will change and changes are part of life in general and part of filmmaking and making movies. And also what I've learned is you do three things. When you write a script, it's one rule of faith. But then when you're on set, as I mentioned, you're going to change dialogues or actions or a bit of storyline because of a lot of things, and then you have your second part. And then when you go on post-production, when you edit it, you put the music, the grading, you cut things. You're doing another movie and embrace all those changes because the final product will be the best product, actually, even if it's not exactly what you wrote in the beginning I love that that, while you're thinking you're making one movie, you're actually making three scripts preparation, production, filming and then post-production and what happens there.

Speaker 1: 20:08

So that is something very important to take away.

Speaker 2: 20:11

Yeah, and I know you experienced that and it's your own short film. I think now you're noticing that you're creating different thoughts since the beginning oh yes, totally.

Speaker 1: 20:21

Um. So my first short I attracted a team of 26 people. I totally trusted the universe. I felt the universe totally orchestrated it. The story we were writing at the time had to be told because otherwise the universe would have never put a team of 26 people together. What we thought we were going to film was not what we filmed. We were actually writing the story on set and then in post-production everything is changing and post-production is still going on right now with that particular short film. So things are changing constantly and it's phenomenal. It's phenomenal to see how it's growing and changing and shifting.

Speaker 2: 21:04

Exactly, and that's the beauty of it.

Speaker 1: 21:06

Absolutely. Let's dive into the distribution of a short film. We've made a short film, and now what? Who's going to see it? How are we going to distribute it? What is the plan, what is the strategy? What do we do now?

Speaker 2: 21:21

That's a good question. I'm learning more and more now. Now, that's a good question. I'm learning more and more now. I've learned lots of things I didn't know at that time when I did three or two years ago.

Speaker 2: 21:30

So you have different kinds of options. You have to have a meeting with your producer and say, okay, what do we want to do with this film? Do we want to have lots of people seeing it? We want to create like a verse around it and have lots of people seeing it. We want to create like a verse around it and have lots of views and like.

Speaker 2: 21:50

Or you want to go to the root of more, like having nomination to festival and having screening in festivals, or you go straight to putting online or try to get a distribution for a streaming platform. So you have to ask yourself what do you want to do with your film? In my case, I was like let's start first with festival. Because of the theme and the message. I was like maybe we have a chance at some festival, because festivals most of them like to select things that have powerful messages or having topics that are current, about societal problems, about inequalities and lots of those topics. I had a conversation with my team and I was like I think we have maybe a chance to be selected to some festivals, because unfortunately it's a universal story and it happened the same. So we started. You can start to support with festivals, so you can go all the way and you can choose the festivals you want to submit. And I think lots of people know now about how to say it.

Speaker 2: 23:05

There are a lot of things. Most of the festival you're going to have to pay a fee to submit your film, even if it's not selected. So there are no response. You can filter on Film Freeway the topics on your films and then you can filter the country or how many years of festival has been in place and stuff. So you have a lot of filters on PN3Way and that's how you start to do your festival strategy and you can watch all the films that have been selected the previous year to see oh, maybe we have a chance and what kind of movie festivals like to select, because every festivals are different. They're all different.

Speaker 2: 23:45

So it's a lot of work, to be honest with festival to get a festival strategy, but it's worth it. In my case it works because we've been nominated to quite a few festivals and then we won an award, which is great, and because of that, I got approached by a distribution company and they found the thing on IMDb. So, obviously, create a page on IMDb, have a YouTube channel for the thing, have an Instagram, twitter, facebook and TikTok so you have free marketing tools and obviously, when you get a post about festival, most of the time it's going to be approached by distribution companies. So there are distribution companies that sell short film, and this distribution company called Conella Production got a deal with another company that sells short film to Amazon Prime, and that's how I got to Amazon Prime.

Speaker 2: 24:44

So you how I got to Amazon Prime. So you have to ask yourself do you want to go through festival submission and the festival? It's going to take one year, two years maybe sometimes, and then you can be like, okay, now the next stage is where do we want to put the film after the festival? Do you want to do it straight away, online, for example, you can put it on YouTube, on your own YouTube channel, or there are some YouTube channels that actually showcase short scenes, like Oneto. This strategy is more to get the views, so you can say, oh, my previous short scene had, I don't know, let's say, 100k views on this channel.

Speaker 2: 25:27

Or you get a distribution deal. You work with a distribution company. They're trying to sell your short film on a streaming platform, and I made the decision because it was a personal story. I didn't want to put it on YouTube and I was like I have nothing to lose to at least try to put it on a streaming platform. If it's not, to at least try to put it on a streaming platform. If it's not working, then I just put it on YouTube and I make it available to people. I make available so people can see it, or you can put on video too, but I got lucky that I put it on a streaming platform.

Speaker 1: 26:03

Basically, you're saying develop a film festival strategy, do a season, so take a year where you take your film through festivals, try to be nominated, try awards. Then either you can be picked up by a streaming platform or you go to see streaming platforms straight away and then obviously then you would be paid eventually in the long term. Or you go for a YouTube strategy to make sure that you have a lot of views Because for your next film you can then say hey, I'm a filmmaker that had 100k views on one of my previous short films.

Speaker 2: 26:36

You summarized it perfectly.

Speaker 1: 26:38

So here I have a question. When you create a short film, like you said, there are three films there is the film you write, there is the film you film and then there's the film that comes out in post-production. There's a lot of doubt and fear along that journey. How do you even know your film is good enough to be shown at film festivals?

Speaker 2: 26:59

So as I mentioned before, first, obviously you start with your team and on set and then, when you're in post-production, you see the result and then you are always working with. So if you are the director, you are going to work with the producer and the editor, for example in post-production and then after song designer and composer. So you first start where you are so you see it, and then you have your team, their first audience, and then so that we can talk about the quality of the acting, and then the visual, the shot, the song and stuff. So you start with the team and if you still say like, like, oh, you can still improve it. If you have your guts telling you okay, we need one more draft, we can change this and this. Keep going until you feel like okay, I'm fine. So this is a good sign. When you feel like okay, I think those were my last note and I think now we have it this is a good sign. Also, what I suggest, because you're going to work so much on the sim for quite a while that you are so immersed that sometimes it's difficult to see from the outside if the film works or if it's good.

Speaker 2: 28:17

So you can ask two or three friends that are filmmakers, so they've never seen the film, they didn't read the script, and it's literally your first audience outside of your team, and then you can ask them for that honest feedback. That's how I do it actually. And when they told me, wow, this is good, yeah, sometimes it's oh, maybe you can change that, and then you can agree or don't agree, but at least you have an external feedback and review, and I think at that point you can be like okay, I know it's good now because your team is happy, you've been working with a producer, the editor, and be like yeah, I think this is good. You ask two or three friends filmmakers. Why is it only two or three friends?

Speaker 2: 29:02

The friends are subjective and what is good can be also subjective. I can find a friend very good and, you see me, you can be like nah, it's not that great. If you ask too many people, you might be confused and you're going to go to the official circle of doubting yourself and saying it's not good. So just ask two, three friends that you trust that they want the best for you and they're going to be genuine in their feedback. After that, you have to trust that it's good.

Speaker 1: 29:34

Okay, let's talk about the audience. You were talking about having a smaller audience or a bigger audience, but how do you define who your audience is? And I would say it comes back to funding application forms, where often they ask you, well who are you making this film for? And very often artists. We ask, well, this could inspire everybody. How do you define who your audience is for the films you make?

Speaker 2: 30:02

It's a good question and now when I teach my fans to get funding, that's how I put the audience and the market we want to tap and we think that the film will have a huge success. So you start with your story and see who's going to touch this story. Who's going to touch people. Can you start with your characters, like where they're from, which sexual preferences they have. So you can be like you start with, okay, let's take the example of Trigger. So we started to be like, of course, the LGBTQ community in general will be obviously a target audience.

Speaker 2: 30:44

But then we've noticed that because of the subject, it happened to a lot of women. So we're like this is a second target after the LGBTQ. It's women because they're going to, unfortunately, they're going to connect to the femme, but also because I am half Greek, half Italian, from Belgium, and in the story they speak English, french and Farsi, so you can use also the languages of the femme. Then you add now the culture, the heritage and the countries where you can tap into an audience. So for me, with three girls, we were like, okay, lgbtq women, and then it's going to target Europe in general, and we had quite a few fans in Europe that took the film. We had one in Mexico and one in the US, but it was mainly in Europe because we knew that the story was set in London. The characters were from a mixed European background.

Speaker 1: 31:44

So we knew, okay, this is our main audience touched by the story and I think very often, I think in the brainstorm room, before we want to start writing a funding application form or a pitch, we're thinking about who's going to watch my film, but the way you worded it is who's going to be touched by my story, and that's a very powerful way of knowing who your audience is.

Speaker 2: 32:17

Now, yes, it's actually true, it is better to focus on who's going to be touched by the story, but who? Those people will be your real audience and they will talk about your film more than ever and they're going to be like a word of mouth oh my God, I watched this film, you should watch it. I was like, oh my God, I was really touched by it. So, yeah, I'm just realizing what I say. It's true. Actually, we should sell, and Pitchip is like this story will touch those people, those people, those people, those people. Yeah, you're right.

Speaker 1: 32:51

Next question I know that your first short film was a passion project. You learned on the job when you started your whole distribution strategy. Did you do it by yourself? If you didn't, or if you would do it differently now, who do you need on your team for distribution?

Speaker 2: 33:09

So you work with your producer. So if you are the director, writer, for example, then you're going to work with your producer to be like, okay, now let's do the distribution deal and then if you are contacted by a distribution company, then you can see the contract. So what happened with Trigger? So obviously I talked with my Chloe Potaviti co-director and co-writer and a producer in Salva, and so we read the contract and also sent your brand name's work from distribution, so just to make sure that everything is good. But also you can work with a sale agent. This is happening more for feature firms than short firms, but most of the time feature firms will have a sale agent. They're going to then pitch it to distributors and then they make the contract for you and obviously you check and you're happy. But sale agents are mostly like an agent for actors. They are representing you and they're selling your film and then they take a commission out of it when they sell your film to a distributor.

Speaker 1: 34:16

Right, and actually I want to rewind a little bit, because earlier you said streaming platforms are now taking short films. Which streaming platforms do you know of that are taking on short films?

Speaker 2: 34:28

So, obviously, amazon Prime the streaker is on Amazon Prime they take quite a lot of short films. Actually, there is Disney Plus. They actually seem a bit more. They actually produce. I think they produce or distribute short documentaries and they actually won the Oscar for best short documentary called the Repair Shop. Yes, and actually now is the number one sound search on Disney+, a short documentary, which is crazy. So now there's a lot of streaming platforms that you see. Oh, we can distribute and sell short films.

Speaker 2: 35:08

Netflix is starting slowly to take short films. I know a filmmaker that they did a short film and they just now got the distribution with Netflix and it's going to be released in May, but I think it's only in the UK Because, also, with distribution, it's not because you have a distribution deal that you're filled with the agent of the world, while there are territories, they are UK, un and Japan. So you might work with different distribution companies that are targeting different markets. So you might have one distribution company, different distribution companies. They are targeting different markets. So you might have one distribution company for, let's say, america, north America. You can have one for Europe and you can have one for Asia, for example, though it's true that most of the time they don't see a worldwide, they take the worldwide rights to sell them. I think we'll be seeing more and more short films. I'm seeing it.

Speaker 1: 36:04

And if you were going for a YouTube strategy and more of a, let's get in a lot of views, how easy is it to get your short film on one of those YouTube channels for short films that have a lot of views? I think it's easier.

Speaker 2: 36:20

To be honest, you just contact them and send a SIM to them and they accept it. They want to put it on the channel, like, for example, homenet, so you just email them and it's that simple. I mean, they're generally not open, so you should send a SIM to HomeNet. This is a good place to be on YouTube, but obviously it's not because you're on YouTube, that's it. You don't have to do anything else. You have to have a strategy to promote it and marketing. So it would be great. I know it's investment, but you have a PR company working with you. So when you decide to put your thing out there, it will be good to hire a PR company for maybe one month or two months or three months. You decide, obviously, financially what's possible for you, and so you get to try to have interviews, podcasts talking about your film, seeing where it's available, and that's how you promote and market your film, which I didn't know before, which we're going to do now. It's one of the short films I directed. We're going to hire a PR company at some point to get a lot of promotion exposure.

Speaker 2: 37:31

Send your film to sync reviews like UK Film Review. Take Two P&D Review, one Film Review, so you get materials to promote your film. So that's how people say oh, it's a critically acclaimed short film, feature film or TV series. It's because they send the films to film critics and then you get the review. You get the four stars, five stars and plus, obviously, a longer review, and you just take what you need to promote your film. You do social media. Use social media to market your film. Try to tease people. Don't post it straight away. Tease people with a poster and a still and then, coming soon, you should get the film festival. Obviously it's great marketing because you can promote your film and you have screens in the festival.

Speaker 1: 38:25

So, yeah, Okay, which leads us to the next question, which is budgets. Distributing a short film costs money. You just talked about eventually working with a PR agency. Submitting your film into film festivals costs money. Flying over to the film festival if you want to be into film festivals costs money. Flying over to the film festival if you want to be there in person costs money. Working with a social media specialist posters, flyers and so forth. What could you say about budget and a few top tips when you work with zero budget and when you're applying for fundings to help you out?

Speaker 2: 39:03

and hot production. So it's not lots of money. But I told my team I know it's not a lot of money, but I want to make sure we put this money for the production family so at least we have a good kind of high-end, high-quality. And then I put my own money for film festival. Now what I would do differently so I spend. I can say it I spend 1,500 to film festival. I've. I would do differently so I spend. I can say it I spend 1,500 to spend festival. I've spent it to at least I don't know 60 festivals around the world. Now that I know obviously more and I have more experience, I'll probably not spend 1,500 million on film festival. I will probably try to spend between 500 and 700, because the successful rate, as the industry says, is literally 20%. If your fame has been selected to 20% of the old festival you've submitted, it's a successful rate of festival, which is not a lot, but it means you're going to invest a lot of money.

Speaker 2: 40:16

But I suggest maybe 500, 700 is a good amount to at least have three, maybe, festivals. But you just have to see what kind of festivals you want to tackle. If you want to tackle a Vasta and Autotek when you find one, or you want to just have your things everywhere in the world, so you kind of target festivals that are medium I'm going to say Medium and then the small one. Or if you want to initially go to the best, I'll target those ones and then the rest. You can use the money for a PR company. But PR costs a bit of money I don't know exactly how much per month. So you don't have to pay them all the time. You just can hire a PR company for I don't know one month, two months, three months.

Speaker 2: 41:06

If you have a lot of things happening for your firm, you can use them only for one month or two months. So they do a lot of the PR. But it's a few thousand pounds, to be honest, for the company. But it's worth it because then you get a lot of interviews and promotions, Then film critiques or film reviews. The fee is between £20 to £50, but you can spread there. So what I'm doing actually right now is every month I'm sending trivia to South Korean cricket and what we're going to do for the show theme I've directed, we're going to do this now before hitting film festival. Now I'm doing the opposite, because now I know how it works and then kind of how to promote your song and maybe attracting people in festival and they see that you got nice videos.

Speaker 1: 42:03

Question was like a top thing quickly can we just clarify something, because you said that you spent quite a bit of money on film festivals with your first short film and if you were to do it differently you would put in less money because you made a mistake. But can you clarify what the mistake was? Was it sending it to too many festivals that were not targeted enough about the topic of your film, or would you just use the budget differently, as in, allocate a certain amount of money to film festivals and allocate another part of your money to PR agencies and film festivals? Yeah, exactly.

Speaker 2: 42:43

Yeah, so I would do differently now. For example, if I take the budget, I put 1,500, I will spread it differently now. I will maybe use 500 of film festivals and targeting a bit more, having a strategy with film festivals, because what I do is to understand that everywhere, all the festivals around the world, and I was literally submitting to the big ones mostly. But now I have a different strategy out because some things you can feel that might not go to the big festivals but you can still go to the medium festivals, which are quite good Because there are different types of festivals.

Speaker 2: 43:21

At the festivals there are more industry-targeting festivals, for example, hans Vinny Tribeca, hollywood Shorts, so those festivals are industry-based. So there are a lot of workshops, a lot of tours. And then you have other festivals that are more about audiences. They want to have people coming to see the film and they have less workshops and talks. So you have to decide what you want and maybe what you think can be a bit more. And there's obviously difficult discussions you have with the producer, because most of the time now producers have a bit of experience with festivals and that is the first time they're producing, but if they've been producing a few songs. They know a bit more about festivals. So to come back to the questions with the 1,500, I will spread it a bit more. Let's say 500 for film festivals and then 100 to 100 for film critique. This sends you a lot of film critiques. And then there was for literally PR.

Speaker 1: 44:28

And I also want to emphasize the numbers that you're giving right now, because obviously making film costs a lot of money and we know that 10K, 20k, 30k is almost nothing in that world. However, you made a short film on a budget of a thousand pound. I made a short film on even of a smaller budget than that. And then also you're talking about 500, 700, 1500 for distribution. If you were to self-finance it? Because, same thing, often you can talk to people that say, well, if you were to self-finance it? Because, same thing, often you can talk to people that say, well, if you don't have minimum 10K, you can't even dream of going for a distribution strategy. But I also want to emphasize that to whoever young filmmaker is listening to this you can make it happen. There are success stories that are making it happen on a string budget and, jororgo, you are an example of it.

Speaker 2: 45:19

Yes thank you and yes, I want to say to the young filmmaker this is possible and because we are creative, even if you have a small budget, you can make it look like it's a Netflix production. You just have to be imaginative. You have to have a team that have a positive and solutions-minded. You just have to be imaginative. You have to have a team that have a positive and sufficient mind. You just have to be creative and have a beautiful story.

Speaker 1: 45:46

Throughout our careers as artists, we will create different pieces and therefore different films, different short films. Would you only recommend to submit only and only your best work to film festivals, or do you think, even when you've achieved a great film, but you know it's not your best piece yet to come, would you still submit it to a film festival? I yes.

Speaker 2: 46:15

This is actually a great question, I think. As long as it's good and you don't feel like ashamed of it and you feel like this is not good at all, usually this is good, but this is not your best piece. Maybe you could have done differently, but sometimes it's not happening for different reasons from the budget or what you work with, then it's okay, this is the best you could do, but it's still good. I think you should, and I've seen lots of films in film festivals that are good but not amazing and lots of them won awards and stuff.

Speaker 2: 46:52

Because making a film, there are different layers there is the story, then there is the performance of the actor, then there is the editing, the shots. There are different layers there is the story, then there is the performance of the actor, then there is the editing, the shots. So there are different aspects where you can judge a film. Sometimes I've seen films where the story is amazing but the editing of the music was like that's not great, but you, okay, it's fine. So again, the story is amazing. But then you have the opposite, where the shots are marvelous, the sound of music is beautiful, but the story and the performance are not that great, but they're still winning, and sometimes, yeah, they're still winning and awards and stuff.

Speaker 1: 47:34

So it's very subjective, but I think you should put your work out there when you feel like, okay, this is good, maybe not the best, but this is good this is so important because often, when we are stuck in a cycle of wanting to be perfect, we actually are freezing and we don't take any action because it's not perfect enough, and I love what you said. Yes, I could have done this differently, but there are so many components, especially in filmmaking, that come into play and I believe film festivals understand that also, isn't it that we're working with limited budget or limited equipment and that sort of things, and that you need to give yourself a margin of failure or mistakes along?

Speaker 2: 48:17

the way. Yeah, totally, you need to embrace mistake and kind of failure, mistakes along the way. Totally, you need to embrace mistakes and kind of failure. They're not failure, they are learning points. And then you do a first short thing and then you do a second one and you've learned from the first one and then you do a third one and then you learn from the first and the second one. It's constantly learning and improving and as long as you feel like, okay, this is good, never it will be perfect, it's impossible. And what's perfect For you? Maybe one thing is perfect and for me it's not perfect. And then the opposite. As you say, we can go into a spiral, be like how did we not pass that? Well, it's never going to be passed like that. And, as you say, festivals or audiences be like, oh yeah, I really like this thing. Maybe they couldn't have done this differently, but that's the beauty, it's subjective and it's part of the journey to learn.

Speaker 2: 49:13

And it's very rare that a far short film is going to make an Oscar-winning short film. So don to make an Oscar-winning short film. So don't compare to some of the filmmakers. Yeah, it won't happen, but the chances are very low. So use your first and second short film to learn yourself as a storyteller, what kind of story you like to tell, what kind of shots you like or visual you like to give and the genre you put on. You're learning and you're learning yourself as a person and as a storyteller. So I'm very happy I've done it. My first short film on a small budget and my last short film with that was 15K on a budget. But if I didn't do the first one the first two actually on a small budget, it would not have happened. I would not be the director that I am right now. It would have hired me to do the short thing with 16 pairs of budget.

Speaker 1: 50:09

So why would you not have been the director you are today? What do you think was the massive learning curve of doing a couple of short films on a string budget?

Speaker 2: 50:18

first, Because I've learned about a storyline, I've learned about dialogues, I've learned about shot, about sounds, and so, yeah, I've learned a bit more about the technical I'm going to say the more creative ways to tell a story. Then now I feel more confident and I know I am a good storyteller and a good shindera. I have a good track record with it. Really helpful to help you to get confident. My first one is on Amazon Prime and then the documentary won an award, also being nominated in shoes and fashion roles. Now I know. When I doubt myself, I just have to remember Yorgo. You did an award-winning short seminar in private. You did an award-winning short documentary. You're good.

Speaker 1: 51:07

Thank you so much, Yorgo, about all these amazing gems that you've been sharing with us. What can we expect you doing in the next five years?

Speaker 2: 51:17

Future fan for sure. So I'm starting slowly to develop my first Fitcher fan, because I'm still working on a lot of the short fans. We are still in post-production but it's almost finished, so when we're going to submit it to Fitcher first of all, I'm going to start focusing on writing my first Fitcher fan because I can now, after four short films, I feel yeah confident about writing a speech of fan and obviously I'm not going to be alone, because this is also a tip for young filmmakers it feels like you're going to be alone, but you are not. You are always surrounded by people and that's the beauty of this journey. You start with yourself, but then you have a team around you. You've got to build this team day by day. My main focus will be doing my first feature film.

Speaker 1: 52:09

Awesome. We can't wait to see that. Is there a series of resources that you would recommend to people that are on their journey of making their own film?

Speaker 2: 52:19

I also propose online filmmaking coaching so you can contact me, whatever you are in your career, if you have a script and need to workshop the script, so we can workshop the script together. Or if you are I don't know in production and you need some assistance with budget, location, distribution, festival strategy. I propose now online filmmaking coaching sessions so you can contact me, and I'm also creating actually an online course that will summarize how to write, produce, direct and distribute your short film. So you can contact me by Instagram or by email at houseofglenartis at gmailcom. Also, go to film festivals, see other films of other filmmakers and go to writing, producing, directing posts, because sometimes you propose film festival workshops and panels and you can meet people also at the same time. Why do you think?

Speaker 1: 53:21

And what is a mantra you would leave with all our listeners today for them to stay on track and keep going for their dreams?

Speaker 2: 53:30

Just fucking do it, love it. Just fucking do it, just do it Love it.

Speaker 1: 53:35

Thank you so much, yorgo, for all your wisdom and your gems and your inspiration, and I will definitely keep in touch with you to know what your next moves are, your next awards, and I will be there to celebrate and cheerlead and all the rest of it.

Speaker 2: 53:50

Thank you so much, cindy, it was really a pleasure.

Speaker 1: 53:52

Thank you for listening to the Loud Whisper Takeover podcast. Remember to follow and subscribe to the Loud Whisper Takeover podcast. Remember to follow and subscribe. Follow House of Glit Nazis or Yorgo Glit Nazis on Instagram and also follow Loud Whisper VZW or Cinderclass on Instagram.