About Film Club
I used to play keyboard in a band and wanted us to have some kind of visual content to share, so I went out and bought my first camera and started figuring it out. It was a really humble start, but I ended up loving the process.
Over time, that turned into about ten years of working with cameras, audio, editing, and small productions, mostly just teaching myself and learning as I went.
When the band eventually stopped getting together, I still wanted to create, but I realized the part I enjoyed most was building something with other people.
So I started Film Club as a way to meet others who were interested in filmmaking, especially people who were just getting started like me, and to have a space where we could learn, share work, and collaborate.
At its core, New Orleans Film Club is meant to be a low-pressure place for filmmakers, actors, writers, photographers, editors, crew members, and curious beginners to meet each other and get involved.
Film Club started pretty simply.
You do not need to have a finished film, a perfect script, a full crew, or years of experience to show up. The goal is to create a space where people can ask questions, share ideas, watch work, get feedback, and start making connections with other people who want to create.
Right now, Film Club is built around two main types of gatherings.
Our short film nights are a place to watch and discuss short films, support local work, and get inspired by what people are making here and elsewhere.
Our script workshops are a place to bring scripts, scenes, ideas, outlines, or unfinished concepts and talk through them with other people in the room.
The goal is not to judge anyone’s work or compete with each other. The goal is to help each other make the work stronger and more possible to produce.
As Film Club has grown, we are also beginning to shape a new way of approaching community productions. Instead of selecting one person’s finished script and trying to build a project around it, we are moving toward a more collaborative process where interested members can help build a short film from the ground up.
That means starting with what we realistically have available: people, locations, actors, crew, equipment, time, and energy.
From there, we can talk through genre, tone, story ideas, production needs, and what kind of short film we can actually finish and release. The goal is not to come up with the biggest idea possible. The goal is to find the strongest idea that fits the scope of what we can realistically produce.
These community projects are meant to give people a chance to learn by doing. They are a way for writers to understand production, actors to meet filmmakers, crew members to gain experience, and newer people to get a better sense of how a short film comes together.
Participation in specific cast and crew roles will depend on the needs of the script, people’s availability, reliability, experience, and what the production realistically requires.
We want to make space for people to get involved while still making sure each project stays safe, manageable, and possible to complete.
