"Now what?"
My first film ends with exactly those words: "Now what?"
At the time, it was just the final line of the story.
Now the film is finished, online, and I’ve caught myself asking the same question for real.
I made the film. I released it. I submitted it to festivals. One festival has already selected it as a finalist. I also have a screenplay in competition elsewhere.
Meanwhile, I’m doing what I always do - writing new scripts, developing new films, working on music, building the next thing.
But there’s a strange part of this process nobody really prepares you for.
You spend months creating something. For a while, that project occupies almost your entire creative world. Then one day it’s finished.
And if you’re not careful, it feels like it slowly starts disappearing behind everything new you’re making.
So...
Now what?
What do you actually do with an independent film after it’s finished?
Do you keep pushing festivals?
Look for distribution?
Approach producers or sales agents?
Try to build an audience yourself?
Use the film mainly as a calling card for the next project?
Or simply accept that its job was to exist, learn from it, and move forward?
I’m genuinely curious about the experiences of other filmmakers here.
After you finished your first film, or any project you really believed in, what did you do next?
And looking back, what do you wish you had done differently?
1 person likes this
Inknomad Films I think the biggest opportunity after finishing a film is to use it as a bridge to the next opportunity. Festivals can help with visibility, but the film can also become a strong calling card for your next script, pitch, or collaboration. The key is making sure the story is positioned to open those doors. I’d be curious to hear what direction you’re leaning toward next.
1 person likes this
Inknomad Films I think the interesting part is that finishing the film isn’t really the end, it’s the beginning of figuring out what the film can open up next. Festivals, distribution, audience-building, and using it as a calling card can all serve different purposes depending on your bigger goal. I’d be curious to know what direction you’re leaning toward with this one.
I think that’s exactly where my head is right now - not just asking what else I can do with the film, but what I actually want the film to open up next.
I still want to give it a proper festival life, especially now that it has already reached finalist status at one festival, but I’m also starting to see it more as a calling card and a bridge toward the next projects.
I have other scripts and films in development, so ideally this one shouldn’t just exist on its own and slowly fade away. I’d like it to help create conversations, collaborations, and opportunities around the work that comes after it.
I think the part I’m still figuring out is how to turn a finished film into real momentum rather than simply saying, “Okay, that one is done - onto the next.”
That transition seems almost like a completely different skill from actually making the film.
If it's a short - you put it on youtube. If it's a (live action) feature, you get a distributor or promote it yourself so you can grow your audience and make money.