Distribution

The audience I want to build is made up of people who enjoy intelligent dark comedy—stories that make you laugh while revealing uncomfortable truths about power, manipulation, obsession, and human behavior. Over the next year, I want to consistently share my projects, participate in conversations with other filmmakers, and learn more about international distribution. My goal is not only to write scripts but also to build a recognizable creative voice that audiences and industry professionals can identify over time.

My Brand - I feel like whether it's my documentary or 1/2 hour comedy or features - it's always about people and connections and seeing that is what makes the world go round. That would be my audience - those who appreciate those connections.

As I continue writing and developing The Girl They Didn't See, I've spent a lot of time thinking about the audience I hope to build around this project and everything that comes after it.

More than anything, I want to reach people who believe stories can make a difference. Survivors who want to know they're not alone. People who care about accountability, transparency, and giving a voice to those who have been ignored or silenced. I also hope to connect with audiences who simply appreciate honest, character-driven storytelling, even when the subject matter is difficult.

This film isn't about staying trapped in trauma. It's about finding your voice, refusing to disappear, and showing that the truth matters, even when it's uncomfortable.

Over the next year, I plan to keep building that audience by sharing more of my creative journey. I'll continue writing and refining the screenplay, producing YouTube videos and podcast episodes that explore the themes behind the story, connecting with other filmmakers and advocates, and documenting what it's really like to take a deeply personal project from the page toward production.

My hope is that by the time this film reaches the screen, it won't just have an audience. It'll have a community of people who believe that stories can create conversations, challenge institutions, and remind survivors that their voices deserve to be heard.

That's the kind of audience I want to build, and I'm excited to see where this journey leads.

One of the most memorable film marketing campaigns I’ve experienced was Avengers: Infinity War. What made it so effective wasn’t just the trailer, it was years of thoughtful storytelling leading up to the film. Marvel built anticipation across multiple movies, making Infinity War feel like a true cinematic event rather than just another release. Every teaser, poster, interview, and trailer revealed enough to spark curiosity while keeping the biggest surprises hidden. When I watched the first official trailer, I knew I had to see it in theaters. The emotional weight, the scale, the music, and the promise of seeing so many beloved characters together created an unforgettable sense of excitement. As someone developing The Himalayan Gate, this campaign reminded me that great marketing doesn’t simply sell a movie, it builds an emotional connection long before audiences buy a ticket. When a story creates anticipation, mystery, and genuine curiosity, the audience wants to become part of the journey. For me, Avengers: Infinity War remains one of the best examples of how strategic marketing can transform a film into a global cultural event.

https://youtu.be/uELbCb4_AIs

Emma's Week 5 blog pushed me to think seriously about this in a way I have been avoiding, so here is my honest answer.

Right now my audience is essentially nonexistent in a built, intentional sense. My work exists on IMDB and in a reel, but I have not been building a community around it. That is the gap.

The project I most want to build an audience around is Groove, my feature -- a character-driven story set in the world of 1998 grassroots drag racing in North Carolina. I have just completed the draft and am now in read-throughs and additional edits. The world is specific, visual, and has a real community already attached to it: racing culture, Piedmont North Carolina history, period car enthusiasts, and people who respond to grief-driven character drama done without sentimentality.

Over the next year, I plan to start building around the world of the film rather than the film itself -- sharing the research, the period detail, the visual references, the story of making it. By the time Groove is ready to pitch, I want there to already be people who care about Buckhorn, North Carolina in 1998 before they ever see a frame.

The short film festival run for The Shape of Kindness is the more immediate step -- building visibility as a filmmaker while the feature develops.

Still figuring out the platform strategy, but the intention is set.

One campaign that really stood out to me was for the Henson Company's movie Mirrormask. Digital filmmaking, digital editing, and digital compositing were becoming more accessible around this time but in many regards still in its infancy. As such, many aspects such as color correction were pushed to their extremes (I'm looking at you, O Brother, Where Art Thou?). Mirrormask touted storytelling by Neil Gaiman and digital puppetry by the Henson Company. Trailers were harder to come by online so unless you saw one in the theater you didn't get to see it, you had to read about it. Mirrormask was very experimental with its visual style, digital effects, and working in a fully green screened set. Now it looks very dated and more like a student project, it doesn't hold up. At the time, I was very excited for this movie, sight unseen. This was the Henson Company! I love Muppets, I love Labyrinth, Dark Crystal. The hype brought me in and I enjoyed the film. I still have a soft spot for this movie even if the story is a bit problematic and I have not seen the movie in probably well over 10 years. It is still unique and is a great filmmaking time capsule that made the most of the technology of the early 2000s.

I love movies that guide us through others' lives and how they made the best of what they had. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jVHCQfcugdw

Not every life will be the same, but there were moments when Ray Charles thought for himself and what he wanted. It teaches us the importance of conquering negative emotions and healing from our childhood to become who we are.

I loved the trailer. I highlighted aspects of his childhood and how he persevered despite his childhood wounds.

Thanks for reading!

Timika

As a fan of BTAS (Batman: The Animated Series), I was always a fan of the villain Clayface. (So much so that I always questioned why he never made it to any of the feature Batman films.) But after seeing the recently released trailer for Clayface and seeing it compared to images from the original cartoon series, I can honestly say I'm pumped! I'm also excited that the filmmakers took a non-traditional route and went with more of a "body horror" style.

Here's the trailer: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OGO4Mqvo3jI

The marketing campaign for Deadpool & Wolverine is one I won’t forget because it was honestly the only reason I watched the movie.

Ryan Reynolds and Hugh Jackman were hilarious together throughout the campaign. Their interviews, promotional appearances, insults, and long-running fake feud made the marketing feel less like advertising and more like entertainment in its own right. I wasn’t particularly interested in seeing another superhero film, but I became absolutely invested in seeing those two personalities collide onscreen.

What worked was that the campaign understood the real product it was selling. It wasn’t only Deadpool, Wolverine, action, or nostalgia. It was the chemistry between Reynolds and Jackman. The promotion gave audiences a taste of that chemistry without making it feel rehearsed or overly polished.

Their history also gave the campaign weight. Jackman returning to a role he had seemingly left behind could have been marketed as a solemn cinematic event. Instead, the campaign let Reynolds puncture that seriousness at every opportunity while Jackman played along. That contrast became the hook.

It made the press tour part of the movie’s experience. By the time the film arrived, audiences already felt as though they had been watching these two spar for months. In my case, the campaign did exactly what successful marketing is supposed to do: it convinced someone who wasn’t planning to watch the film to give it a chance (and I frigging loved it!).