You Got Rejected from Sundance. Good. Here's What You Do Next.
Did you get rejected from Sundance?
Good.
Stop feeling sorry for yourself. Because while everyone else is crying over their rejection letter, you're going to use that festival buzz to get hired.
I'm Nicki Micheaux. I've navigated Sundance as an actor, a director, and an industry professional. I have seen filmmakers waste thousands of dollars attending festivals just to party. And I've seen others launch entire careers without ever screening a single film.
The difference has nothing to do with talent. And it has nothing to do with whether you got in.
It has everything to do with mindset.
Here's mine.
When I first started out as an actor, I was obsessed with Sundance. I went to school with someone whose family was very connected to the festival, so I knew about it early. I remember sitting in college thinking: that's where I want to be.
So I asked about it. And she said, "Oh, well, Sundance is really just for directors."
And just like that, I let her opinion shape my thoughts on Sundance.
I was just an actor. I couldn't go. It felt like something that wasn't for me.
Years later, I'm in the industry, working as an actor, and I'd get excited talking about Sundance with people at a higher level than me. And they'd say: "No, I'm going to wait till I'm invited."
And I thought: oh. So that's the secret etiquette code. You wait until you're invited. You wait until you have a film. You don't just show up.
Sundance became this magical, mythical place I was always waiting to earn my way into. Waiting for a film. Waiting for a role. Waiting for permission.
If you're not a director, you can't go. If you don't have a film in the festival, you can't go.
I took it as fact.
And that thinking stayed with me for years.
Tomorrow I'm going to tell you how I finally broke it, and what I did instead.
Until then,
Nicki
P.S. Want the real back-door strategy for navigating film festivals, building industry relationships, and getting in the right rooms? My free webinar covers all of it.
