How can you stay motivated after rejection in the film industry?

Rejection is part of the process. You need strong Emotional Intelligence in order to survive in this industry. But don't look at rejection as some horrible, devastating thing - look at it as a lesson in what not to do the next time. Learn from your mistakes, and accept the good, bad, and the ugly as part of your future. Rejection is just a lesson.

Faire face à un rejet dans les industries créatives et culturelles peut être décourageant. Quand j'ai commencé dans la BD voilà plus de vingt ans, j'ai monté des dizaines de dossiers qui ont tous été réfusés par les éditeurs. Tous ces échecs sont une étape normale et même nécessaire dans ce domaine ultra compétitif. Faut-il baisser les bras pour autant ? Non : il faut rester motivé. Chaque rejet est une opportunité d'apprentissage qui vous permettra de réévaluer et d'améliorer votre travail. La persévérance est essentielle. Chaque personne qui réussit dans les ICC a dû surmonter des rejets et des échecs. Ce qui compte, c'est votre capacité à continuer malgré les obstacles.

It's crucial to maintain perspective. Understand that rejection is common in any competitive field, even for established professionals. Take rejection as an opportunity for growth, not a personal failure. Success is not determined by how many times you succeed, but by how many times you pick yourself back up. Don't compare yourself to others, but to compare myself to the person you were yesterday.

Rejection is inevitable in a highly competitive creative industry. That’s because all creative fields are erected through the subjective opinions of others. I know an Actor who lost a big role because the casting director was reminded of their brother in law. In order to escape the effects of rejection, one has to fall in love with the work. The process has to be where you find the value in your creative pursuits. John Dewey wrote in his book “ Art As Experience “, that while scientific thinkers work out their problems by testing hypothesis ; artist work through their issues in their work. What is your goal? To work? You can open up a play and start working right now. The value of your art is not in the applause, it’s lifestyle.

Request feedback if possible, or enjoy some self-reflection. Both can provide valuable insights into areas for improvement and demonstrate your commitment to growth. Be persistant. The film industry is known for its ups and downs. Keep honing your skills, networking, and applying for opportunities. Feedback and self-reflection can give you clues as to what you need to do differently next time. Sometimes there's nothing you could have done differently. Sometimes it's just about networking, relationsihps, and luck. There's no sense in torturing yourself if the opportunity was lost due to an uncontrolable factor.

Receiving feedback is crucial for personal and professional growth. Unfortunately, not everyone knows how to communicate feedback constructively, which leads to a lack of feedback. In such situations, it is essential to read between the lines and learn from rejections. It is always beneficial to hold a 'rejection party' with your team and discuss the reasons for the rejection. This way, you can identify where you went wrong and avoid making the same mistakes again.

Let's celebrate, but not forget the lesson we learned from the Pandemic. We are fortunate to work in an industry where we get to play pretend and make a living out of it. However, when faced with the crisis, such as the one we faced during the pandemic, we were unable to contribute much to the society. Hence, let's celebrate our success but also remain humble.

Remember to look back at your previous successes. You may not be where you want to be - yet - but you are farther than when you started, and odds are, there are lots of people that would love to trade places with you. If you are just starting out and you don't have these previous successes to lean on, look to what is on the horizon and focus on those opportunities.

Certainly! It's crucial that any support or inspiration provided is relevant to the task at hand. Creative individuals may tend to lose focus and get sidetracked, forgetting the objective they are trying to achieve. When a shiny new idea pops up, often referred to as "inspiration", it can be tempting to abandon the original plan and go in a completely different direction. This can lead to a chaotic and unpredictable journey. Make you know who you are getting advice from because there are a lot of unusual people in this industry of egos and IDs.

Facebook groups, MeetUp groups, and the like are helpful. Finding a group of friends or colleagues is helpful when you need support, encouragement, and inspiration, and is also helpful when you want to work on creative projects and you need a group of people that you can help, and that can help you in your creative endeavors. Mentors are also helpful.

If you are passionate about filmmaking and storytelling, you will likely have a strong endurance to keep pushing even if you continue to face rejection. If not, the skills you learn in the film industry are translatable to other professions, and if you can find joy in your day job, you may realize that your passion of filmmaking is better served by treating it as a hobby. Harrison Ford was carpenter. Katharine Hepburn initially pursued a career in medicine and attended Bryn Mawr College. Gene Hackman was a Marine and a radio announcer. Jon Hamm was a high school drama teacher. Wes Craven was also a teacher. Christopher Nolan began making short films with his friends.

A piece of advice I received early on that I am offering today myself to the younger Filmmakers we are working with in the agency, is to use every hour of every day. Even if you do not have yet the paid projects of your dreams (in the beginning money might come from work that pays the bills) use all the time you have to explore, to test out ideas, to expand your portfolio, to make mistakes. Not randomly, but through deliberate practice, which needs 3 things: for you to be focused & determined, but most importantly to do it in an environment where there’s feedback. Feedback from other creatives, mentors & an actual audience. Use every hour, even if it's not paid at first.

If you want to do a proper PEP TALK for yourself, to learn how to stand in front of a mirror & get yourself jazzed up, I recommend Issa Rae's Masterclass: Creating Outside the Lines. In her words: “It’s encouraging. If nobody else is gonna do it, best believe I’m gonna do it for me. It just gets me motivated & energized.” Issa even sometimes freestyles a little verse. And it leaves you with the courage to speak o-u-t LOUD... to yourself :-). In our case it made things fun, and another advice worth taking is one I first saw from Benjamin Zander, if someone would do a mistake in the orchestra he would actually make them stand up high & scream "How Wonderful!" Creative processes can be so consuming... Keep your energy levels high!

You got rejected from (insert contest here). It stings. Can we zoom out for a second? Your wrote a script (massive accomplished in itself), found a team (they were really talented). You cast actors (like multiple people showed up to audition for one part). Some film days were euphoric. Some were hell sent. You then sat in a dark room for hours on end, sleepless nights editing for the feel, the pace of your story. I'm so proud of you. During this entire process multiple people interviewed, suggested ideas, submitted themselves to be apart of your film. You turned many down. Was it personal? Should they switch careers? No, you just had a preference and a vision. "A smooth sea never made a skilled sailor." Make another film. Keep going.

If you were chosen to audition, then you were already selected by casting to showcase your talents for the chosen role which makes you up for consideration. The fact, that you were not casted for the role should not be taken as rejection because it does not necessarily have anything to do with you... It may just be that the performance of another actor was a bit more ideal than your submission, or their delivery and presence was a better fit for the project or the look of another actor was the closer vision of the producer or director. #keepitmoving

Losing a position, especially in a field as competitive and subjective as acting, can be a significant emotional setback. However, it’s in these moments that your mindset can truly make a difference. Instead of viewing the loss of a role as a failure, consider it a part of your journey, a stepping stone towards your ultimate goal. It’s essential to recognize the seeds you’ve planted during the process - every audition, every interaction, every moment of preparation contributes to your growth as an actor and as a person.

John Slesinger once told me ( was art directing a film for him) "If you want to make movies go make a movie." don't waste time on anything else. I would say watch directors breakthrough films like Wes Anderson's " Bottle Rocket" and Gus Vansant's "Mala Noche" fund a story ,write a script and find a way to make it or a short of it and get it seen. Don't dally