An Open Letter to Every Studio Executive and Film Producer: Give Better Advice

Success changes your perspective—so when filmmakers ask for advice, don’t forget what it felt like to struggle.

Dear Studio Executives and Producers,

I know you mean well.

Every time you’re asked for advice on breaking in, on how to make it, on how to get that first big opportunity, you do what anyone in your position would do: You speak from where you are now.

And that’s the problem.

Because where you are now is a place most filmmakers can’t even see from where they’re standing.

When you sit on a panel, take an interview, or give a keynote, the advice you offer often comes from the luxury of access—access to studios, budgets, agents, financiers, teams of people who believe in your vision and help make it happen. And while that’s your reality today, it wasn’t always.

So, when a filmmaker—whether they’re 25 or 45—asks for your advice, I beg of you: don’t speak from where you are now.

Speak from where you were when you had nothing.

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Remember What It Felt Like to Be on the Outside

Before you tell someone to just make something great or network harder or submit to festivals, take a second.

Remember what it felt like when no one knew your name.

When you had a thousand brilliant ideas trapped in your brain and no one to tell them to.

When the doors weren’t just closed—they were bolted shut, and you didn’t even know which one to knock on.

Remember the fear—the real fear—that maybe, just maybe, your work would never see the light of day. That you would stay unknown, unseen, unheard.

That’s where these filmmakers are right now.

Some are young. Many are mid-career. All are staring at a business that claims to champion talent, yet builds walls so high that even the most relentless among them start to wonder if it’s worth the fight.

And the worst part? They keep hearing advice that doesn’t apply to them.

Because your reality—budgets, teams, access—isn’t their reality.

So please, the next time you’re asked to give advice, don’t speak from success. Speak from struggle.

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What Real Advice Looks Like

Instead of saying, “Just get your work in front of the right people,” say:

"I remember sending out 100 cold emails and getting 99 rejections. Here’s what I did to get that one yes."

Instead of saying, “Find your voice,” say:

"Here’s how I figured out what stories only I could tell—and here’s how I convinced people to listen."

Instead of saying, “Just make a great film and the industry will come to you,” say:

"I made something great, and for years, no one cared. Here’s how I made them care."

Because that’s what filmmakers need. Not inspiration. Not clichés. A roadmap.

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This Industry Doesn’t Need More Gatekeepers—It Needs Guides

You, the producer, the executive, the person who made it, you are in a position to help filmmakers in ways most of them can’t help themselves.

Not just with funding. Not just with opportunity.

But with truth.

Truth about what it really takes. About how to survive the rejection, the waiting, the loneliness of being an artist in an industry that runs on commerce.

Because the people asking for your advice? They don’t need motivation. They need understanding.

And if you can’t give them a job, at least give them something real.

Something they can use.

Something you wish someone had told you when you were in their shoes.

Because if you think back to when you had nothing—when the dream felt impossible—wouldn’t you have wanted the same?

Sincerely,
Every Filmmaker Still Fighting to Be Seen