If you had told me a decade ago that I would one day write and direct my own feature-length film, I would have laughed in your face. The mere thought of corralling dozens of cast and crew members, obtaining expensive equipment, navigating complex permits and insurance requirements, and cobbling together a six-figure budget seemed utterly implausible for an average person. Yet here I am, a living testament that with enough passion, persistence, and mild insanity, you too can achieve the dream of making your first feature film.
Like many aspiring filmmakers, my journey began with a simple idea that grew into an obsession. For years I had been fascinated with the golden age of aviation and dreamed of recreating the thrill of early air races. This passion ultimately spawned the concept for a period action-adventure film following a scrappy group of stunt pilots in 1920s California. I spent months crafting the story, developing complex characters, and building a mythical world of my own design. By the time I emerged from this creative fugue state, I found I had nearly 200 pages of a screenplay and an unshakable determination to bring this tale to life.
And so my crash course in independent filmmaking began. I started by recruiting a few film industry veterans willing to mentor a first-timer and help navigate pre-production. With their guidance, I began assembling my crew, obtaining permits, creating storyboards, and locking locations. Meanwhile, I launched a crowdfunding campaign to raise a portion of our budget—an agonizing process that ultimately proved successful but shaved years off my life in the process.
principal photography finally commenced, it felt like a miracle. And despite long hours, equipment malfunctions, deteriorating weather, and the inevitable personality clashes, the experience proved more thrilling than anything I could have imagined. By the time we wrapped several months later, I had developed an unbreakable camaraderie with my cast and crew and a newfound appreciation for the profound challenges of capturing light and emotion on screen. The post-production slog was arduous, but seeing the final cut for the first time made the herculean effort worthwhile. My little passion project had become a living, breathing film.
While film festivals and distribution deals remain elusive, the journey itself has been its own reward. My hope is that in sharing the story of this first feature, others will find the inspiration or reassurance to pursue their creative dreams, however implausible they may seem. If a regular person like me can make a movie, anything is possible! The adventure awaits.
