How do we kickstart Charlotte’s fledgling film scene? With ‘Capitalism 101’

“I’m a terrible filmmaker,” said Will Fisher, the man who has run the 48 Hour Film Project in Charlotte for the past four years.

But Fisher, whose background is actually in sales and business development, knows what he’s good at: Building relationships, connecting people and never taking no for an answer.

Which makes sense when you hear how he and Collaboration Films partner Blake Phillips hope to kickstart Charlotte’s film scene: “Capitalism 101.”

Basically, the plan is to get filmmakers, creatives, marketers and business people all in the same room to meet each other and connect and, hopefully, create partnerships that lead to paid work for the filmmakers.

And the plan kicks into action Tuesday, May 23, with a “Dinner & the Movies” event with local filmmakers.

“I would love for Charlotte to be a place where filmmakers can make money making art,” said Fisher, who grew up in Rowan County and graduated from UNC Charlotte in 2001. “That’s not Charlotte right now. I think that it can be.”

Not that long ago, Charlotte was a mini-hub of TV and film production. TV shows like Showtime’s “Homeland” and Cinemax’s “Banshee” were shot in the area, along with the movie “The Hunger Games” among others.

But since state legislators ended the film tax credit in 2014, Hollywood has all but abandoned the city, with filmmakers and creatives also leaving the city for other opportunities.

Fisher believes Charlotte can be a hub for film, but to do that the city has to retain the film talent it already has — and attract more — in order to get the attention of bigger production companies and studios.

But right now, Fisher said local filmmakers don’t have the resources needed to create art. He told the story of how a barista he met who’s trying to finish a film is having trouble getting the resources she needs to complete it.

“Charlotte ain’t got no love for her or anyone else like her,” he said.

So how do you do you change that? By giving local filmmakers a chance to get paid work, according to Fisher. That’s where the marketers come in.

Fisher has teamed up with organizations like American Marketing Association Charlotte to create opportunities for filmmakers and communications professionals to get in the same room. In short: Marketers need filmmakers and people that can do high quality video for their companies, and local filmmakers need paying gigs.

Daniel Bliley, the VP of Special Projects at AMA Charlotte, said he sees the growing storytelling and brand narrative needs of local companies and thinks filmmakers can help tell those stories.

“Storytelling is what really captures hearts,” he said.

Fisher believes that if local artists get more paid work, they’ll get more excited about doing creative work. Then maybe some of those filmmakers start showing up at national and international film festivals and Charlotte’s status as a film hub — and a creative community — continues to grow.

“Film is the sexiest thing going right now,” he said. “The storytellers will be what define our city.”

Of course, this is a little self-serving for Fisher, who wants to see more of these creative filmmakers enter the 48 Hour Film Festival in August. His goal is to get a Charlotte film into the Cannes Film Festival. Twelve films made at 48 Hour Film Festivals from around the world get chosen to be screened at Cannes each year.

But more than the film festival, Fisher said he just wants to see the community come together to celebrate — and support — film, art and creativity.

“There ain’t nothing more exciting than an artist and a thousand bucks,” he said.

Want to go?

Collaboration Films’ Dinner & The Movies with Local Filmmakers

When: Tuesday, May 23 from 5:30-9 p.m.

What: Start with a four-course dinner uptown courtesy of 204 North and Malabar. Chat with filmmakers, creatives and marketing professionals about Charlotte’s creative community.

Then walk over to Spirit Square for a screening of the world’s top 12 48 Hour Film Projects and join a discussion led by a panel of local film experts. The ticket also includes access to upcoming filmmaking seminars from 48 Hour Film Festival.

Cost: $59.

If you want to just go to the screening, it’s free ($5 for preferred seating) and you can register here.

48 Hour Film Project Charlotte

The 48 Hour Film Project returns to Charlotte in August. Learn more about it here.

Photos: Courtesy of Collaboration Films

This story was originally published May 21, 2017 at 11:38 PM with the headline "How do we kickstart Charlotte’s fledgling film scene? With ‘Capitalism 101’."