Behind the scenes

Don’t underestimate the power of belief; surround yourself with smart people that uplift you.

crazy idea but we did it. The result was not only flipping the rejection of a festival to acceptance, but that we actually won there.

I got through this because of my support system — a strong team. I had others that believed in me so blindly as much as I believed in them. Don’t underestimate the power of belief; surround yourself with smart people that uplift you.

CULTURS – What have you learned as a filmmaker than you’d like to share with other filmmakers who find themselves working in cross-cultural spaces?

WOL – That cross-cultural stories, I believe, are the hardest stories that masses can relate to... for now. For instance, how many biracial stories can you name? Or how many TCK stories? The best example of cross-culturalism I see is in science fiction or fantasy fiction stories. For nearly 100 years, the film industry has been a top-down experience. We were told what to watch, but as the media business expands beyond the art of film, the audiences have now become the artists. If the idea is to share art and explore themes, forms like film are simply a container to be expanded.

Cross-cultural story treatment, in my opinion, requires an inside-out and outside-in approach. Consider if cross-cultural stories require to be told in a certain format or not. Chances are cross-culturally hungry audiences will seek out these stories beyond the form of film so I believe the best formats that could explore crossculturalism is XR, VR and immersive storytelling formats. Instead of competing for story slots in pre-existing media, I suggest expanding the story market by creating stories in new media.

CULTURS – How do we follow your work? What are upcoming projects or work you have on the horizon?

WOL – Most of my films are available on streamers or on cable TV – some are now traveling to festivals. The best is to follow me and our company on socials. And for those TCKs that might want to reach out to me personally and get involved please write to me. I want to help bring more TCK stories to life.

“Americanish” (2021), which Wol worked on as a producer, won Best U.S. Narrative Award at the Phoenix Film Festival (2022), and Best Narrative at the Beloit International Film Festival (2022) and the DC Independent Film Festival (2022), among about 20 awards for the film. “Garden Left Behind” (2019) won the SXSW Audience Award (2019) and Best Screen Play and Best Feature Film at the Sunscreen Film Festival (2019), among around 28 awards.

Follow Wol on his website www.roywol.com, Studio Autonomous at www.studioautonomous.com and on Instagram and Twitter at the following handles:

Instagram: @lobo_bandido @autonomouspictures

Twitter @rgwol @autonomouspix