By Leadership Keynote Speaker, Jamie Mason Cohen
Perseverance: My short film, The Barber of Kigali was rejected 41 times from festivals, but got into 9, and won, “Best Non-Fiction Short” at a festival in London, England.
The journey is as important as the destination if you are present along the way. In the process of attending 7 festivals my film was accepted in, I travelled to cities, states + countries I’ve always wanted to see, including Boston, London, England, California and Cambodia.
I met amazing people who have become friends for life. When I was looking for actors, it pushed me to reach out to people beyond my circle. Jimmy Gary Jr. a former NFL player turned actor, was the star in 2 films I directed. We’ve become good friends, and he was the best man at my wedding. Check him out in one of the essential series of our time, on Netflix: When They See Us.
One project often leads to another. While in Cambodia, I made a documentary in the country, which included filming a meal with, Vin, my tuk-tuk driver and his family at their village home + interviewing a survivor of The Killing Fields.
Cambodia also led to a fund-raising project for a local childrens’ education fund.
