We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful Paul Hibbard. We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with Paul below.
Paul, appreciate you making time for us and sharing your wisdom with the community. So many of us go through similar pain points throughout our journeys and so hearing about how others overcame obstacles can be helpful. One of those struggles is keeping creativity alive despite all the stresses, challenges and problems we might be dealing with. How do you keep your creativity alive?
I love film and everything I do as a filmmaker is to partake in this remarkable and at times intimidating industry. In a way, this seems like a no-brainer. Filmmakers should love film, but from where I come from in the midwest, that’s not always a given. But the passion for film is what keeps me driven.
Great, so let’s take a few minutes and cover your story. What should folks know about you and what you do?
I’m a filmmaker who makes films that play at festivals around the world. My last film, Some Visitors, played at festivals like Grimmfest, Panic Fest and Shockfest. I also run my own horror festival in my home city of St. Louis, called Hysteria Fest. It’s a horror festival, but also plays anything of quality that is genre-based or horror-adjacent. St. Louis is a rough city to be a filmmaker in, and I’m trying to change things. I want to display films that are a little more challenging. We are about to enter our third year.
My objective is to be a filmmaker to the rest of the world and a curator and festival-director to St Louis.
There is so much advice out there about all the different skills and qualities folks need to develop in order to succeed in today’s highly competitive environment and often it can feel overwhelming. So, if we had to break it down to just the three that matter most, which three skills or qualities would you focus on?
Be bold, be confident in your vision, but also allow that boldness and confidence to include the ability to learn, grow and change. I like at the path of my career and my films and I’m proud they have a strong voice but have continued to improve and grow.
How can folks who want to work with you connect?
I’d most love to collab with regards to my festival. If you are a filmmaker, I’d love if you sent us your film. If you are an artist or vendor in the St. Louis area, I’d love to feature you at Hysteria Fest.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.hysteriafilmfest.com/
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/hysteriafilmfestival/
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCGx1pPSqJYzMFN0pF01sImg/videos
Image Credits
all images are mine
