Alright – so today we’ve got the honor of introducing you to Robbie J. Atkinson. We think you’ll enjoy our conversation, we’ve shared it below.
Robbie J. , thanks so much for taking the time to share your insights and lessons with us today. We’re particularly interested in hearing about how you became such a resilient person. Where do you get your resilience from?
I believe that if you’re strategic and prepared with the right timing–you get windows of opportunity that are rare; however, there are times where all the strategy and planning in the world doesn’t always insure a perfectly clean outcome. As a business owner, I’ve had to try, re-try, re-invent, asses, educate myself, seek advice and keep trying [sometimes from a different angle] until something broke through. For me, resilience comes from knowing the opportunity cost of giving up. You may quantum leap to success on your first try or you may succeed through marginal gains on your seventh try–for the latter, if you give up on the sixth try, you miss out on the reward, joy and fulfillment that would have come after your 6th failure. Either way, I’ve come to understand that failure doesn’t equate to defeat. But you are defeated when you fail to try or when you fail to learn.
Appreciate the insights and wisdom. Before we dig deeper and ask you about the skills that matter and more, maybe you can tell our readers about yourself?
As of lately, I’ve been making an effort to explore my creative vision as it relates to narrative filmmaking. After about four years of smaller commercial (or even experimental) work with local businesses and artists, my team and I decided to tackle a short film that was very much out side of our comfort zone.
I recently directed a Psychological Horror short titled “Kalimba” through my company RPX Media Production. Honestly, the entire project was invigorating but I particularly enjoyed the pre-production process of casting talent and then hashing out character nuances during rehearsal. It was eye-opening and fascinating meeting actresses who all had different interpretations of a character that I, as the writer, had already done my own “deep-dive” into. Likewise, it was a fun challenge finding creative ways to help the cast understand the inner world and complexity of their roles/characters without overtly spoon-feeding the details to them.
“Kalimba” is currently on the film festival circuit and has received two 5-star reviews–one from UK Film Reviews and another from Short Films so far. More reviews are underway and, overall, I’m looking forward to the premiere as well as the Atlanta screening. More importantly, I’m excited for the doors that will open following this film’s circuit run as we garner more attention and attract greater opportunities to further develop our craft as filmmakers, story-tellers and artists!
Looking back, what do you think were the three qualities, skills, or areas of knowledge that were most impactful in your journey? What advice do you have for folks who are early in their journey in terms of how they can best develop or improve on these?
Inverted problem-solving, taking calculated risks and enjoying the process of “becoming” are three qualities that have been the foundation of my journey. If I had to offer advice, I’d say that clinging to certainty, hiding what makes you unique, and refusing to challenge yourself as a creative are the quickest ways to fade and fall flat in the film industry. I think that, with any job, stagnation, regret and frustration can easily set into your work so a curious/optimistic mindset makes a difference in the level of growth and joy that one can experience.
Okay, so before we go we always love to ask if you are looking for folks to partner or collaborate with?
The goal for this short film is to eventually garner funding to support the production, marketing and theatrical distribution/streaming for the feature length that this proof-of-concept was based on. Following its premiere, we’ll be looking for executive producers and co-production companies who would able to help this feature come to fruition. I’m believing that this short film is the first step of many monumental ones that will break-precedent and catapult us into a new league/level of film making. I take great inspiration from the success of New York filmmaker Rashad Frett’s short film “Ricky”–which attracted the attention of WME and they’re currently helping him develop his short into a feature!
We can be contacted via [email protected]
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.rpxmediaproduction.com/kalimba
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/kalimba_theshortfilm/?utm_source=ig_embed&ig_rid=cf7c302e-93f1-40f4-938e-f8a66348351e
Image Credits
Copyright of RPX Media Proudction – Pictures taken by Young Jae Kim
