This episode features an interview with Brian Holcomb, film critic, filmmaker, and co-founder of the Reel East Film Festival, which held its inaugural year in Oakland, New Jersey. Holcomb provides comprehensive, actionable information about starting and running a film festival from the ground up.
Origins and Formation
The Core Group: The festival emerged from a group of approximately eight people with complementary, non-overlapping talents. Member Irv Slifkin (writer of Film Adelphia and other books, worked at Movies Unlimited) remarked that it took him years to find the right collaborative group excited to work together on ambitious projects.
Initial Vision: Most members had wanted a South Jersey film festival for years. While Philadelphia had festivals and New York had multiple options, and New Jersey had the Garden State Film Festival, none covered what Holcomb felt the region needed—a celebration of both independent film and classic American cinema with a “younger” sensibility, distinct from the documentary and art film focus of existing festivals.
The County Connection: About 1.5-2 years before the festival, Rutgers film professor and Film International editor Matthew Sorrento had established a relationship with Camden County through successful screenings of classic films (Bogart movies, etc.). The county expressed interest in supporting a South Jersey festival if Sorrento could assemble a team.
Building the Team: Sorrento contacted people through Facebook and the Online Film Critics Society (OFCS). The core group emerged through “endless meetings in coffee shops” with various attendees—some disappeared when they doubted the project’s viability, but a dedicated group persisted. Members included:
- Matthew Sorrento (Rutgers professor, film critic)
- Robert Eman (Rutgers professor)
- Andrew Repasky McElhinney (filmmaker whose A Chronicle of Corpses was voted one of the top ten films by the New York Times; simultaneously directing a Christmas movie in NYC during planning)
- Brian Holcomb (film critic, filmmaker, tech director)
- Faith Brody (screenwriter of Miss December, purchased by Kevin Smith’s Smodcast Pictures)
- Irv Slifkin (film writer with extensive industry connections)
Each member brought distinct strengths: press relationships, academic credibility, filmmaking experience, technical expertise, and industry connections.
Venue Selection and Budget
Initial Venue Problem: They first tried booking a former art cinema purchased by Carmike Theatres, but the chain wanted them to four-wall each theater for “thousands of dollars”—financially impossible.
The Ritz Theater: Holcomb found the Ritz Theater in Oakland, New Jersey, a performing arts venue (primarily community theater) that had been operating since 1927. It seats approximately 375 people—a “nice little space” that nonetheless worried organizers about having “tumbleweeds rolling in the aisle.”
Total Budget: Approximately $5,000-$6,000 for the entire festival—remarkably modest.
Funding Sources:
- Primary funding came from Camden County
- Submission fees: $10 for students, $15 for general submissions (for the short film competition)
- Academic support: Budgets from Rutgers and Camden County College covered certain expenses (like awards) since the festival counted as educational programming for their students
- Ticket sales (which came in slowly, causing anxiety until the end)
Major Expenses:
- Venue rental for two nights (one long day and evening) – paid by the county
- Awards: “Pretty heavy” glass flame sculptures that organizers felt proud to give
- Last-minute projector rental (see technical crisis below)
- Advertising (minimal—mostly small amounts here and there)
- Marketing through Film Freeway and other platforms
What They Didn’t Pay For:
- No film print rentals or licensing fees (used public domain films like The Lodger)
- No guest honorarium for John Sayles (he asked for nothing)
- Minimal location costs beyond the Ritz
Festival Programming Strategy
Dollar Babies: Holcomb introduced the Stephen King Dollar Baby concept to the team, who were initially confused. This became a signature element—they screened nine Dollar Baby films total, with one (In the Death Room) as a separate lead-in film. Holcomb recognized these films’ appeal: audiences are more likely to see a Stephen King adaptation, the films are surprisingly polished despite low budgets, and King does filmmakers a “good favor” by allowing the program.
Opening Night: The Lodger (1927), chosen to celebrate the theater’s opening in the same year—creating a thematic connection despite it being a British film rather than New Jersey-specific.
Guest of Honor: John Sayles became the centerpiece after other approaches failed (including trying to get Dick Miller to show his career documentary, but travel costs from LA were prohibitive).
International Submissions: Surprisingly, early submissions came heavily from Iran, Egypt, and other Middle Eastern countries due to a Film Freeway technical glitch that allowed submissions without fees. The festival ultimately showed films from France (the top prize winner, Extreme Pinocchio), Russia, and various US locations including New Jersey student films and submissions from the East Coast.
Regional Focus: They wanted New Jersey connections but realized this became “too limiting” and “insane after a while.” The name “Reel East” (rather than “New Jersey Film Festival” or the briefly considered “Bong’s Hat Film Festival”—a meaningless local reference) reflected broader ambitions.
John Sayles: The Breakthrough
How They Got Him: Holcomb suggested Sayles, but lacked direct access. Irv Slifkin, with extensive magazine writing experience and industry contacts (personal friends with Russ Meyer, Roger Ebert, and various publicists), contacted Sayles’s publicist and got through immediately. Sayles was “immediately interested” and wanted to help.
The Man Himself: Holcomb describes Sayles as “exactly as advertised”—arrived in shorts, sandals, and a T-shirt, drove himself, asked for no money, and was happy eating the catered chicken parm rather than accepting offers of a nice dinner. “A wonderful person, very down-to-earth.”
His Economics: Sayles confirmed the legend—he makes no money from his independent films, which “all tank-based” or generate no profit. He survives as a screenwriter (credits include Apollo 13 and Spielberg’s 1970s Night Skies project, later transformed into E.T.). He likely does extensive uncredited ghost writing.
Working Method: That summer alone, Sayles was involved in five projects with minimal upfront pay, pitching to HBO and other buyers with producers—only getting paid on the back end if projects sell.
TV Ambitions: Sayles wants to work in television’s current golden age but says he’s “failed at that over and over again.” He had a show called Shannon’s Deal years ago that didn’t succeed. Now “everybody is trying to get a meeting at AMC and HBO”—he’s just another person competing.
The Three-Hour Master Class: Holcomb spent nearly three hours in a room with Sayles eating sandwiches and discussing screenwriting and filmmaking. He describes Sayles as “probably a brilliant person”—recipient of MacArthur Genius Grants (twice). Sayles’s mind flows freely from Lindsay Lohan to historical shoe manufacturing, demonstrating immense research knowledge.
Genre Work: Sayles wrote Piranha, The Howling, and Alligator—some of Holcomb’s “favorite ridiculous movies.” All character names in The Howling reference werewolf film directors (Joe Dante’s choice), while other characters were named after Pittsburgh Pirates players because “names for movies are hard to come up with” and this provided an easy device. When writing on typewriters, Sayles named many characters “Ed” because “it’s really easy to type.”
Industry Insights: At the 1996 Academy Awards (nominated for Lone Star), Sayles heard Billy Crystal joke about “another award to people you’ve never heard of.” Overhearing young executives afterward, Sayles realized: “That’s it. We’re ending this stuff. It’s not going to happen again.” They didn’t want outsiders getting in.
The Studio Co-option: Shortly after, Sony Classics, Paramount Classics, and other specialty divisions emerged—studios making small-scale films sold as “indies.” Sundance transformed from a genuine independent showcase (where films like Darren Aronofsky’s Pi, essentially a student film shot in a backyard, could get in) to a studio-controlled festival where true DIY films have no chance.
David Lynch Comparison: Sayles discussed how Lynch succeeded independently partly by creating his own website before others, “really deepening his cult” and allowing him to exist as a solo artist-brand (now designing fashion and coffee). Sayles cannot replicate this because he lacks Lynch’s specific cult following and brand identity.
Film Screening: Sayles showed Go for Sisters (2013), which had barely played anywhere despite Netflix distribution—it screened somewhere in the Midwest but didn’t even hit typical New York/LA art house circuits. Made on a very low budget (though not as low as Return of the Secaucus Seven), it exemplifies his continued struggle for theatrical distribution.
Technical Challenges and Lessons
The Projector Crisis: The day before the festival, during their first tech rehearsal, they discovered the Ritz’s projector was essentially “a projector you would use in a PowerPoint presentation”—not even HD. They’d already spent most of their budget and were planning to screen everything from hard drives.
Emergency Solution: They went back to the county, explained the situation, and received emergency funding to rent a proper projector (approximately 15,000-20,000 lumen, suitable for the small theater size though not 4K). The small theater size actually helped—a modest projector worked well.
Screening Formats:
- Most shorts: Played directly from computer via VLC player using H.264 codec files (remarkable compression allowing HD features at only 1.5GB vs. 4GB for standard DVDs)
- Go for Sisters: Sayles chose Blu-ray, feeling the color correction and overall quality was superior to his digital file
- The Lodger: Blu-ray
No Recording: Regrettably, they didn’t record Sayles’s Q&A or the three-hour conversation—a missed opportunity Holcomb wishes he could remedy.
Marketing and Publicity Strategy
Social Media as Primary Tool: Facebook proved most effective. Creating a festival page led to rapid word-of-mouth spread through recommendations and shares.
Film Freeway: Listing on Film Freeway (chosen over Without A Box, which costs $7,000-$8,000 just to list a festival) cross-pollinated with other festivals and filmmakers.
Facebook Boosting: Creating Facebook posts for calls for submissions, then using Facebook’s paid boost feature to target specific audiences (film festivals, filmmakers) proved very effective and cheap. Claims like “reached 700,000-some people” for minimal per-click costs.
Magazine Advertising: Small ads in publications like Film Threat (where Matthew Sorrento contributed), costing “a couple dollars here, a couple dollars” rather than massive campaigns.
John Sayles Effect: They had “no traction at all” until securing Sayles—he instantly legitimized the festival and drew press attention.
Holcomb’s Role: He handled almost all social media, website creation, blogging (wrote almost every blog entry), and technical aspects. His theater company experience and years of self-promotion for his own films prepared him for these tasks.
Tools Used: Weebly for the website (simpler than WordPress for first-time launch), Google Docs for organization, Film Freeway for submissions, but primarily old-school notebooks and longhand writing before digitizing.
Twitter Mystery: Holcomb admits Twitter “remains a mystery to me”—it feels like “talking to the ether” or “dipping into a stream” where posts aren’t necessarily seen by intended audiences. However, he acknowledges it’s useful for information gathering and contacting otherwise unreachable people.
Facebook Connections: The festival opened doors to industry figures. Holcomb now has Facebook connections with people like Monty Hellman and filmmaker Damon Packard (with whom he discusses Genesis and old music).
Attendance and Reception
Anxiety Throughout: Organizers worried constantly about attendance as ticket sales came slowly. The fear: “What if we had a war and nobody showed up?”
Pleasant Surprise: They had “a really, really nice turnout”—Holcomb was “actually very surprised by how many people showed up.” The festival successfully proved to the county that this could work, ensuring future support.
Audience Engagement: Between screenings and in the lobby, filmmakers, critics, and audiences had meaningful conversations—the core purpose of a film festival. As Holcomb notes, when you meet someone who truly understands film at the same depth level, “it’s amazing to connect to somebody who you can have a real conversation with.”
Key Lessons and Future Plans
Start Small: Holcomb’s primary advice—don’t be overly ambitious initially. “Don’t do the 70-speaking-part, 400-page screenplay.” Prove the concept with something manageable, build an audience, and demonstrate success to stakeholders.
Don’t Obsess Over Names: They spent too much time worrying about the festival name (considering “Walt Whitman Film Festival,” “Bong’s Hat Film Festival,” etc.). As Francis Ford Coppola noted when starting Zoetrope, you can waste time worrying about office paper and letterheads when you should focus on priorities. “That’s what’s wrong with Francis Coppola… Complete inability to prioritize things.”
The First Year Builds Infrastructure: Creating the website, social media presence, submission systems, community connections, and operational procedures is exhausting initially but sets up easier future years. “Now we have that all set up.”
Evolution Beyond Annual Festival: The Reel East will transform into a proper film society with year-round events—horror all-nighters, screenings in coffee shops and various venues, not just one annual festival.
More Space and Time Needed: The schedule was too tight, not allowing sufficient audience discussion between films. “We had scheduled so tightly that sometimes… we got to get to the next film.” Next year: more discussion time, perhaps screening shorts separately from the main hall, and sidebar films in additional spaces.
Don’t Overbook: Quality over quantity. “If you have something that’s unique and interesting, especially if you can get the filmmaker there or somebody who can represent it, it’s wonderful to hear people talk about them and have people ask questions.”
Live Music for Silent Films: The Lodger featured live piano accompaniment. Holcomb wants to expand this—perhaps screening classic silent films with original contemporary scores performed by local bands or composers (thinking beyond typical Metropolis or Nosferatu choices).
Continue Dollar Babies: These were well-received and will remain a festival signature. They screened nine including The Boogeyman (Jeff Schiro, 1982—possibly the earliest Dollar Baby), Last Rung on the Ladder (Jim Cole), and others. Holcomb got connected to Jeff Schiro through mutual friend James Cole.
Features Next Year: The inaugural festival deliberately focused on shorts as a “test” and “proving ground.” Next year will expand to features with a three-to-four-day festival.
Kevin Smith Potential: Faith Brody’s connection to Kevin Smith (who purchased and released her film Miss December through Smodcast Pictures) makes him a logical future guest.
Broader Industry Insights
Film vs. Digital Aesthetics: Holcomb and Charles discuss how low-budget 1970s-80s films shot on actual film have inherent “perceived value” and “cachet” that digital/HD productions lack—modern low-budget films “look like they might as well be porn movies.” The struggle of shooting film required real lighting and craftsmanship. That aesthetic may go extinct with each generation.
The Bokeh Obsession: Holcomb laments filmmakers’ current obsession with “bokeh” (background defocus)—just because DSLR cameras can achieve shallow depth of field doesn’t mean every shot needs racking focus from a leaf. It’s reminiscent of overused zoom lenses in the 1970s.
Analog Discipline: Shooting Super 8 that cost money to develop at Kmart taught discipline about takes. Holcomb still writes longhand before typing, maintaining practices from analog days that inform his approach even in digital workflows.
The Edison Connection: While the festival initially wanted regional (New Jersey) connections, Holcomb notes that early cinema essentially began with Edison in central/northern New Jersey (the Black Maria studio), eventually moving toward North Jersey for New York City proximity.
Final Thoughts
Holcomb emphasizes that creating a film festival resembles any creative organizational endeavor—making plays, films, or cooking dinner. Success requires assembling the right people, utilizing their specific talents, meeting deadlines, and figuring out “how to scheme deadlines to get done, like cooking a dinner. You want to have all the food done at the same time.”
The festival succeeded because the county got behind it after seeing proof of concept, attendance exceeded expectations despite anxiety, John Sayles’s participation legitimized and elevated the event, and the team learned crucial lessons that will make subsequent years easier. Most importantly, they created a genuine community space where film lovers could connect over shared passion—the true purpose of any film festival.
Charles invites listeners to join the Anywhere But Hollywood community at AnywhereButHollywood.com, which has approximately 700 members sharing work and connecting with other independent filmmakers, photographers, writers, musicians, and creative professionals.
- Season Finale: Field Guide to SPIRITED AWAY, GILLIGAN’S ISLAND Real?, BBC Spaghetti Tree Hoax, EXORCIST-CIA Connection, Hollywood Star Secrets, 13 WOMEN - October 28, 2025
- THE EXORCIST: Faith, Fear, and the True Story Behind Hollywood’s Most Haunted Film - October 21, 2025
- THE EXORCISM OF EMILY ROSE and The REAL Possession of Anneliese Michel - October 14, 2025
