top of page

Be Shameless: Build Something That Lasts | Natives & Queer Voices NYC (Ronald Hinton)

  • May 26
  • 29 min read

In this episode of Film Festival Friends, Brandon Nick sits down with actor, filmmaker, and co-founder of Queer Voices NYC Film Festival, Ronald Hinton, for a conversation that is equal parts masterclass and therapy session. Ronald is the creator behind Natives, the digital series set in New York City public housing that audiences are convinced is already on season three. (It isn't. There are two episodes. The production value is just that good.)

They get into all of it: the $38K budget breakdown for episodes one and two, the “failure” of his 2025 crowdfunding campaign, why shamelessness is a transferable skill, and what he’s learned as a filmmaker who cofounded a film festival.

Finally, Ronald pitches a rom-com starring Keke Palmer as an unlucky-in-love woman who gets a lucky bath from a street vendor played by Mike Epps — and yes, the cursed lace front is central to the plot.


ABOUT RONALD

Ronald Hinton is a queer, Afro-Puerto Rican actor, writer, and producer committed to amplifying Queer-BIPOC stories through bold, community-driven storytelling. He is the creator of NATIVES, a web series that has garnered recognition from Native Son, Queerty, and Blavity, with screenings at the New York Latino Film Festival and Out On Film Atlanta. Ronald is also the co-founder of Queer Voices: NYC Film Festival, was named one of Native Son’s 101 Black Queer Disruptors, and is an alum of GLAAD’s Black Queer Creative Summit, recognized for his work reshaping culture and media. 

Follow Ronald on IG @RonaldThomasHinton.


ABOUT NATIVES

NATIVES follows a close-knit group of queer, twenty-something native New Yorkers whose lives are turned upside down by the return of 25-year-old Izzy Sanchez. Follow Natives @NativesTheSeries


ABOUT  QUEER VOICES NYC

Queer Voices: NYC (QVNYC) is a 3-day film festival focused on centering and celebrating LGBTQIA+ filmmakers of color. Follow Queer Voices on social media @QueerVoicesNYC


Film Festival Friends is a podcast about queer cinema, craft, and culture. Hosted by Brandon Nick. Full show notes and transcript available on our website: www.brandonnick.com/filmfestivalfriends


FOLLOW + CONNECT

  • Podcast IG: @filmfestivalfriends

  • Host IG (Brandon R. Nicholas): @brand0nnick

WATCH / LISTEN

SUPPORT THE SHOW If you want to help keep the cameras rolling and the conversations flowing:


TRANSCRIPT

Ronald Hinton: If they wanna give us their money, then that is on you, you know? Thank you for that contribution to keeping us going. 

Brandon Nick: Yes. Thank you for supporting BIPOC queer cinema. 

Ronald Hinton: Right. 

Brandon Nick: What's good, community? I'm Brandon Nick, and this is Film Festival Friends Podcast. And if you are a filmmaker interested in festivals or indie production, then this is the show for you. So make sure that you subscribe to our YouTube channel and follow us on social media so you don't miss out on any of these insightful conversations.

Today, I have the privilege of chatting with my real friend and fellow festival lover, Ronald Hinton, the filmmaker behind the digital series Natives and the co-founder of Queer Voices NYC Film Festival.

If you wanna know what it takes to create a network-level TV series or get the real tea about building a festival from the ground up, then pull up your notes app 'cause the conversation is starting right now. 

Hello, and thank you for joining me. I'm here with my film festival friend, Ronald Hinton. Before we get into, the festival that you built, I want to first talk about you as an artist, because many folks, while many folks will know you for Queer Voices, I'm sure many more folks will probably know you for Natives and the work that you do in filmmaking.

So, I generally have asked folks to describe their films or their projects in 25 words or less, but I'm gonna challenge both of us, 'cause I feel like folks have gotten it down to a science now. I'm gonna challenge both of us, describe Natives using three emojis. 

Ronald Hinton: Oh my gosh. Three emojis. Okay, so it's gonna be the emoji with the smoke coming out of the nose.

It's gonna be the Statue of Liberty emoji, and then it is going to be the devil smirk emoji. 

Brandon Nick: Oh, no, that tracks. I, that, tracks so much for me.

Okay, so considering that y'all are already two episodes in and y'all are working on shooting episodes three and four, if you can share what's been the budget, where y'all are at so far? And as a pie chart, what does that look like in terms of how you, funded it?

Ronald Hinton: Yeah. I love how we're just jumping right into the money talk, like not, nothin', For Natives, if I were to sum up the budget in a pie chart, in terms of money that has been crowdfunded, money that I've put in, grants. I would say, in terms of money that's been crowdfunded, we're talking about episodes one and two, that would be...

Crowdfunding would account for about 50% of episode one and two budget. and the total budget for episodes one and two is about $38,000. So it is somewhat decent. Some people are not gagged at that. Some people are like "oh, I thought it was like over $100,000." And I'm like, "Why are you-

Brandon Nick: C'mon production value. 

Ronald Hinton: And so it really depends what level you are and whether that number's gonna shock you or you're, it's gonna be like, "Oh, wow." But it was $38,000 we crowdfunded, and we raised about $21,000 back in 2021 in our first crowdfunding campaign. I put in about $10,000 of my own money, so I put in a decent amount. So now we're at 75%.

I was trying not to put in my own money, but things happen, they come up. And when you're so tied to a project, and also this was one of my first true narrative projects. I had done a documentary before this, but that was very, very minimal. and so this one I was like, "Okay, I can't do all of that because this, I want it to be a different caliber, too."

And so things just kept kinda creeping up where I was like, "Okay, I'll put it in." And then afterward, I realized, I was like, "Wow, I put in a lot of money into this."

So these next two episodes I'm pretty adamant that I'm not putting in that money, one, 'cause I just don't have the resources at the time, like lit, no shade.

But then also because, I'm trying to pay myself this time. I didn't pay myself last time, and so everyone else got paid, and I appreciate the work 'cause they didn't get paid at the rates that they really could've, which is another thing I appreciate in terms of using favors. And the remaining 25% would be a grant that I got.

And this grant that I got, it's interesting. It's interesting how the different things that I'm in, that I'm doing or that I'm creating kind of help each other. Oh. So Queer Voices actually comes into this because we were working on Queer Voices year two, and we had established a partnership with Columbia University.

And so Columbia University was, excited to support us, and we were on a meeting and we were talking about creating this grant. And it came up, to be a finishing funds grant. And so, we, this is nothing we actually implemented because we put it on the back burner. But as we were talking with our collaborator at, Columbia University, they just seemed really interested in this.

And so I mentioned how finishing funds would be interesting 'cause I'm even looking for finishing funds myself. We all talk about the people who get the funds to produce, but then kind of get stuck in this limbo- Yeah ... 'cause they didn't have enough money for finishing funds or possibly the shoot went over, and that took all the budget for post, which is what happened in Natives episodes one and two.

We had to shoot an extra day, which took all of our post-production.

Brandon Nick: Oof.

Ronald Hinton: And so nine months we just had this great footage, but we didn't have any way to actually assemble it. and so I was looking for resources, I was applying for grants. And so with our collaborator, when they peaked interest in that, I just asked him, I was like, "I actually have a film."

Well, I, off that call, I reached out to him and I was like, "You seem really interested in the idea that I pitched. I have this film and I'm wondering if you would be open or have any resources to helping us finish." And they were like, "Yeah, send us, how much do you think it would be?" And so I was like, "Okay, this number."

And they were like, "Okay, let's do it." And that's how we got to, finish episodes one and two. 

Brandon Nick: Wow. And you had actually already answered my second question, which was how long did it take from start to finish? Granted, y'all are still actively working on it. 

Ronald Hinton: Oh, yeah. This project has been since 2020. 2018 when I first wrote that first scene. 

Brandon Nick: I am curious, knowing that it's almost been 10 years for you for this journey, what was it about this story, that made you commit, that had you committing to it for such the long haul? 'Cause honestly, I imagine there's some world where, folks could have quit, which isn't necessarily a bad thing. This is the stars aren't in alignment, for this project at this juncture. Or they could have pivoted and been like, maybe instead of, Natives the series, it's, Natives the movie. 'Cause and also just then you said, 38. I imagine you, a movie probably could have been made for that, right? Knowing that, folks have made features for less and, shorts for more.

So all that to say, what was it about this project that has you committing, for such a long duration and committing to this project like this? 

Ronald Hinton: Yeah, I think that is a loaded question for sure, and I think what has kept me on this journey for creating Natives as a series and wanting to see it through is really, at its core, what it's representing.

This is my love letter to New York. This is the New York that I, as a native New Yorker who grew up seeing my city on TV but rarely ever seeing the part of it that I grew up in that I feel like really shapes culture- that is what I wanted to represent. And so for me, it was about reflecting New York City in that way, reflecting queerness in public housing, reflecting public housing in general in a positive way.

But then also people told me, to your point from earlier, "make it a short film." And I was like, "I don't wanna make it a short film." I have always loved TV. TV is one of the first things that I feel like was a connector for me with my grandma. We'd watch so many TV shows. As an actor, my goal was always to be a lead on a TV show because I just love the journeys that you get to go on with these characters.

And so I was adamant, "no, I want this to be a TV show." And so multiple iterations, I wrote it as a short film. It didn't feel right for me until we raised the money, and I was like, "Okay, I'm gonna make this a web series because I think I, I think we can make this episodic."

I thought I could shoot all of it with $20,000 little did I know. And so that's how we ended up here.

 There's been moments I've wanted to s- I've thought about stopping 'cause it feels like so much, and it's been such a journey. We have two episodes. People... It's the funniest thing when people ask me, "What season are you on?" I'm like, "Girl, we've done two episodes. We are still working to finish the first season." But that's how long we've been doing it, and that's how long people have seen us, and so I appreciate that in a way. but also I'm ready to, keep it going, so I'm so excited for these next two episodes. 

Brandon Nick: What is it like having Natives as a web series in film festival? 'Cause I know a, lot of film festivals do have, episodic blocks. So can you, talk to me about what your festival experience has been like.

Ronald Hinton: Yeah, sure. So I feel the festival experience has been, it's been interesting, honestly, because we have a unique circumstance where we premiered our episodes on YouTube. And so festivals are now opening up a bit more to episodics, and a lot more are starting to have episodic portions. But as you know too, festivals are very pretentious in a way of wanting to premier things.

Brandon Nick: Yes. 

Ronald Hinton: So if it's not a premiere, especially at the bigger festivals, a lot of times they don't want it. And so it's just been an interesting experience for me, because I think I have a great product and project. 

Brandon Nick: Yeah. I think so as well. 

Ronald Hinton: Thank you. I appreciate that. But we didn't create, we didn't create this for festivals per se.

We knew that we wanted to bring this directly to our audience. Festivals was, this would be nice to have, and we think we have a strong project that could, be featured in festivals. But also understanding that we do have to sacrifice premiere status, because that was a conversation we had, the team, when we were premiering.

We shot this in September slash October of 2024, so we knew we had already missed- so much of the festival season. The new one is coming up in the new year, but that means holding onto this now for another XYZ months. And so do we wanna do that? Because festival cycle could take about a year or so.

And so if you're waiting on that for, to premiere your episode, you could be waiting another year. And so, and we had already been waiting nine months on footage. 

So I'm like, "I don't wanna wait anymore." It's more important to get this to our audience, who's known that we've had this shot. And so we premiered it.

When we started touring it around festivals, and it didn't... I, there's some certain festivals that I was like, "We got... This a shoo-in." This is... I won't name them, but I'm, like- Right ... "We definitely should be able to get into this." And then we didn't, and I was gagged. And thank God I'm someone... and this is luckily from running a festival, that I understand, it's not only based on the quality of your project.

Yes. There are so many nuances into programming your film into a festival. And one of the biggest ones, if not the biggest, is the time duration of your film. 

Brandon Nick: Tea. 

Ronald Hinton: That, anything else, but i- if, they need a 13-minute thing to fill in the block, then they might use yours because it's 13 minutes, you know? And so there were so many components that helped me be like, "All right, I feel that this project is strong."

The reception that we've gotten from releasing it has been strong. So the film festivals is just a bonus for me. 

Brandon Nick: Yeah, thank you for that. And I know you spoke about this earlier, that crowdfunding was, had been such, a public and a pivotal point in making Natives happen. And so knowing that you had two, very public crowdfunding campaigns, where the first one, y'all had successfully met your goal. Y'all had even exceeded the goal. and then y'all had another campaign last year, 2025. What were you hopeful for this one, beyond hitting, that, the 50K goal? 

Ronald Hinton: For us... well, firstly in terms of crowdfunding, I would first recommend crowdfunding to anybody, honestly. I genuinely would because, for me, I think that crowdfunding builds an audience.

And that's one of the most useful things for crowdfunding for me, and so that's why we did it again. If it was just based on, the work and the, results, like it's a lot of work. Crowdfunding is like no joke, especially if you're doing it in a way that you are really looking to succeed.

Yeah, the first campaign was back in 2021. And the reason that we did that was because I was like, "Hey, we need money." I'm not sure of a way to get money at the time. I was greener at that time, and so I was applying to grants. I wasn't getting anything, but also I didn't wanna just sit and wait. It was like the waiting was making me anxious.

I was like, "Is this ever gonna happen?" I need to make sure I get this in some kind of way.

Like I looked into crowdfunding, and then I saw how people had, successfully raised money, and I, so I was like, "How hard could this be?" Like 20k-

Brandon Nick: Well-

Ronald Hinton: I, learned. And I was like, 20k, that sounds That should be easy. That should cover the whole season. Again, very green. I hadn't even created the budget for it, and I said, "20k, that's enough."

I just like to jump into things. That works in my favor sometimes. Sometimes it doesn't, but there's a lesson always learned from it. And so for me though, I was like, 20k is a decent amount of money, so I wanna ensure I'm gonna be successful.

So I looked into getting a crowdfunding campaign manager, and I paid- for that crowdfunding campaign manager out of pocket. It was like $1,200. But I said, "$1,200 up front," and then they get 5% of whatever you raise. But for me, if we're raising $20,000, that is worth it. And this crowdfunding campaign manager had a 98% success rate, so I was like, okay, I feel confident that they'll be able to help us.

And I will say, I learned so much by using them. We... Like I would say honestly without her, I don't feel like we would've succeeded.

This campaign in 2025, this wasn't... I would say in terms of our goal, this campaign was not a success. We did not hit our 50k financial goal. However, in terms of awareness, this campaign was so successful. And so regardless of whether or not we raised the money that we wanted, our goal of 50k, it's still, I'm so grateful for this crowdfunding campaign because it brought our series, it brought so much awareness to it, and it got it back into the top of people's heads.

We gained about 1,000 followers within one month of doing our campaign. And so it was just like, that's one of the hugest benefits beyond just financial. It's raising that awareness and building community.

Because once you're done with this campaign and you keep your community up to date, these- the first campaign, we had 198 people who contributed. That 198 people plus everyone else who has seen it, those are your initial audience now. And so those are the people that you got built in, locked in. You already know at least 190- 8- 98 people are tuning in whenever I premiere this or whatever I'm doing. And then ideally they got a friend. That's 380. And so it's thinking about, it in that way. Yeah. and so w- while we didn't hit this goal, I will say we did have a backup plan, which thank God we did, and again, would recommend people to have. So if you need some help, feel free to reach out to consult. 

Brandon Nick: It's giving baby Ronald is available to manage that campaign, baby. 

Ronald Hinton: Come on. and I wanna see you win, I want all of us to win. Dude. Because instead of waiting for people to give us things, we are creating it, and that also, to other folks, to any executives, that looks, that's such a good look on our behalf as well. And so, we luckily had a fiscal sponsor, and so all the people who pledged, which we raised about 21,000, in pledges this time around, we asked them to honor their pledges on that other donation portal. So while we didn't capture all of that, we were able to capture about, 75% of that 21,000 which is still 16,000 that we were able to make in 42 days. I think, like saying, calling it similar to a presidential campaign is fully accurate because you are campaigning for money, but also awareness.

And people, the thing that I love about Seed&Spark, which is the platform that we used, is you're time-bound. And so I always recommend if anybody is looking to crowdfund, they use a time-bound platform. Because I think that it gives you a sense of urgency, and it gives your audience a sense of urgency. Like, we have a finite time in order to raise this, and if we do not get any money. And that is a bigger stake than just we need to raise $15,000. 

Brandon Nick: And I think what is also, helpful just to note, 'cause you said pledges and, and it reminded me, that I do think sometimes the, non-filmmaker person or, the person who is not used to doing any sorts of crowdfunding, they'll see a Seed&Spark or a Kickstarter-- I feel like GoFundMe may be a bit different-- but you know, they'll see a crowdfunding campaign and be like, "Well, I don't have $100 to give right now. I don't even have $25 to give right now, so I'm not gonna donate." And they don't understand that it is actually a pledge. And I think a lot of folks miss that information of like, oh, we are trying to raise 15K, 20K, 50K, so give me, pledge what you can. But just know that, if you didn't get paid, if you're, if you see this on a Tuesday morning and you don't get paid until the following Friday, you can still pledge right now.

Right? Just make sure you have whatever you pledge by time that campaign ends. 

Ronald Hinton: That part. 

Brandon Nick: What did campaigning and crowdfunding teach you about vulnerability as an artist?

Ronald Hinton: Yeah, for sure. Crowdfunding, especially this last crowdfunding campaign, taught me so much. One of the things that I would have changed i- if I had the opportunity to do it again, is I would've lowered my crowdfunding campaign goal. I know exactly why we didn't hit our goal. and I think it is for multiple reasons.

One, the economy was completely different. We're living in a different time. but another thing is two one of the biggest things for crowdfunding is, making sure that you can know where a lot of this money is coming from, even before you press launch. And so I think that we hadn't built up enough bigger pledges beforehand to justify raising 50K. But because I was doing so much, for me, in my head, sometimes things become all or nothing, so it felt like 50K or nothing. When I could have changed it. It could have been 20k again, And we would've succeeded. Or hit our goal. But for me, I was like, "No, it gotta be 50K or nothing."

That's because I didn't have the time to really just sit down and be like, "Wait, you can really change things," or, " how do you think about this strategically?" Yeah. So it's, for me, I have to slow down. And that's what I'm working on this year. Because that would've given me just, a few moments to really reconsider what am I doing and what's the strategy behind this.

This wasn't a failure. I remember, actually, specifically you. You had sent me a text- that you're like, "Hey," "I know you didn't hit your goal. I just hope you're not taking it personally and knowing that this and this and this reason." And I really appreciated that. But I will be honest and be like, I, honestly, I wasn't taking this personal.

Brandon Nick: I- I love that ...

Ronald Hinton: I really appreciate that you sent that to me, though, because I feel like it was, like, you being there for me and comforting me. But also in, full transparency, I was like, "Yeah, I'm not taking this personally." I know, things are different. In no way at all points was I just "Oh, yeah, it's fine."

It did sting a little bit. it was a bummer, but I think at, by, the halfway to three-week point, I think I had assessed for myself what the, the shortcoming. And so for me, it's a preparation of "Okay, we may not... This is a reality that we may not hit this.

And if we don't-" Yeah ... "then what will we do?" 

Brandon Nick: I want to talk about Queer Voices. How did you and Brandon arrive at, a festival in New York City? 

Ronald Hinton: How we connected is I remember Brandon, the, I used... That was when I was on all of the Facebook groups. And so all the filmmaker Facebook groups. I had just done my first documentary, My Hair, My Rules.

And so, Brandon makes a call on a Facebook group like, "Hey, I'm looking for queer films. I'm doing this queer film screening called Queer Voices of New York City," which is showcasing filmmakers from all five boroughs of New York. And one, I'm from New York, so like I'm like, "Oh, shit, that's cool." so I went to it.

It was a beautiful experience. That was one of the first times where I was in a room just seeing queer films like back to back. And I was like, "Oh, I love this." And so I went up to him and I was like, "I love this. I feel so inspired. You should do this again." And he was like, "Oh, I would love to, but this was so much work and I'm not doing this." I don't plan to do this again."

And I understand now. And so I was like, "well, just let me know. I'm always down to like help." And so he, we had become friends and started to grab coffee and do things like that. I had gone through my 2021 crowdfunding campaign, and he was like, "Hey," a few months after that, "I wanna do the film festival again, but I wanna create it as a multi-day film festival. I saw that you did your crowdfunding campaign. I really love what you did there, and I would love for you to be my partner if you're interested in it." And I was like, "Oh, hell yes." 

Brandon Nick: Come on, transferable skills. 

Ronald Hinton: Exactly. But had I not put myself out there in that way, who knows if he would've asked me to join this with him?

And that's how we came to be. But Brandon had actually started this. And so when we talk about it, it's yes, this is our fourth year, but technically it's the fifth year that this kind of programming has been coming on. And while we are both co-founders, Brandon is the executive director of Queer Voices.

Like this started from his idea that I then came and added on too. And I, love that partnership, but I also just love Brandon in general. I think that he's, an amazing partner. I think- 

Brandon Nick: Brandon is the homie ...

Ronald Hinton: we work so well together, and we complement each other so well, and I think that is, that's really important. 

Brandon Nick: Y'all have been doing, beautiful work. As you were talking out I was just like, I love how... And this isn't meant to be negative at all, but I know it can sound negative, but I just, I love how, our desire, our selfish desire to be seen helps us create space for other folks to also be visible, right?

It's like you as a writer, I mean, you as an actor became a writer because, there's a gap in the type of roles that you were getting and the type of roles that you wanted to- the type of roles that you wanted to see and the type of portrayals that you wanted to see. Born is Natives where you can actually do a role that feels like in deep alignment, creating space for you to do the work.

To see that thread continue to be weaved to the point of now we are creating festivals, because we want to host space for queer cinema, and I al- and I, really love that.

How does being a filmmaker shape how you think about curation and process, and, community at Queer Voices?

Ronald Hinton: Oh my gosh, being a filmmaker is, it informs everything we do at Queer Voices. And for me especially, as the, person who really leads more of the film programming and curation aspect. We have to think about the filmmaker experience, I, because then if they have an amazing experience here, they're gonna come back to it. And then they're gonna tell somebody else about that.

Both of us, we wanted to start this because we are both filmmakers who didn't feel like we had been to festivals that we felt fully centered in. So this kind of brings it back to your question about, there's so many film festivals in New York City, yes, but there are not many queer film festivals that are also focused specifically on the Black and brown community.

And so that was the gap that we saw. And we were like, "Okay, this is gonna be solely focused on our community." And it's outright as well. It says it on our Film Freeway, people, and people don't read either, 'cause we've been getting submissions from... they have to answer a form, too, that says are you part of the queer, like queer community, LGBT community? Are you a filmmaker of color?

And then you gotta say it. And then the responses that we see sometimes, but at the end of the day, if they wanna give us their money, then that is on you . Thank you for that contribution to keeping us going.

Brandon Nick: Yes. Thank you for supporting BIPOC queer cinema. 

Ronald Hinton: Right, but we're not considering your film.

It's like working behind the scenes in a film festival has also helped me as a filmmaker understand, like, how to position my projects whenever I'm creating something in terms of time duration or what is the best way or most strategic way to position a film to be in a film festival.

Making a film in general is hard, no matter what it is. It is. It's a difficult feat and it's something to be acknowledged. 

Brandon Nick: Tea and I, love the, having been there, as an attendee, for all three years and having been in the festival last year, it is really nice to see, the spectrum of work that gets programmed.

I also really just love, and this is just a quick aside, I really love a community that comes out. And I do think that is born from what y'all was- what you were saying about, the need to really, have a space where we feel centered and focused on. An intentional space, right?

'Cause the truth of the matter is, from my vantage point, a lot of us, a lot of the folks who we make work for, even when our intention is to go into the festival circuit, right? A lot of the people who we want to see our work don't always come to festivals. A lot of them don't even really understand, the concept of a festival. It's just "Why am I spending X amount of money for a seven-minute piece or a four-minute piece or, to see all these other things that I don't wanna see," right?

But what makes Queer Voices so great is that, the work is oftentimes very reflective of the community, and it is oftentimes the community who is in there very deep, very vocal, very reactive. And I remember, the first two years, I and I think I had spoken to y'all about it before, I was just like, "The audience here is great.

I can't wait to have, a Brandon project in here to hear how they respond." And just, having gone to several festivals for Miss Honey: the Catsuit and for Home, literally when I think about, the, times when I've actually had, the audience be the most, palpable... 'Cause sometimes you're in spaces and, we-- and I experienced this the same thing in theater. You know, like, Donja being a playwright, we'll go to certain, art spaces and we are really just, observing the art like... and as the artist you don't, as the artist you like you don't know- what's giving folks the ooh-ah situation, the ooh-ah sensation. You don't know what is like really grabbing at people and what is pulling at people 'cause oftentimes the patrons, who are attending these festivals, don't always have the permission or don't give themselves the pr- the permission to, you to react.

Whereas that is not the case in Queer Voices. you will hear people be like, "Oh no she didn't," and "Bitch." And like you will get all the reactions.

In the year since Queer Voices has been born what's been, harder, what's been hard, what's been harder than expected in terms of running a festival? And what's been, more rewarding than you expected in terms of running a festival? 

Ronald Hinton: I can start with rewarding because I think that is what continues to drive me. Yeah. And it really is, to your point, the audience. I think coming out... The process of building a festival, especially at, with the small team that we have, and it is mostly voluntary, like that is volunteer-led, it is difficult.

And it can be a bit stressful, because we want to have the be- we want people to have the best experience. And so I, will never forget in our first year, we didn't really know what we were doing. We just know that we wanted to create a good time. And one of the filmmakers was like, "This was one of the best experiences that I've had. And I felt like this was the best place that I've screened my film."

And I, to me, I wanted to cry because I was like, well, this makes it all worth it. Because while we're here, Brandon and I, are, is this like getting professional enough? Is this... Are people enjoying themselves? we really wanted people to, feel like they belonged here and this was worth it. And the fact that she said that will always stay with me.

And I think one of, some of the challenges is really, as we grow, I think we've grown exponentially, more than we imagined, like when we originally started this. And so it's like keeping up. How do we constantly, make this better?

But also on the real-real, like how do we continue to keep doing this and pouring into it while we are still doing other things? And the money is not coming in yet, And so it's figuring out how do we get those sponsorships? How do we sustain ourselves personally? To be able to bring ourselves fully into this because it does get challenging as we have to find day jobs, as we create our own projects.

Brandon is working on his documentary right now. I'm about to get into production for my show. We're still creating the festival. And so it's like we have to balance all of these other things but also personal life for little to no money right now. But the pro and the audience and the community is what keeps us going because we know that we're gonna get there. And we know that once we do produce this, that the feeling is going to be Un- uncomparable. Yeah. and so that, I would say those are the, that's the, pros and con- those are the pros and cons, the highs and lows. 

Brandon Nick: And y'all have been getting, as somebody who's attended every year and will continue to attend every year, y'all have been getting better year by year.

Like I would, and, I'm not saying it just 'cause I was in the festival twice last year, right? But like last year was super duper solid and super duper strong, like the programming and the, the panel offerings were all so great. 

As someone who is both a filmmaker and a festival founder, what advice do you have to filmmakers who are submitting at festivals?

Ronald Hinton: The advice I would give filmmakers who are submitting to festivals are one, if you, don't be ashamed to ask for a fee waiver, I feel, if you need that. Because submitting to festivals can add up, and so if you're able to, again, it's about being shameless. The worst they can do is say no. With Queer Voices, I really appreciate that we try and be really accessible, and usually the highest you'll pay is, 30 to $40 to submit.

I would also suggest connecting with the programmers. If you're able to find the programming team and who is, on that side of it, connect with them. Invite them to coffee. One of the biggest tips is it really is about connections. I think this is the biggest tip for anything, honestly. It's about who you know and who knows you.

Brandon Nick: I mean, there's also, a lot of synergy, too, 'cause I'm- I'm thinking, I feel like Sundance loves to promote, like, how, Ryan Coogler and this other filmmaker and this other filmmaker started their career here, right? And it's just like that symbiosis. And- and I guess this is specifically speaking to what you were saying about building those relationships, and I guess, what we internally call festival darlings, where it's like, we love the work that you do and we want to help champion you.

So if you got something and it still feels in alignment, then yes, by all means. Because, your success is our success. 

Ronald Hinton: Correct. Yeah. That's what I was gonna say, too, because they're, we helping each other. You go out to make the next Oscar award-winning film, we still have a relationship.

And so that's one thing that we wanna do at Queer Voices, too, is pour into our filmmakers. Yeah. And I think because of limited capacity, we haven't done that to the extent that we've wanted to. I think we still aim to, but we're aiming to do that even more, which is to continue cultivating relationships with the people who have screened at our films because this, it's been about community. It started that way. Yeah. but also we wanna make sure that we are still being there for you, as you continue to grow. 

Brandon Nick: And now on the other side of this, what could programmers or festival directors do, better to hold more space for queer filmmakers? 

Ronald Hinton: For me, I think how programmers and festival directors can hold more space for community and for their filmmakers, really for me, some of the best film festivals that I've been in, and this is something I'm adamant about us- us doing, is creating community spaces within the film festival.

Because the thing that I don't like is just, film, film, film, film, film. You know, panel, panel, panel, panel. It's oh my gosh, that's a little bit overstimulating. Like, where's there, there should be, like, a break built in or, something. 

Brandon Nick: We're entering into year four now, right? Where do we see Queer Voices four years from now? What does that, In your mind's imagination, what does Queer Voices look like, year eight? 

Ronald Hinton: In year eight, Queer Voices is the premier film festival for queer and BIPOC audiences. We have expanded beyond just New York. We may be doing pop-ups in other locations.

Brandon and I really wanna go international, and so, assisting curating either other festivals, other spaces. But we really just wanna be where our community needs us, and, because if you are in a city or a small town that doesn't have this space, for it to come in there and you to just be like, "Oh, this is possible," is a game changer.

I want us to be able to give out grants to other queer and BIPOC filmmakers to be able to create work or finish work. That's something that we've been wanting to do. Educational components as well.

Brandon Nick: That'd be fab.

Yes QVU ... 

Ronald Hinton: Come on that I would really love to see us be at.

Brandon Nick: I'm look, I'm all here for Queer Voices University.

All right, so on the, train of imagination. This is a two-part question that I love to introduce to help close us out. This is a question of imagination. Black queer film is what? 

Ronald Hinton: Transcendent. 

Brandon Nick: Ooh, love that. Okay, now for the second part, I want you to close your eyes, and again, this is an exercise of imagination. You said Black queer film is transcendent.

Build a scene with your imagination where Black queer film is transcendent. What is your mind imagining in this moment? 

Ronald Hinton: I am imagining just, out in nature. I'm imagining, Black, beautiful, nude bodies. Not in a sexual way, but just, embracing and intertwining themselves. But kind of just, It's, it feels very, natural and connected and rooted. And, I see, plants growing, and I wanna think, the Garden of Eden, but with, just super Black and queer. That's what's coming to my mind. I feel like it smells fresh. I hear water, maybe a river. It feels, peaceful, and it feels, soft. And it feels pure. 

Brandon Nick: I love that. A little babbling brook in the background with some, beautiful Black queer bodies. Black and brown queer bodies of all shapes and sizes. Thank you for that.

It's time for a 60-Second Pitch, a creative sprint designed to exercise your imagination. Here's how it works: We've got four spin wheels, with lead and supporting actors, movie genres, and plot devices.

I'm gonna spin the wheels, and whatever fate hands us, that's your movie. You'll get 30 seconds to ideate, then 60 seconds to pitch your film idea out loud. Let's go.

So I'm gonna spin the wheels right now and see where we land.

And we are... Ooh, okay, this is mixxy We have Keke Palmer and Mike Epps in a romance about a cursed lacefront.

Ronald Hinton: Oh my God.

Brandon Nick: I'm screaming. All right, and your 60 seconds begins now. 

Ronald Hinton: Oh my gosh. Okay. So we start with Keke Palmer, who is, just your everyday girl. She is down and out on her luck. She feels like she has been so unlucky in love and just wondering, "Why can't I find my man?" And so her girlfriends are like, "Girl, I think you just need a spa day."

So she's "Okay, let me go get my hair done and get this." So she comes out, lace front is laid, and she's just feeling herself. So she runs into, on the street, a guy who's trying to sell her something. It's Mike Epps, and he's just "Baby, I got this for you. This is gonna help you feel lucky, in love."

And so she then gets this, bath from him. She takes it and she is now going on dates. These dates are horrific, and she is just a Freaky Friday situation. She's like "What is going on?" So she comes back to him, "I need my money back." And it turns out that he has been the right one.

Brandon Nick: Time

Ronald Hinton: one for her this whole time. He is ...

Brandon Nick: We are at time. Oh my gosh. It's nerve-wracking, isn't it? 

Ronald Hinton: It was nerve-wracking. And I'm like, "I don't even know if I got to the end. I don't even know if I got to the ending point," but that's what they, that's what happened. That's the film. 

Brandon Nick: I will say, 'cause I was nervous at the results, 'cause I'm like Mike Epps is moderately older than, Keke Palmer, but I love that you did make them the romance.

Ronald Hinton: Well, it did at the end. I said, that he-

Brandon Nick: Oh, you said they get, oh ... 

Ronald Hinton: He becomes the guy for her. I had to close it out.

Brandon Nick: But all right, thank you so much for this very insightful,

Ronald Hinton: Oh, y'all getting sweaty in here ...

Brandon Nick: colorful... Baby. I got windows open in here. Thank you again for joining me on Film Festival Friends.

This was a absolute pleasure. I cannot wait to see what this year's Queer Voices looks like. Maybe there's a world where I can involve myself in there somewhere. look, plant- Yes ... plant, look, plant nasty now as you say, "Closed mouths don't get fed." But yes, is there anything that you would like to say or leave us with before we, vanish?

Ronald Hinton: Yeah, sure thing. Just thank you all so much. Thank you, Brandon, so much for giving me this opportunity. For supporting us constantly, Queer Voices, Natives. You can follow Queer Voices @QueerVoicesNYC across all socials, except TikTok is QVNYC. Follow us at Natives @NativesTheSeries, and you can follow me personally @RonaldThomasHinton.

Yeah, hit me up for crowdfunding, hit me up just to connect. Hit me up for Queer Voices, whatever. Would love to help you in any way and support you. But yeah, just thank you so much for continuing to build community, be at the center of it. I really appreciate you. So we're really excited to see your films, and we hope that you'll be joining us this September.

Brandon Nick: Aw, and I'll hopefully have new film festival friends to interview at Queer Voices. Yes. all right. Well, thank you so much, friend. This has been fantastic.

 
 
 

Comments

Brandon R. Nicholas (he/they/sibling)

Filmmaker | Photographer | Podcaster

imdb.png
  • Patreon
  • Twitter
  • Instagram
  • LinkedIn
bottom of page