Emily Best discusses how leading Seed&Spark empowered her to create the film Mr. Jesus.

      Emily Best is a filmmaker and the founder of the indie film crowdfunding platform Seed&Spark. In the following piece, she reflects on how her crowdfunding experience contributed to her latest project, Mr Jesus, which you can support through Seed&Spark.

      When I produced my first film in 2011, I – like many other filmmakers – thought that if we created something truly special and perfect, we would be chosen for a festival, secure a distribution deal, and launch ourselves into the entertainment industry.

      That didn’t occur.

      Firstly, I found that creating an exceptional movie was far more challenging than I had anticipated, particularly with a limited budget. Our ambitions exceeded our fundraising capabilities; we tried to pursue a much more complex script than we could realistically afford (so much of it was written during Golden Hour).

      Secondly, our film focused on women’s friendships, which was not trendy in 2011. Every sales agent and distributor provided me with well-meaning advice on how to make the film appealing to men. My favorite suggestion was, “Maybe just add some lesbian erotica.” He didn’t mean erotica for lesbians, by the way.

      So, we turned to this emerging concept called “crowdfunding” — but rather than using the new platforms, we created a wedding registry listing everything we needed, from camera rentals to bug spray. We asked our community for financial support through cash, loans, and gifts. Instead of raising the $20,000 we needed, we brought in $23,000 in cash and hundreds of thousands in loans, locations, goods, and services. We didn’t produce a flawless movie, but we cultivated a dedicated fan base that continues to support us, opening up numerous opportunities in our careers. This led to the creation of Seed&Spark.

      Over the past 13 years, managing Seed&Spark has changed my approach to filmmaking. I’m eager to share what I’ve learned and how it has influenced my new project, Mr Jesus, a short film about a struggling actor who wakes up to find his image has been appropriated to create a GenAI Jesus — and now everyone believes he’s the Second Coming.

      Discuss Your Film

      When the idea for Mr Jesus emerged, I shared it with my husband, actor Brennan Kelleher. He was excited about it, and we developed the story together over breakfast, with me typing a first draft in just 30 minutes. Once we had something on paper, we began sharing it. When people asked, “What’s new?” or “How are you coping with the technofascist apocalypse?” we told them about Mr Jesus. This has three key effects:

      It makes it tangible. I spend a significant amount of my professional life being seen as a tech executive (ugh), which serves as a reminder that I am an artist! This lifts my spirits and in turn...

      It generates momentum. Admitting you’re working on a project generates energy to propel it forward. Social pressure can be beneficial!

      You receive immediate audience feedback. Does this resonate? What are their responses? What questions arise? This is incredible creative fuel. Many conversations and casual remarks found their way into the final script (with permission, of course! What am I, AI?).

      Create the Best Film Possible

      To match the audience enthusiasm generated from discussing the film, we must create the best possible version. I reached out to my network of creators for script feedback. Jack Newell, Jennifer Reeder, and Stephanie Sanditz are just a few of the talented writers who provided their insights. The script has become much tighter, stranger, and funnier as a result.

      Once we assembled the creative team, we held a reading with Virginia Newcomb, Yann DeMoerloose, Jude LaFuse, and Brenna Noyes, each offering fantastic feedback that enriched the character dynamics and motivations. This took the project to the next tier.

      Resource Constraints as Creative Fuel

      Virginia Newcomb in the Mr Jesus promotional video. – Credit: Courtesy of the filmmakers

      The industry has slowed down. Brennan, myself, and the entire Mr Jesus team are more focused on building our own future rather than waiting. We aimed to shoot this film this year. Thus, we wrote something that could be filmed in our home, connected with extraordinary creators from the Atlanta community, and reached out to individuals where I had established goodwill to gather what we needed through loans and in-kind support.

      We arranged for the Black Tesla for the character of the evil Reverend Muskee (thanks to a neighbor) and secured our camera package from the wonderful folks at ARRI Rental. We even reinvented scenes to minimize location changes and expenses — those creative limitations made the script even better.

      Audience-First Mentality

      If this film doesn’t provoke laughter, thought, and perhaps even debates over the ending, then there’s no point in making it. Films — especially short ones — need to have a WHY. If you can’t articulate why this film must be made by this group at