We were lucky to catch up with Carlos Smith II recently and have shared our conversation below.
Alright, Carlos thanks for taking the time to share your stories and insights with us today. Before we get into specifics, let’s talk about success more generally. What do you think it takes to be successful?
I believe it takes a lot of dedication, sacrifices & being consistent to be successful. I have been at my film journey since 2006 and one of the things I’ve always took chances for is to reinvent myself as a filmmaker after each completed project. I went from doing silly videos with friends in high school to producing movie projects that have been selected at various film festivals, been featured on the news, media outlets and more, alongside having placements on streaming platforms.
To continue to stay successful at your craft, you have to be willing to learn every day and staying humble. The hunger you had at the beginning of your career must stay at a high level. There is always someone out there with more experiences than you, so be mindful of that as well. You have to be willing to accept constructive criticism/feedback as well as it is only a tool to help you improve your skillset.
Great, appreciate you sharing that with us. Before we ask you to share more of your insights, can you take a moment to introduce yourself and how you got to where you are today to our readers.
I’m a filmmaker out of Jacksonville, FL. Although I’ve always had dreams of producing movie projects, it wasn’t until my 18th birthday (2006) for when I officially started the journey of being behind the camera. All of the basics of me using cameras and editing programs were self taught.
I started off by recording and editing simple videos of myself and friends being in high school. It was more of an experimental documentary style film. Although the quality was very low at the time, being very similar to the cameras on phones in the early 2000s, I still enjoyed the process of making videos.
I didn’t take it seriously until 2008, 2009 where I step into making skits and short film projects. That was how I was able to learn the techniques of making films. 2012 -2013 arrives, I finally took a major step on getting ready to produce my first feature film “Homeboys”. This feature film was largely experimental as well as it was another opportunity to hone my craft. It was also my first time premiering a project in a local movie theater to a sold out audience. I ended up creating a sequel for that film the following year, “Homeboys: Meet the Crew”.
I shortly went into a hiatus due to personal issues. 2016 was the year I finally got out of the hiatus to film what would then become my most successful youtube project to date “21st Friday”, which was a parody project based on the classic urban movie “Friday” which garnered over 1.3 million views organically on Youtube.
The following year, my well known film series “SoulHood Saga” was born. My first feature film in 3 years at the time as well as my first to premiere at an AMC theater, selling out twice before the premiere date. The support was so great, that myself and the cast ended up turning it into a “film saga”, which totaled up to 6 installments, which are now currently streaming on various platforms such as Tubi & Amazon Prime. That film series was selected on various film festivals, featured on news outlets and many more.
My upcoming movie “The Future Soul” will be my first SciFi/Drama film project which will become my biggest movie yet. I am currently running a crowdfunding campaign to raise enough funds to produce the movie at full capacity. The goal with this film is to be featured on bigger film festivals such as Sundance, Tribeca, ABFF and many more!
Is there mission driving your creative journey?
My mission is to keep following the visions God blessed me with. Also to one day create a movie studio for myself and other filmmakers can use to produce their own movies without having to spend extra money and resources to do productions out of town. Last but not least, is to continue giving deserving people opportunities to jump start their career or add on to their already established film careers!
Can you share a story from your journey that illustrates your resilience?
I went through a break up, lost my job AND lost my sister in 2020 and lost a brother in 2023. Both of those situations broke me to the point of “running from it”. While I kept pushing through to create my movie projects, I avoided talking about them for a while. I finally took it upon myself to express my emotions for my upcoming movie project “The Future Soul” to finally give myself peace. I keep pushing because I want to motivate and inspire others to let them know they’re not alone when it comes to dealing with trials! We all can push through and continue to be great!
Contact Info:
- Instagram: @cas2films
- Facebook: www.facebook.com/los2k6
- Twitter: @cas2films
- Youtube: www.youtube.com/los2k6
- Other: “The Future Soul” Crowdfunding Campaign https://igg.me/at/thefuturesoul/x/35787551#/