We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Spade Robinson a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.

Hi Spade , thanks for joining us today. Learning the craft is often a unique journey from every creative – we’d love to hear about your journey and if knowing what you know now, you would have done anything differently to speed up the learning process.

I learned how to do what I do by investing in my business education, around film. Being a creative, it’s easy to be seduced into not paying attention to it. When I was in film school, I was constantly told by professors to understand it, but I didn’t think I needed it, and never took their advice. Until, I needed to make my own film, and prepare my students and clients for the business side of their work- because creative choices should represent your business/career goals. The two really can’t be divided. To speed up my learning process, I could have definitely humbled myself and taken good advice. The discipline to understand, to know as much as possible is certainly the skill that is most essential to me now. I was my own obstacle that stood in the way.

As always, we appreciate you sharing your insights and we’ve got a few more questions for you, but before we get to all of that can you take a minute to introduce yourself and give our readers some of your back background and context?

I started out as an actor. I always wanted to act, and thought it would be the route I went. After graduating as a theater major, I couldn’t find work or roles, so I went to film school. That really was the beginning, because the network I gained there was my entry into working in the film industry. My first internship with a production company came from walking up to an executive after a panel on campus at USC. My first industry job at Sundance came from one of my classmates suggesting me for it, and thus everything started. But I wanted to make films, and wasn’t ever going to be happy only supporting artists. Now I get to do both as a writer/director and story consultant with Atlanta Film Project, along with teaching at universities. The thing I’m most proud of is being able to consult on both the studio and filmmaker side. Having clients that are studios and networks, as well as independent screenwriters and filmmakers, helps me to best prepare my clients for what studios and networks are looking for. And I have the opportunity to take what writers and filmmakers are doing now, into those same environments. The main thing I want screenwriters and filmmakers to know, especially about working with me, is to really, really invest in your emotional and mental life. Not only because this marathon takes stamina in both areas- but because your best work comes out of the ability to access your inner world.

In my own practice, I’m still writing and filmmaking. There’s been quite a few things I learned in order to best position myself in the film marketplace, but there is still so much that’s out of my control. Making peace with this has been my saving grace. It also brings me great fulfillment to teach and coach screenwriters. Both Belmont University and the University of Arkansas give me access to young minds to share both the best of what I’ve learned and what I wish I would have learned. My heart though, is working with my students and clients through Atlanta Film Project. There’s a messiness to the world after school and getting people to the most compelling version of their screenplays in the midst of our busy lives is so important. To know me and work with me is to know I’m community driven. We’re all in this together, economically, socially and professionally. All of my courses are built on my students building community with each other, and me being a peer as well as an instructor. Coming from a theater background, a production really does feel and become family. I want to bring this to film, because that’s how we thrive.

How can we best help foster a strong, supportive environment for artists and creatives?

I view this as two-prong. As a curator, some of the most beautiful and impactful work I’ve seen comes out of countries and communities that have prioritized filmmaking financially. So this is a top-down thing, this is our local and federal governments taking this art form seriously as an essential part of culture making and preservation. This comes down to us in regards to how we elect the people in these positions.

The other prong is us as artists being community members as well as benefitting from community. We have the answers to our problems, we have the knowledge that we’re missing and the experience that is needed.

For you, what’s the most rewarding aspect of being a creative?

For me, the most rewarding aspect of being an artist is the ability to connect with other people through stories. When I was in film school, I made a documentary about black fatherhood- and the conversations I was able to have with people after screening that film was so enriching. Storytelling reminds us how universal some of our experiences are, and that feeling of having belonging with the rest of the world… wild.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.atlantafilmproject.com/
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/atlantafilmproject/
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/spade-robinson-5588a231/
• Other: https://www.tiktok.com/@atlantafilmproject?lang=en