We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful Steve Parnell. We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with Steve below.

Steve, looking forward to hearing all of your stories today. Can you talk to us about a project that’s meant a lot to you?

In March of this year we held the first DARE TO FAIL! Short Film Showcase, a monthly micro film festival. I started DTF! with the goal of providing an inclusive space for artists to create that is accessible, approachable, and focuses on community rather than competition. DARE TO FAIL! was inspired by local film events like Nashville’s “Salute Your Shorts” from Jason Gigax and Atlanta’s “Kick the Ladder” run by Isaac Deitz.

I choose a theme for each showcase and have designed it to be a creative exercise rather than a platform for your magnum opus. It doesn’t matter your experience, skill, or resources; DTF!’s short format and simple submission process invites people of all filmmaking levels to the same stage. It doesn’t matter if you have $100k worth of equipment or just the phone in your pocket, you can be DTF! After we Screen the films we invite the filmmakers up for a brief 2-3 minute chat to give the artist their moment.
There are 3 steps to getting your film in the showcase,

1. Make a one minute film based on the showcase theme!
2. Submit your film by the deadline!
3. Show up to be screened!

We had 6 films our first showcase with most of those being from my immediate friend group. Over the past few months we have grown with our most recent showcase in October having over 22 films submitted.
DARE TO FAIL! is the last Wednesday of the month at Vinyl Tap in Nashville, produced by JR Robles and myself.

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

“You always said you wanted to be an actor” remembers my childhood best friend Kent Hoadley when speaking about what we wanted to do as children. As a shy kid, I remember my mother’s friend laughing when I told her from behind my moms leg that I wanted to be an actor when I grew up. Skateboarding helped me open up to the world and making a local skate tape helped me get into filmmaking.

During college I started booking commercials and film work with my first professional job being a Krystal Commercial. After receiving my bachelors degree in Theatre from MTSU, I became a Kennedy Center award winning playwright for my one act play “Randy’s RV and Fireworks”. Since then, I’ve had the pleasure of being cast in several TV Shows such as TURN: Washington Spies, Nashville, and Trailer Park Boys and worked on productions from ABC, CBS, CMT, AMC, and Netflix. Recently my short film “One @ a Time” was accepted into Nashville Film Festival and I am also looking forward to an upcoming film I worked on with Orlando Bloom.

Even with the professional success I had, I found there was something missing. I needed an outlet for creative expression that wasn’t stifled by the weight of the industry. This is another reason I created DARE TO FAIL! To give not only myself that outlet, but to share that space with my fellow artists in my community. I knew if I needed that space, then someone else out there did too. I missed making art with my friends, DTF! gives me a reason to make time for not only creative expression. but collaboration as well.

What do you think is the goal or mission that drives your creative journey?

Happiness.

Expressing myself through creativity helps me process the world around me. It helps me relate and communicate to other people. I chose this journey knowing the life of an artist is not easy. Through the loneliness, criticism, pain, and uncertainty you have to find a way forward. For me, my art is the way forward. Making art, makes me happy.

What do you find most rewarding about being a creative?

Producing and Hosting DARE TO FAIL! has proved to be one of my most rewarding creative projects. Getting to know my community with more depth as well as opening myself up to them has fostered a space for vulnerability with which creativity thrives. Hosting first time filmmakers on the same stage as people who have worked in the industry for decades allows everyone to come to the table as equals. We all have a story worth telling and I’d like to thank all of my filmmakers for sharing there’s with us each month.

Contact Info:

• Instagram: @yosteviesteve @dare_to_fail_film
• Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@daretofail

Image Credits
Josh Inocalla, Steve Parnell, Kayla Leigh, Justin Hopkins, Tanner Grandstaff