Today we’d like to introduce you to Daniel Sol.
So, before we jump into specific questions about the business, why don’t you give us some details about you and your story.
Theo Dumont and I are childhood friends who moved to LA together in 2000 to pursue opportunities in the film business. We both have a love for film and events, so we decided to try to join forces and create a film festival; thus HollyShorts was born in 2004. Our humble beginnings and our need to create and finance the event by ourselves, and being 24 years old when we started HollyShorts, we had to be aggressive.
This has created an environment of growth and a personal touch with our event which started as a two day festival in a 40 seat Space Theater in Hollywood to 15 years later, TCL Chinese six Theatres and a ten-day Academy qualifying festival screening 400 films from over 35 countries. It has been a family journey and labor of love between two friends who now have relationships with filmmakers from all over the world.
Has it been a smooth road?
It hasn’t always been a smooth road certainly not! But that is the beauty of the festival. The bumps in the road create character and has helped us learn the ins and outs of the industry and has helped us become better at what we do at HollyShorts. Over the last 15 years, we have had projection issue scenarios during our 2011 opening night with 1000 people in the audience! We thought it could all end there with our reputation on the line, but we got it fixed and had a great night. We have also had rival events come after us (we won’t get into details with that 🙂
Overall, the main issues are related to the quality of projection at various years and venues (presentation is critical to this business, and we pride ourselves on the quality of the image on screen for our filmmakers) and the attempt of some who are enviously trying to bad mouth what we do and bring us down. With a festival, word of mouth and reputation are critical, and we are proud of our stellar reputation as we have worked hard to create welcoming warm family fun and strong industry environment with our festival.
It is, after all, our name on this festival, we are accountable, and people know who we are and where to find us. Last, our second year we couldn’t afford the venue fees at CineSpace and had to use a family members Amex to pay the bill and keep things going! Very lucky to survive these things and continue to grow and keep the lights on!
So, as you know, we’re impressed with HollyShorts Film Festival – tell our readers more, for example, what you’re most proud of as a company and what sets you apart from others.
HollyShorts is an annual film festival showcasing the best and brightest short films from all over the world. I am the co-founder and festival programmer and director. I am in charge of organizing the festival schedule and programs, so its safe to say I watch thousands and thousands of short films.
We are known for showcasing great quality in our programming which includes alumni such as Terance Nance, Issa Rae, Chadwick Boseman, Russo Brothers, David Dastmalchian, Josh Brolin, as well as numerous Oscar winners and nominees.
What we are most proud of is the fact that we have grown to this degree and have done this by ourselves, independently run festival and Theo and I, along with Nicole Castro, have kept the core festival values intact.
With that, we are now Academy qualifying in three award categories which helps set us apart, and now we can say we are the biggest short film festival in California and even the world.
Let’s touch on your thoughts about our city – what do you like the most and least?
I love the energy of Hollywood, it helps create our atmosphere as a fun festival where people can party and enjoy themselves. Also, love the industry proximity which helps us tap great resources with ease.
What I love least, the traffic… who likes traffic? And in Hollywood it’s awful! Hurts us with people attending late and missing shows etc.
Pricing:
- Submission fees $40-$80 (depending on deadline early bird at the moment at $40)
- Tickets to attend our screening blocks $20
Contact Info:
- Address: 14622 Ventura Blvd Suite 102 #722 Sherman Oaks Ca 91403
- Website: www.hollyshorts.com
- Phone: 8187609897
- Email: staff@hollyshorts.com
- Instagram: instagram.com/hollyshorts
- Facebook: facebook.com/hollyshorts
- Twitter: twitter.com/hollyshorts
- Other: www.filmfreeway.com/hollyshortsfilmfestival
Image Credit:
Oscar Torres and Jeff Smith
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