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How I turned 1,000 rejections into a full-time filmmaking career
Rejection almost ended my filmmaking career. I’ve pitched over 1,000 projects in my life and lost the vast majority of them. I’ve been ghosted, ignored, and told “no” more times than I can count. But every single rejection taught me something that eventually led to my biggest breaks in the industry.
In this episode, I share how I survived years of constant rejection, the mindset shift that turned “no” into fuel, why rejection isn’t personal but situational, how to refine your pitch so people can’t ignore you, and the exact strategies I used to land career-changing projects.
If you’re a filmmaker, creative, or entrepreneur dealing with rejection, this conversation will change the way you see every “no” you get. Watch if you’ve ever wondered how to keep going when nothing’s working, why people reject your ideas, or how to turn rejection into opportunity.
00:00 Introduction: Facing Rejection
00:20 The Reality of Rejection
00:37 My Filmmaking Journey
01:14 Early Career Struggles
02:10 The Relentless Pursuit
02:26 Questioning My Path
02:43 Understanding Treatments
03:29 Facing Ghosting and Burnout
04:31 Recalibrating After Rejection
06:32 Rejection is Situational
07:15 Film Festival Rejections
08:55 Pitching in Person
10:16 Rejection as Redirection
11:31 Processing Rejection
12:40 Detaching Identity from Outcome
13:29 Improving Your Pitch
14:44 Building Relationships
15:46 Protecting Your Joy
16:38 Finding a Community
18:14 Learning from Rejection
18:45 Final Thoughts on Rejection
Follow Arrad (podcast host)
LISTEN / SUBSCRIBE TO THE PODCAST:
SPOTIFY
APPLE MUSIC
YOUTUBE
CONNECT WITH US:
✩ Ourselves (production team):
✩ Instagram
✩ Twitter
✩ TikTok
View all episodes
By OurselvesRejection almost ended my filmmaking career. I’ve pitched over 1,000 projects in my life and lost the vast majority of them. I’ve been ghosted, ignored, and told “no” more times than I can count. But every single rejection taught me something that eventually led to my biggest breaks in the industry.
In this episode, I share how I survived years of constant rejection, the mindset shift that turned “no” into fuel, why rejection isn’t personal but situational, how to refine your pitch so people can’t ignore you, and the exact strategies I used to land career-changing projects.
If you’re a filmmaker, creative, or entrepreneur dealing with rejection, this conversation will change the way you see every “no” you get. Watch if you’ve ever wondered how to keep going when nothing’s working, why people reject your ideas, or how to turn rejection into opportunity.
00:00 Introduction: Facing Rejection
00:20 The Reality of Rejection
00:37 My Filmmaking Journey
01:14 Early Career Struggles
02:10 The Relentless Pursuit
02:26 Questioning My Path
02:43 Understanding Treatments
03:29 Facing Ghosting and Burnout
04:31 Recalibrating After Rejection
06:32 Rejection is Situational
07:15 Film Festival Rejections
08:55 Pitching in Person
10:16 Rejection as Redirection
11:31 Processing Rejection
12:40 Detaching Identity from Outcome
13:29 Improving Your Pitch
14:44 Building Relationships
15:46 Protecting Your Joy
16:38 Finding a Community
18:14 Learning from Rejection
18:45 Final Thoughts on Rejection
Follow Arrad (podcast host)
LISTEN / SUBSCRIBE TO THE PODCAST:
SPOTIFY
APPLE MUSIC
YOUTUBE
CONNECT WITH US:
✩ Ourselves (production team):
✩ Instagram
✩ Twitter
✩ TikTok