No, I didn’t win Best Picture at the Oscars. I didn’t even win first place in anything. But when you make a film—a teeny tiny little amateur independent poetry film—and you ship it off to a dozen festivals, you really don’t expect anyone to say Yes.

But this past winter, WRPN Womens International Film Festival said Yes. WRPN WWIFF is an IMDB-qualifying sister festival to the Depth of Field International Film Festival, a FilmFreeway “Top 100 Reviewed” festival alumni.

And then, on Wednesday May 15, WRPN WIFF sent me laurels.

Laurels are those badges filmmakers get to add to their marketing and intros and outros for their films to indicate they won something in a film festival.

In my case, I earned a Bronze Award for my film, “Look Up.” It may as well have been an Oscar.

How it feels

Don’t let anybody tell you that external validation doesn’t matter.

I’m already thinking about making my next film, and that doesn’t happen without a sense of confidence, self belief, and encouragement gifted to you by a tiny little award from people you don’t know and only know you through a five-minute cinematic creation.

In short, I feel seen.

Film summary

The poem-in-film (5min, 39sec) recounts the story of a young woman in Seattle who struggles with the malaise and fatigue of multiple sclerosis until she finally makes herself go outside. The theme is forest bathing (‘shinrin-yoku‘) as a healing practice.

Film credits

The film, my first production under the MCR Films label, features music from Old Waveplay, Andy Bell, and Paul Werner and sound effects from Epidemic Sound. The live footage I recorded for the film was shot in and around Seattle’s Capitol Hill neighborhood in October 2023: near Seattle Central Community College, adjacent to Cal Anderson Park, and in the courtyard of Chophouse Row.

Other acknowledgments

The film’s title is inspired by Seattle poet Scott Ferry‘s regular photo meme series, “Look Up, Look Down.” I am also grateful to Alan Ren and Yeoryia Anastasiou for their feedback in post-production.