The Commodification of Opportunity and Community
July 2025
July 2025
This summer I organized and filmed a project titled “RO SHAM BO!”. Shortly after its final phases of editing, it was submitted to numerous film festivals and screenings around the world. Most of these submission entries required a fee. During pre-production, I was set on screening it independently in an effort to scratch an achievement off of my “filmmaker dreams” list and to generate funds for childcare facilities impacted by the tornado this past May (Gateway Early Childhood Alliance Fund). From the inception of the idea, I knew this event would be completely free for the filmmakers who would like to present their work and the attendees.
Following this model for the event made the most sense for me and aligned with my moral and political values. As a community organizer, a collaborative artist, a newborn revolutionary, why wouldn’t I make this public-facing event free? Art and art-based experiences that require engagement from the public in order to exist in the public sphere should be accessible to all—accessible means free! Anything and everything that costs money is not for the general public; things that cost money are for the consumption of those with money. Therefore, to be truly accessible, the entire event was free for everyone. The U.S. dollar operates as a barrier before it operates as a tool.
In the midst of organizing my own film screening, I found, online, a presumably new local film festival, Stonegate West Film Festival, which was advertised as being, “... a place where the walls of entry are down, and everyone is welcome.” With me already feverishly paying to send my work into various festivals, I felt grateful to find a free opportunity. The quote about “..the walls of entry being down..” sounds like free, right? Well… nah…I guess not. At the bottom of the submission form, I discovered there was a fifty dollar fee for me to submit my film. Now, again, it’s not unusual for an application, submission, or entry to be preceded by a fee. But, however, it is both unusual and misleading to advertise an opportunity as accessible and inclusive when it plainly is not. These kinds of opportunities are not inclusive, they are exclusive to people with money to spend. Without the resources (money) your work will not be showcased.
So, unfortunately, I paid the fee. Although I could afford this opportunity, something about this affair did not settle with me internally. Nevertheless, during the following week or so I ignored the moral and mental dissonance I was experiencing and went about my business. Eventually, I received an email from the team who organized the event and within this email I discovered not only did this “...place where the walls of entry are down, and everyone is welcome” charge for artists to be showcased—we, the artists (and audience), are also required to pay in order to attend the festival! So, now, here I am angry and writing this essay because —- no. Absolutely not; we not going.
There are two points being made here:
1. The commodification of opportunities is harmful to applicants and aids the capitalistic structure in which those with resources—money—will advance (socially, economically, and politically) while those without likely will not (at least not as easily).
1. The commodification of opportunities is harmful to applicants and aids the capitalistic structure in which those with resources—money—will advance (socially, economically, and politically) while those without likely will not (at least not as easily).
2. Moving forward, independent experiences and works I create for the public that generate resources, or money, will not be hoarded by me but dispersed appropriately back into the lives of the public who support me and require support. My leading example is the most recent film festival I organized. The general admission tickets were free and attendees were given the option to make a donation toward supporting childcare facilities recover post-May disaster. $256.31 was raised by 22 people out of the 199 that rsvp’d. The website we use to organize attendance, Eventbrite, took $29.31 in fees. The remaining $227 will be allocated toward the Gateway Early Childhood Alliance Fund. This is not a charity model. This is literal wealth redistribution.
One must consider what the organizers of the Stonegate West Film Festival could’ve been thinking while choosing the line, “... a place where the walls of entry are down, and everyone is welcome.” Obviously, they wanted to cast a broad net. Language such as this is somewhat of a lure for filmmakers similar to myself and will inevitably garner immense attention. What you’ll discover though, once you take the bait, is a paywall. And this paywall is the only barrier standing between you and the “big screen”. So, with this being said, are they curating a credible and engaging showcase or preying on artists who are in search of opportunities to further their careers?
Before closing I must remind you that art-based experiences that require engagement from the public in order to exist in the public sphere should be accessible to everyone and, again, accessible means free!