22 Dec Film Festivals and Podcasts and COVID, Oh My!

A Year in the Life of Promoting a Digital Series During a Pandemic

BY LAURA RIVAS AND RUKSHAN THENUWARA

Laura and I met in 2013 while cutting our teeth on producing commercials for a major studio. We instantly connected as third culture kids and navigating careers outside of what was expected for us. After a fateful conversation with her creative director in 2017, Laura approached me with the idea of putting our careers into overdrive. Wanting to pursue her lifelong dream of directing narratives, she took six months of her savings and asked me to join her in creating a series based loosely on our lives. As an up-and-coming writer, I took the chance to pack the series with as much heart, laughter, and awkward moments as I could. After a couple of quick rewrites, we settled on a story centering around a “queer Latina architect who meets a struggling Asian comic that’s just come out…as unemployed.”

We shot it across a month of cold winter weekends while holding down day jobs.  The production process was hectic, intense, but so satisfying. We were able to explore experiences centered around the immigrant experience and the cost of pursuing dreams in a hyper competitive city. The creative team we had quickly assembled shepherded the project from principal photography to final mixing and post-production. Our shoestring budget was pushed to its breaking point, but at the end of 2018, we had the series in the can. 

We had given so much of ourselves to the project that we had to take a hiatus to recover creatively. While attending an event at YouTube in early 2019, we had our proverbial chance meeting with a creative executive at Revry TV. We pitched our series while ordering drinks at the bar and the rest is history. We landed a licensing deal and a premiere date in late January of this year. Coming off the high, our producing team even mused on a second season with a bigger budget and richer storytelling.

Then COVID struck…and everything changed. 

Rukshan Thenuwara: Take us back a bit. How did this year start? How were you feeling about the series and yourself as a filmmaker? 

Laura Rivas: Life’s always full of rainbows and sunshine at the beginning of the year. Then quarantine hit with a lot of roadblocks, but I was thrilled with the reception we had at our premiere party in January. I was also pumped to see how we would do in our festival run. The thing is, even without a pandemic, independent filmmakers just have to keep pushing forward and reach for the sky. There were obviously a lot of lows but the holidays are coming up with things bubbling up for season two. 

RT: I remember our premiere party! We really managed to squeeze like 200 to 250 people into a space. Who knows when we’ll be able to do that again. The execs who gave us our deal were really excited for us. We’ll always have that night in Club TeeGee with its disco theme. 

LR: A total high note. It’s true, the life of a filmmaker is unpredictable. I really felt like I was a Latina Dorothy in the Wizard of Oz or something. Everything was upside down this year. 

RT: 10 points for the reference! 2020 was unexpected to say the least and now we’re in its last month. How’s it been treating you? What’s new in lockdown for the month of December?

LR: December has been very cheerful and I’m so happy that during all these months in quarantine we’ve been able to talk about Tiny Laughs across so many different platforms. This month has been packed full of some exciting meetings with producers that are interested in joining the team.

RT: The lovely folks at cinéSPEAK selected us to talk about our experiences with our festival run during a pandemic. What’s the first thing that comes to mind? 

LR: Well I certainly didn’t follow a yellow brick road, ya know?? OK I’ll stop the references. You know I have a pair of ruby red slippers at home right? 

RT: L-O-L yes I remember. 

LR: OK, so the first thing that comes to mind is gratitude. I’m thankful for new streaming technology and the internet. It’s been great that all these film festivals adapted to streaming shorts, and loyal filmgoers showing up to watching them online. Numbers matter. 

Did you learn any new skills along the way? 

RT: DCPs — Digital Cinema Packages, learning what they are and learning how to get them suitable for streaming after figuring them out for theaters was a journey in itself. I will say though, once they got a screener we were set for most festivals. That was cool. Don’t ask me about subtitles and closed captions though. That’s still something.

What was it like working with the cast and crew during this year? 

LR: The cast is amazing. Our leads in particular were excited to participate in Q&A panels at festivals and podcasts. Briza Covarrubias, who portrays our protagonist Valentina Rojas, and James Haley, who plays Jeff Chen, have been on it through post-production and our publicity tour. Even though this year has had many ups and downs for them as artists, they’ve been excited to let the world know about Jeff and Valentina’s journey. I’m looking forward to working with them on season two and diving deeper on their character’s obstacles and how they will overcome those challenges. 

RT: What was an unexpected compliment you received on the festival circuit? 

LR: During one of the virtual Q&As, I was asked about the title sequence. I first shot footage of streets and art deco buildings in downtown LA. I edited that with stock footage of a guy and girl talking to each other as reference to our protagonists since we hadn’t started production yet. I sent an email to our amazing Motions Graphics artist with references and a zoetrope with lots of color. These references were also visually foreshadowing the series protagonists journey. It was so much fun and I had a blast creating it. It was nice to have someone point it out. 

RT: What’s been your favorite reaction in festivals so far? 

LR: I love the way the Official Latino Film & Arts Festival streamed the series and simultaneously had live comments from film festival attendees on a side chat. It’s really great to see the reaction of the audience as they watch the series live. I even got Instagram DM’s telling me how much they enjoyed Tiny Laughs and looking forward to checking out the rest of episodes on Revry TV. 

RT: That kind of engagement is really special. I was humbled for sure. 

LR: What was one of the biggest obstacles for the series, in your opinion? 

RT: With the pandemic, not being able to attend the bigger film festivals such as Austin and the LA Film Fest in person was a bummer. There’s nothing that compares to the group experience of watching a piece of work that someone has put so much heart and soul into. I wanted to hear people laugh, gasp, and have an emotional ride with the audience. But que sera! 

LR: What’s been a silver lining for you during all this? 

RT:  Most definitely would have to be seeing the works of so many talented creators in a short amount of time. I’ve seen some beautiful films that I would have missed in a traditional festival run. Honestly, this might be the wave of the future. I feel like more and more film festivals will offer a streaming component and that’s really groundbreaking. 

The year seemed unpredictable already, but on May 25^th, the death of George Floyd forced the entire country to reconcile the issues of race and privilege in America. A festival run seemed irrelevant compared to determining which protests to attend and which funds we’d donate to. Long overdue conversations around justice, the law, and equality took center stage and a cultural reset took place. As we approached summer, another wave of unemployment hit and a large portion of my creative team lost their jobs; the year just wouldn’t let up.

RT: Describe what May 25th, 2020 was like for you?

LR: That day was just one of the worst days in American history. May 25th is just a horrible day to remember. I lost hope on what I thought America meant during all those times I pledged allegiance to the United States flag in elementary school, “to the republic, for which it stands, one nation under God, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all.” To me, it also signaled to the rest of the country that we will no longer be accepting this type of violence and we will stand up for a better future.

How about you? What was your reaction to George Floyd’s murder?

RT: I think it captured the power of video, not only for creative purposes, but for documenting and providing a real mirror to the world. It was such a shocking experience to see that cell phone footage all over the news. I can’t watch it for more than a few moments because it’s just heartbreaking. So many of our Black brothers and sisters experience something like that on a daily basis. We were in the middle of our festival run and I didn’t think about any of that stuff because it meant so little compared to what was happening across the nation. I did appreciate the industry really putting Black stories first, and championing Black voices to change the narrative we have in this country, and around the world. 

LR: Finally, I’d say. 

RT: I’d like to think there’s something really positive and powerful that came out of the events of this summer.

LR: It totally did. 

RT: So, let’s talk late summer. What was it like working with festival directors and programming directors during that time?  

LR: The Official Latino Fest had a great community of filmmakers and a month before the festival we had zoom meetings every Monday just to get to know each other and know more about each other’s projects. Even through quarantine they were supportive of us and great at connecting us with other filmmakers. 

What’s been your favorite moment of this festival run for you? 

RT: Mine’s on the quiet side. I remember working with our graphic designer and making sure we have that perfect pink sunset for our series poster. How it looked online and on different screens and resolutions. We had to make sure that the color specifications were correct so that beautiful LA sunset would hit the audience just right. At one point I remember sitting up at 5 a.m. when the final file was sent overnight and just being able to download it and attach it to an email. Hitting send felt like such a victory! It’s another example of working with people across the country and having technology really be your friend in this time.

Film festivals attract some pretty big stars, did you ever get starstruck at a festival? 

LR: Never! Just kidding, I get starstruck all the time. QueerX was huge for us. It’s touted as the queer SXSW, and after being a part of it this year I know why. JLo presented an award to her nibbling! As a Latina, I’ve been inspired by her since I was a kid. So cool.

RT: What’s been an unexpected opportunity that’s turned up this year? 

LR: Our series spotlight in Voyage LA magazine. As a native Angelino [it] was an immense honor to be interviewed about filming Tiny Laughs in Boyle Heights and Southeast LA where I grew up. Being featured in OZY as one of the queer comedies you must watch along with shows like Vida and Bonding was also incredible. 

RT: Then podcasts started calling…

LR: Mhm.

RT:  Our first podcast was Working Title with Keisean Raines. I remember being in your car and having to speak so passionately and honestly and vulnerably about the series. It was a really good measure of what we had set out to accomplish and what we had created. The experience changed both of us for the better. 

What was one of your most memorable podcast experiences?

LR: Oh Canada! This amazing podcast called The Firecracker Department hosted by the wonderfully talented Naomi Snieckus. I had the most insightful conversation with her. We totally connected on an artistic level!  

RT: Podcasts are a great way of reaching niche audiences. We talked to Social Primate and Lady’s Night and their listeners are loyal. You cannot fake the funk with them.  

What are you excited for regarding the series next year? Do you think we’ll have in-person festivals in two years?

LR: I’m thrilled to be attending the International Online Web Fest in jolly ol’ London. I wish I could be traveling there, but with Covid we can’t so I’m more than happy to jump on a Zoom and meet fellow filmmakers across the world. I’m really happy that our series’ story resonated with people across the globe. 

UNO reverse card – what about you?

RT: I’m optimistic about 2021. I feel like things will be way better than 2020 (I mean…how could they not?). I’d love to go on the road with the series, have our cast there too, so they can get audiences’ reactions live and in person. Plus trying new restaurants, I miss eating out. 

Well I think we covered a ton about our festival run during a pandemic. 

LR: We got deep! 

RT: Do you have any parting words for the audience? 

LR: I think that every artist and artistic community pivots when obstacles are placed in front of them. 

RT: “Necessity is the mother of invention” amirite? 

LR: Sure is. You gotta move, swerve, and swing around things in your path and make it work. The pandemic put obstacles EVERYWHERE but you find a way to make it work. Human beings and especially artists make it work through tough times and we come out the other side with way more knowledge than we had going in.

You got any more Wizard of Oz references to get out of your system? 

LR: There’s no place like home. LITERALLY. I know every inch of my house at this point. 

RT: I knew you had it in you. *SLOW CLAPS*

Tell us where we can watch the series and anything else you want people to know? 

LR: You can follow us on @wearetinylaughs and watch Tiny Laughs on Revry TV. Also hit me up if you ever want to talk about how shady Glinda the Good Witch was.

Watch Tiny Laughs here.

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Laura Rivas is a first generation quirky Mexican-American writer, director, and producer. If she could describe herself in three words, it would be “expect the unexpected.” Laura focuses on quirky female driven comedies that champions the voices of people of color. She has a double B.A. from Cal State Northridge in Cinema and Television Arts and French Studies. She enjoys swing dancing. In addition to an active lifestyle, she likes to support different Co-Ops in her hometown community of South East L.A.

Rukshan Thenuwara is a South Asian writer focused on authentic storytelling. He loves a great TV Drama with a Sci-Fi twist and is a total sucker for a good comedy. He was raised in the Valley with a love for learning new cultures. He is a true believer in the power of story to change the world. While not writing, he’s on the hunt for hidden food gems across the country. His latest project: Tiny Laughs is streaming now.