The festival life
Junior Diem Dang gains a professional opportunity be attending the Beyond Wonderland music festival.
The Semester in L.A. program has been the greatest opportunity of my lifetime so far. I have learned so much about what it takes to make a film, as well as how to develop a film from both a business and creative perspective.
I even learned how to network, which is something I have been terrible at doing for many years. If I had not decided to participate in this program, I know I would still be trying to figure out how to self-finance a film and network on my own — and fail at it spectacularly.
I’ve also loved the many new experiences L.A. has afforded me. Before this semester, I had never done karaoke. I wouldn’t dream of getting in front of a crowd of strangers to do a terrible rendition of a popular song. But I did it — and somehow, I was not booed off stage. Another thing I had never done, before joining the program, was write feature-length scripts to send to film production companies to try to pitch them. It is something that I am now trying, because I love to tell stories, and I have a lot to tell.
Before coming out to L.A., I had never left the Midwest before. It was so awesome getting to travel across the country with my mom and see land formations that were something other than a cornfield. We both loved getting to see mountain ranges and the Buffalo Bill Ranch, and just getting to take a cross country road trip. It was so much fun. I can’t wait to take Route 66 back to Chicago with my dad when the program is finished.
Finally, this program has helped me cement the idea that filmmaking is what I want to do for the rest of my life. Not only do I want to make films that can impact people on a grand scale, but I also want to create films that can provide people with a sense of escape and inspire them to do great things.