It’s been three years to the day since I started this blog and it’s been a wild ride. In my time as a writer I have been published by four major publications including two different websites! After taking a break for a couple of months earlier this year, I am back in the saddle and getting fired up about my writing in some really exciting ways.

Thanks to some good friends, great connections, a more refined writing style, and some relentless ambition I have successfully been able to write/direct/produce/host a 16 episode movie review webseries, host on two podcasts, guest host on The Goodtrash Genrecast, and successfully join a newly established movie review website out of OKC. This last year has been huge and there are even bigger things on the horizon starting as early as today.

A few of my readers probably know that I recently moved to Phoenix to pursue some other career opportunities as well as a Masters degree at ASU(hopefully) in the fall. I’ve been a little shy on reviews due to my lack of free early screenings(which shouldn’t be a problem much longer), but I’ve stayed persistent and am hoping to get plugged in to the film community through a film festival this weekend.

Call it luck, fate, or something else that the opportunity of the Phoenix Film Festival came up in the wake of my third anniversary. It’s an opportunity that seems perfectly fitting for my third year milestone and evidence that I’ve got some great friends, connections, and a God that isn’t shy about unveiling opportunities.This is my first time covering a festival and I’m very excited to get the inside look some of the biggest hits coming through the  festival circuit like Boyhood, God’s Pocket, and Dom Hemingway. In many ways this is my next step into a much larger world(yes…I’m channeling Obi-Wan in that statement) and I’m excited for what it might mean for my future as a writer and entertainment journalist. I started writing as a hobby and I hope that given my experience with video production, podcasting, and interviewing that I will be able to make this into something far more than just a hobby.

We love to tell stories and movies are probably the most popular way we tell stories in the 21st century and I believe that critics are becoming more important than ever even in an era where “everyone’s a critic”. My role is no longer just to say “what’s good/ what’s bad?” but is to ask the right questions and create a conversation. There is very rarely a movie that is purely surface level(even Michael Bay movies have interesting thematic and philosophical material). My job is to ask people to look a little closer at what they are consuming…because ultimately the most important thing of any movie isn’t just it’s entertainment value, but really its artistic value and message that it is sending on a conscious and subconscious level. My job is to ask people not just what they are watching, but how they are watching and thinking(or not thinking) about it. I’ve only been pursuing this for a few years, but my level of understanding and love for criticism, theory, and review has grown exponentially.

The Phoenix Film Festival is a huge milestone and I hope you all check out my coverage either here or at the publication I’m writing for at http://renegadecinema.com/category/movies/festival-reviews

Lastly, I want to thank all of my friends, colleagues, and mentors who have pushed me in how I think, write, and converse about these types of things over the last few years. If we’ve had a long and intimate discussion about a movie then it means that you are among my most valued friends…and I haven’t forgotten any of those conversations Some of you saw this passion in me even before I knew what it was. The encouragement I have received has often pushed me outside of my comfort zone and blessed me inexplicably as a person and a writer. I also want to give a huge shout out to my editor over at Renegade Cinema Shawn Lealos for bringing me into his website after I split ways with Moore Monthly/The Moore Daily.com. Renegade Cinema has been an excellent opportunity and a fun publication to write for so far and I can’t wait to see what the future brings.

Make sure to follow all of my coverage for the Phoenix Film Festival here or at renegadecinema.com !