How I turned 1,000 rejections into a full-time filmmaking career
Aug 12, 2025
Rejection can feel like a dead end, but it’s often a detour to success. The host shares their journey of pitching over 1,000 projects, revealing how each 'no' transformed into a lesson learned. They emphasize that rejection isn’t personal but situational, offering practical tips on refining pitches and building relationships. The discussion also highlights the importance of detaching your identity from outcomes and protecting your creative joy. Tune in for insights on turning setbacks into opportunities and the relentless pursuit of passion.
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question_answer ANECDOTE
Relentless Early Pitching
Arrad pitched over a thousand projects and landed only a tiny fraction of them.
He spent hundreds of hours making long treatments that were mostly rejected early in his career.
question_answer ANECDOTE
Ghosted After Long Pitches
Arrad often received no response after weeks of work and then saw the project released with someone else.
Ghosting and being ignored were common, especially in music video work.
insights INSIGHT
Rejection Is Situational
Rejection felt personal but was usually about timing and fit, not talent.
Even established creatives still face rejection and must re-earn trust on each project.
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Rejection almost ended my filmmaking career. I’ve pitched over 1,000 projects in my life and lost the vast majority of them. I’ve been ghosted, ignored, and told “no” more times than I can count. But every single rejection taught me something that eventually led to my biggest breaks in the industry.
In this episode, I share how I survived years of constant rejection, the mindset shift that turned “no” into fuel, why rejection isn’t personal but situational, how to refine your pitch so people can’t ignore you, and the exact strategies I used to land career-changing projects.
If you’re a filmmaker, creative, or entrepreneur dealing with rejection, this conversation will change the way you see every “no” you get. Watch if you’ve ever wondered how to keep going when nothing’s working, why people reject your ideas, or how to turn rejection into opportunity.
00:00 Introduction: Facing Rejection
00:20 The Reality of Rejection
00:37 My Filmmaking Journey
01:14 Early Career Struggles
02:10 The Relentless Pursuit
02:26 Questioning My Path
02:43 Understanding Treatments
03:29 Facing Ghosting and Burnout
04:31 Recalibrating After Rejection
06:32 Rejection is Situational
07:15 Film Festival Rejections
08:55 Pitching in Person
10:16 Rejection as Redirection
11:31 Processing Rejection
12:40 Detaching Identity from Outcome
13:29 Improving Your Pitch
14:44 Building Relationships
15:46 Protecting Your Joy
16:38 Finding a Community
18:14 Learning from Rejection
18:45 Final Thoughts on Rejection
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