November 11, 2013
Documentary film promoter comes to Waterloo for startup savvy
Graduate entrepreneurship degree gives Waterloo grad the tools she needs to launch platform that brings filmmakers and fans together
Sara Jalali arrived in Waterloo from Iran with a passion for film and digital media that she comes by honestly. Both of her parents work in the Iranian film industry: her father is a film producer and director and her mother is a film production coordinator.
But Jalali came to the University of Waterloo to study business and entrepreneurship so that she could be part of making documentary films more accessible. The recent Master of Business, Entrepreneurship and Technology (MBET) graduate chose the Waterloo Engineering program because she felt it offered the right approach for entrepreneurship, as well as the right connections.
“It provided me with networking opportunities both in Waterloo - a tech community - and Toronto - a media community,” says Jalali, who received her degree at fall convocation. “Sure, coming here was a scary decision at first, but as my parents taught me, ‘If your dreams don’t scare you, they aren’t big enough.’”
While an MBET student, she started FilmBoxFestival, an interactive online venue where independent documentary filmmakers can market their work and fans can see the films they love.
Learning to reduce risk
The program taught Jalali the business skills she needed to create her company, but it also gave her a whole lot more. She has made priceless contacts at HotDocs, the Toronto International Film Festival and the National Film Board over the course of the program. But perhaps the most important lesson she discovered was how to come to terms with the uncertainty and fear inherent in creating her own enterprise.
“We learn how to reduce risk, analyze problems and think systematically,” she explains. “But, at the end of the day, nothing will guarantee success.”
And these days Jalali is fine with that. She has done her market research, created a clear value proposition and crunched all the numbers. Once the website design is complete, she’ll be ready to launch FilmBoxFestival, and expand her business and film network internationally.
Jalali says her company’s tag line – Think Independently. Outside the Box. – ties directly into her vision.
“FilmBoxFestival is about independent documentary filmmakers who think independently and who film outside the box,” she says. “It’s a game changer platform that is going to revolutionize the landscape by providing alternatives to the festivals, theatrical distribution and mainstream media.”
