Filmmaker Lauren Caster Is Spending 30 Days on the Internet Convincing People to Watch Her Indie — SkimNews
Get the Culture newsletter
Daily culture — film, music, books, the trends and ideas worth your attention. Free.
- Lauren Caster spent five years writing, producing, directing, and editing "Rhythm Is a Dancer," a drama loosely inspired by growing up with a lesbian mom and meeting her biological father as an adult.
- After festivals, a limited New York/Los Angeles theatrical run, and a VOD release on Amazon Video, Apple TV, and Fandango at Home, Caster was stunned when sales figures showed fewer viewers than her ~4,000 Instagram followers.
- Caster launched a 30-day experiment in mid-September, posting daily video diaries directly addressing strangers on Instagram to pitch her film and document the indie struggle.
- Vincent D'Onofrio reposted Caster's first video, and Juliette Lewis — whom Caster had never met — commented and shared the post with her 1.7 million followers, pushing it to 130,000 views and over 1,000 comments.
- Caster cited indie filmmakers Kane Parsons and Curry Barker as proof that built-in YouTube followings are now the common thread for indie success, conceding she had to learn Gen Z-style direct-to-camera social media tactics.
- The viral response led to Caster booking a podcast appearance with actor Matthew Del Negro.
- Caster acknowledged the indie landscape has shifted: "unless you're lucky and get a studio with a huge marketing spend — which happens to very few people — your movie is going to get lost."
Why it matters: For indie filmmakers without studio backing, Caster's 30-day experiment turned a "shockingly low" VOD debut into 130,000 views on a single Instagram post after D'Onofrio and Lewis shared it. Her conclusion: without a huge marketing budget, the movie "is going to get lost" unless the creator builds a direct social media presence — a generational shift she says millennials must adapt to.
Ask SkimNews
