How Selina Ringel’s guide challenges film gatekeepers

Start the – Even as YouTuber Curry Barker’s debut “Obsession” races toward roughly $300 million at the box office on a $750,000 budget, filmmaker Selina Ringel is pushing a different idea: you don’t need millions of followers to get your movie made. In her field guide “St

When a debut film like YouTuber Curry Barker’s “Obsession” can land close to $300 million at the box office on a $750. 000 budget. it’s tempting to treat that kind of success as a one-off miracle. Barker’s story—and the online audiences behind it—has become the kind of cultural test case that makes people wonder whether the next generation of filmmakers really needs a built-in subscriber army to break through.

The trouble is, that assumption can quietly turn into a dead end.

A new indie-focused field guide called “Start the Engine” argues there’s another path—one that starts before distribution plans ever get locked in and doesn’t wait for a greenlight from gatekeepers. The guide is described as “a manifesto for creators navigating a world where storytelling. entrepreneurship. audience-building. and community have become increasingly intertwined.”.

It was written by filmmaker and author Selina Ringel. who previously wrote “Be the Train” and co-wrote and starred in the comedy “You. Me & Her. ” which IndieWire has profiled. Ringel is also a longtime indie filmmaker who’s helped build her career alongside Dan Levy Dagerman. her husband and partner. releasing three features. a series. and numerous shorts.

Ringel doesn’t claim she has the same social reach as someone like Barker. What she does insist on is that “Start the Engine” and “Be the Train” are “not about becoming an influencer” but “to build a sustainable creative life.”

In a statement. Ringel said. “Creators today have more access to audiences. tools. and opportunities than ever before. but they’re also navigating more complexity than ever before.” She added: “The goal of ‘Start The Engine’ is to help creators stop waiting for permission and start building momentum around the work that matters to them.”.

That momentum theme runs through the guide’s highlights, including experimenting publicly and learning as you go, with the idea that it creates direct audience interaction and a real community around the work.

Ringel’s own experience backs it up. When “You. Me & Her” was released. it served as the guinea pig for The Fithian Company’s model of distributing movies directly to theaters as part of a targeted release strategy. The approach wasn’t built around simply putting a film on as many screens as possible and hoping audiences show up. Instead, it aimed at tapping a core audience where the film would perform best.

Ringel and Levy Dagerman personally wrangled roughly 20 marketing promotions designed to engage local audiences. The film then opened on over 250 screens as a result.

In “Start the Engine,” Ringel writes that the experience proved the release itself is part of the conversation around a film—not separate from it. The conversation, and the engagement with your audience, should begin during development rather than after a movie hits theaters.

The guide frames that as a shift in how people understand the craft. “The creatives thriving in this era understand that storytelling no longer ends when the film is finished. The conversation is part of the art now,” the field guide reads. “That realization can feel uncomfortable for traditional filmmakers because many were taught that protecting the mystery of the work was part of the craft. Don’t share too much. Don’t post unfinished work. Don’t let the audience into the process. But creators discovered something powerful: People connect to process. To vulnerability. To experimentation. To growth. To honesty. To the messy reality of making things.”.

The book also includes anecdotes from Ringel’s time working as a line producer on an Issa Rae pilot. and from Levy Dagerman’s time working with producer Ted Hope. It points to Rae’s rise with “Insecure. ” arguing that many seemed to feel it came out of nowhere—but Rae had already been building a core audience with the web series “Awkward Black Girl” before “Insecure” ever arrived.

The guide then takes aim at the idea that the only “right” moment to act is after a festival premiere or a formal stamp of approval. It argues that too many filmmakers feel they need to wait for permission to make something or to be discovered. while a better approach is to build momentum now. even before the work is perfect.

“We’ve learned that creators don’t just need information,” Ringel said. “They need structure. They need community. They need accountability. And most importantly, they need momentum.”

Ringel and Levy Dagerman have also gathered support for “Start the Engine,” including from Film Freeway, Ted Hope, Slamdance head Peter Baxter, and IFTA president Jackie Brenneman—who previously worked with them on the theatrical rollout of “You, Me & Her.”

In a statement. Brenneman said. “Dan and Selina have consistently pushed the boundaries of independent filmmaking. audience building and creator entrepreneurship with a healthy dose of hustle. ” and added: “Their willingness to experiment publicly while sharing what they learn is exactly the kind of innovation our industry needs.”.

“Start the Engine” is available to download here. A coupon code—SELINA—offers the book for free.

Selina Ringel Start the Engine You Me & Her Dan Levy Dagerman independent filmmaking indie creators audience building Film Freeway Ted Hope Slamdance Peter Baxter Jackie Brenneman IFTA The Fithian Company Curry Barker Obsession