What Indie Film Can Learn From Comic Books and Minecraft YouTubers: How to Connect With Gen Z

me, yapping with other Gen-Z’ers.

Media pundits have been relentlessly discussing the recent success of Obsession and Backrooms, and the newly coveted “Gen-Z audience.” If this audience member was crafted in a lab, I’d probably emerge from whatever cryogenic chamber they used; I’m a white, 23-year old, male-presenting AMC A-Lister. I grew up on the internet watching these “YouTube-er filmmakers”, and scoured Reddit for images of the backrooms. The trades and podcasts talk about Gen-Z like some brand new force coming to save Hollywood. I’m just one person – not the voice of a generation – but after my seven months at Slamdance, I’ve begun to understand not only Gen-Z’s relationship with film, but how indie film can engage my generation.

Firstly, I don’t think Gen-Z is an audience. Indie film (and all of Hollywood, honestly) loves to throw around the word “audience”, but that doesn’t accurately reflect how Gen-Z engages with media. We grew up in a fractured media-ecosystem during the death of monoculture. Siloued off into our own corners of Tumblr, YouTube, and then later personalized TikTok and streaming algorithms, Gen Z was raised on personalized media engagement. Early internet content creators, like “Let’s Play”-ers, comedians, and web series creators, broke through the algorithm by community building. Direct audience engagement and fan experiences yielded a strong connection between viewer and creator. We were in their homes, in their servers, in their worlds, engaging in community both in person and online. For better or for worse, my generation aren’t media spectators or an audience. We’re participatory.

So, what does the online space have to do with indie film? In many ways, these online creators operate similarly to indie filmmakers, and it’s not the type of content that separates them. In a crowded media landscape, after the battlefield of making the film, it’s an easy trap for indie filmmakers to carry disdain for the trudge of getting their film out in the world. Promotion, distribution, and building an ecosystem is hard work that artists tend not to care for. But I have to remind you, and this is something every successful streamer or YouTuber knows: your film is a small business. I don’t mean this in a capitalist sense, but you have to grow it, care for it, and tend to it. Your indie film is a swanky local coffee shop full of genuine care for its customers, vibe, and neighborhood – its community.

Recently I attended the premiere of a short film by Gen-Z filmmaker/content creator duo S&Q Films, helmed by Reagan Yorke and Jillian Smith. They invited their largely young, online community to the premiere, opened up the carpet, and had a great time meeting their supporters. Throughout the night they emphasized the importance of this community, never treating them as purely spectators, but active participants in the development and creation of the film, as many in the theater had followed the process online. Their press line was packed, but not with trade-reporters, but Gen-Z content creators and aspiring reporters, even as young as high school. Yorke and Smith run a Patreon, newsletter, and Discord, open to all their followers, where you can apply for crew calls and get involved in their projects. This is the distinctly Gen-Z way of doing indie filmmaking. It’s how you sell out theaters on your own and make your premiere a party.

While the active viewer isn’t distinctly Gen-Z, Gen-Z are distinctly active viewers. That being said, communal media participation is far from new. Many larger brands and IP have always embraced this kind of power of community building, and I don’t mean this cynically. Comic book companies like Marvel and DC have thrived on fan experiences, expos, independent news outlets, and the direct market (the comic book store, replacing newsstands). The success and lasting impact of comic books and their creators are inextricably linked with the enmeshment of community and fandom. What does a film festival look like when modeled after the communal hype of San Diego Comic-Con? What does your local independent cinema look like when leaning into the famously personalized, clubhouse-vibe of a comic book store?

As Gen-Z continues to become the backbone of the industry as viewer, practitioner, and eventually leaders, indie film needs this kind of interconnected web of events, media outlets, and yes, even influencers. This is how Gen-Z understands artistic engagement. The indie scene and Hollywood are picking up on the scent of one of their largest audiences; now, they need to understand how we connect, where we connect, and why we connect with media. We’re an active demographic, always on the lookout for exciting creators that bring people together. These artists don’t do it just for their sake, but for why we go to the movies in the first place: to be together in the messiness of our own humanness.

Hayden Jennings is the PR Coordinator for Slamdance and Editor of The Slam. Outside of his Slam-fam, he’s a writer and producer.

About SLAMDANCE

Slamdance is an artist-led organization, founded in 1995, dedicated to championing independent voices in film and digital media. Its mantra - by filmmakers, for filmmakers - guides year-round programming including the Slamdance Film Festival, Screenplay Competition, Slamdance Unstoppable, DIG (Digital, Interactive & Gaming), and Polytechnic, an accessible education initiative.

Slamdance celebrates its 33rd Film Festival from February 18th – 24th in Los Angeles - its third year in the city - as well as online via the Slamdance Channel. Slamdance ‘26 broke the organization’s festival box office record and attracted its largest ever audience.

Notable Slamdance alumni include Anthony and Joe Russo (Avengers: Endgame), Christopher Nolan (Oppenheimer), Lynn Shelton (Little Fires Everywhere), Gina Prince-Bythewood (The Old Guard), the Safdie Brothers (Uncut Gems), Marina Zenovich (LANCE), Lena Dunham (Girls), Sean Baker (Anora), Rian Johnson (Knives Out), Bong Joon Ho (Parasite), Merawi Gerima (Residue), Andrew Patterson (The Vast of Night), Natasha Ofili (Creed III), and Julio Palacio (Makayla’s Voice: A Letter To The World).

Slamdance’s mission is to serve as an agent of change in filmmaking and digital media, making the creative work of artists with divergent voices accessible to everyone.

Slamdance is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization.

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