Guest Post by Jennica Schwartzman

“And the Best Narrative award goes to: Jamaica Schwartzman…” My name is Jennica Schwartzman. It took me a moment to really grasp that I had won — and I could barely hear, as I was listening from the hallway while rocking my baby back to sleep on my chest. I realized I needed to get through this door and walk all the way down the auditorium aisle in seven-inch heels with a newborn strapped to my chest in order to accept this monumental award.

I began my walk, slowly. I could feel every eye on me and my babe. I was glad I had put in the effort of wearing a dress and dangly earrings. I finally reached the fourth row where my husband was sitting and he got up to walk me down the rest of the aisle and up the stairs and over all the stage cords to receive the heavy and beautiful Best Narrative Audience Award at Geena Davis’ third annual Bentonville Film Festival Awards for my film, “Parker’s Anchor.”

I was humbled, sweaty, and excited to fully — and visibly — embody a successful filmmaker, woman, mother, and wife all at once on that stage. I recognized the weight of that moment. And then I did my best to eloquently accept this honor in front of a crowd of my peers. It was a highlight in my career that I will never forget.

Yes, I attended a prestigious film festival with a one-week-old baby. My husband and I wrote, produced, and starred in this film about a woman who starts over over after life fails to follow her plans. We worked on “Parker’s Anchor” with our blood, sweat, and tears for two years and we weren’t going to miss our World Premiere Festival — especially when this particular fest celebrates gender parity and diverse voices in film. This was our dream for this film and it paid off.

Boarding a plane with seven-day-old human was not my preference, but I am glad we got to muscle through it.

Here are some of the pros and cons of bringing a newborn to a film festival. I’ll start with the cons so I can end on a high note:

Cons:

1. You can’t really watch any films. I could stand in the back of panels and rock her in a sling, do any social events, press interviews, and pretty much everything else, just no films. I would never want the possibility of my child disrupting another film’s screening no matter how well-behaved she is.

2. If you tore at all during birth, you should limit your walking around. I had four minor tears and I walked quite a bit. I should have limited my physical activity to ease my recovery.

3. You have to wear your baby, whether it’s in a sling, wrap, or whatever you prefer. I wouldn’t allow anyone to hold my baby — a newborn is not a show-and-tell item, and I wanted to keep her close at all times. She wanted to breastfeed often, and I made that happen, because no matter what else was going on, her needs took priority.

4. If you’re breastfeeding, bear in mind that it’s a stationary activity. I can feed her while I sit, stand, or rock her — but I don’t do my best mothering while walking. You’d need to be a confident breastfeeder with a good eater in order to be in public for an entire festival.

Pros:

1. Everyone knows who I am. I am the one with the baby. I can take my time and contact every single filmmaker and ask them over for lunch for the next year, they will all remember that I was the one with the baby.

2. You don’t have to bow out of a film festival if your family life overlaps. I have attended film festivals at 37 weeks pregnant, with a newborn, and everything in between. My husband and I have both done Q&As with children strapped and sleeping on our chests. I have done it all. It is all possible.

3. You don’t have to constantly be on the move and walk around at the filmmaker events. People will come to you. Everyone wanted to look at the tiny little human. And you need your rest, so no one ever asks you to get up.

4. Everyone can see you no matter what you do. And they are all proud of you. Even if you find someone who does not appreciate your decision to work and mom on the go (you can see it on their face), they will come to understand later what you were attempting. They will reflect. Trust that they will grow by seeing you, even if it doesn’t feel that way in the moment.

Geena Davis’ foundation on Gender in Media focuses on “If she can see it, she can be it.”

I attended a film festival in Phoenix in 2010. I was the lead actress in a competition film there. I saw a woman standing in the back of one of the panels holding a baby and standing next to a toddler. That woman will never know that her presence has changed my professional life forever. She was just being, but I saw what I could be. I finally saw the possibilities that existed outside of what the patriarchy has taught me about the film industry. I could do anything I wanted with my life. And now I hope that even one person in that festival awards ceremony in May can see their world through the lens of infinite possibility too.

Jennica Schwartzman is an actress/writer/producer that loves tackling a project from idea to distribution. She works alongside her husband and business partner, Ryan Schwartzman. You can find her on Twitter @JennicaRenee.