ILR Plays a Lead Role in Film Producer’s Success: Justin San Antonio ’20

Seeing his name in a film’s opening sequence at the 2024 Chelsea Film Festival is an experience Justin San Antonio ’20 will never forget.

“It was a surreal experience, to culminate in front of this big audience with your name on the screen above you,” said San Antonio, who co-produced the film “Before We Begin.” 

“The best and biggest things in life take time, but they’re worth it.” 

San Antonio, a full-time product manager at Mastercard who produced the film during nights and weekends, credits his ILR background with contributing to his success in both roles.

For San Antonio, Introduction to Conflict Resolution and Negotiation was a standout ILR course. “I still think about it to this day. Basically, one side simulated the union, and the other side simulated being the worker,” he reminisced. “You can use those skills across any conversation you’re having with an opposing party to help come to a compromise.” 

The course Nonprofit Finance, Management & Leadership was also valuable. “Indie film production operates a lot like a nonprofit in that you’re managing scarce resources, building partnerships without much leverage and making every dollar count toward a creative mission. That course gave me a framework for budgeting, organization and structuring alliances,” San Antonio said.

Another influential ILR takeaway has been understanding unions. “The film business is heavily union-based,” said San Antonio. “I’ve been navigating the complexities of working with unions, and it has helped that I understand why they have stringent requirements. There is one funny rule where you have to make sure you have enough meat at meal times for everybody.”

It’s that understanding of the importance of unions that compelled San Antonio and his collaborators to “stand in solidarity with the people who labor on behalf of the film industry,” and delay festival submissions during the 2023 strikes of the Writers Guild of America and Screen Actors Guild–American Federation of Television and Radio Artists. 

San Antonio noted that ILR influenced him “100 percent” in making that choice.

Organization and Listening Are Keys to Success

How does San Antonio find time for production? 

“I don’t find the time, I just do it,” he says. “Clear organization is key. I keep it simple. I have a very well-organized Google Calendar and a Google Doc for lists ranked by priority – one main list of immediate priorities, one list for medium priorities and one for long-term.” 

But organization alone is not enough. “I am the ultimate listener,” San Antonio shared. “On the set, the producer is HR, psychiatrist, counselor, coach and teacher all in one.” 

Human Resource Management was another helpful course. “I had to keep a team of collaborators aligned and motivated under pressure. ILR gave me the language and the tools to navigate that,” he said.

Looking Back and Looking Ahead

San Antonio co-produced “Before We Begin” with Shazeb Fahim, who also wrote, directed and acted in the film. The pair met at Lehigh University, bonding over a shared love of film, writing and comedy, and continued their friendship after San Antonio transferred to the ILR School. During college, they planned to create films together and started shortly after graduation. 

“Before We Begin” is the second film in a trilogy. The first, “First Fall,” had no budget. San Antonio handled multiple roles, including script editing and shooting the action using an iPhone. Because “First Fall” was a semifinalist to get into the Rhode Island Film Festival, the pair decided to raise money to create “Before We Begin” with a full cast and crew. 

The third film, “Moment to Moment,” is now in the works with support from Buffalo 8 Entertainment, distributors of “Before We Begin.” 

San Antonio’s long-term goal is to own a production company focused on successful films with modest budgets, producing some projects himself and investing in others.

“ILR is not exactly known for sending people to Hollywood,” San Antonio said. “The skills I developed at ILR – thinking critically, negotiating and understanding complex organizational dynamics – played a real role in how I approached building partnerships, securing distribution and getting this film made.”