Today we’d like to introduce you to Khadijah Williams.
Khadijah, please share your story with us. How did you get to where you are today?
So, I’m originally from a really small town in South Jersey called Penns Grove. Very few people know about it, but there are so many talented and gifted people there. I’m really blessed to be one of them and have found my way into doing something I enjoy. Honestly, ever since I can remember I wanted to do something that allowed me to express myself creatively. I grew up drawing, painting and learning how to play various instruments. Although this was my passion, I lost sight of it as I progressed through high school. Often times, when you get to those stages, you have people in your ear telling you what would be best for your life and how you should live. Eventually, you convince yourself that those people are right – at least, that’s what I did. Most people told me to go into the medical field because “that’s where the money is” and I’ll always have work. Consequently, I let that influence my choices for college and thought applying to schools for Biomedical Engineering would be the best career path because I’d be able to find a way to mix design with mathematics and science.
I started off at the Rochester Institute of Technology with a major in Biomedical Engineering and soon knew I needed to change things quickly before I felt stuck. Coming from a very small town, I never really researched different types of art and design so I started out in the Fine Arts program. From then on, my mission was to find myself as a creative and figure out exactly where I wanted to be. I eventually moved into the field of Illustration, which I believe to be one of the greatest disciplines you can go into. It allows you to become more diverse in your skillset and I find that employers really love that quality.
Once I graduated, a weight was lifted off my shoulders, but another weight took its place. I had NO idea what I would do next. Eventually, I went back to Jersey and hustled to get my portfolio and resume at its best so I could continue applying to places. I even reached out to other designers like Mike Mariano, a UX/UI designer and Product Designer, Timothy Bardlavens for guidance which helped a lot. After about seven months of being home without a consistent job besides freelancing, I decided I was going to take a risk, move out to San Diego with $500 in my pocket and pray for the best with the help of some friends of course. My mom was worried. People doubted me, including family, but it was all worth it.
After about two weeks into my stay here, I landed a job at Cobra-PUMA Golf as an Accessories Designer and eventually was able to help start a small business known as Fourth Wall Cinema.
Overall, has it been relatively smooth? If not, what were some of the struggles along the way?
To be honest, I think my progression has been much easier than others, but I definitely had my challenges along the way. I’d say the most difficult parts were the beginning and the end of college.
Growing up, I was very close to my immediate family. Other than the friends, I have back home and from college, my parents are two of my best friends. I didn’t leave home much (other than going to a friends house) when I was younger so going away to college was kind of a culture shock for me. After my first semester of college, I transferred to a school in Philadelphia because I just wasn’t ready to be away from home. With family being so important, I needed to know I could truly go home if I wanted. I eventually became more comfortable with being away, even if it was 30 minutes, and transferred back to Rochester Institute of Technology and I’m glad I did.
After graduating, it’s normal to feel uncertain about the future and as a creative, I think it can sometimes be even more difficult because it’s such a competitive field. Being home for half a year and not having any bites as far as work in the creative industry, I started to feel kind of depressed. I started to feel like I made a mistake by changing majors and kept telling myself, “maybe I should’ve listened to everyone else”. I became disinterested in the activities I usually enjoyed. I stopped seeing my friends as much. I don’t think I was as happy and I wasn’t the only one to notice.
However, I knew I needed to do something to make life happen. My dad always says “If you can see it, you can achieve it” and I just always kept that in the back of my mind, took risks and spoke the future I wanted into existence.
Fourth Wall Cinema – what should we know? What do you guys do best? What sets you apart from the competition?
The idea for Fourth Wall Cinema actually began the Summer of 2018 where one of my co-founders visited London with her family with hopes of getting to experience an immersive movie theatre called, Backyard Cinema. She’s always been interested in creative experiences that combine people and memories so the concept of bringing people into an artistic space that would make lasting memories seemed like a great opportunity to learn and to have fun while doing it.
I was involved in the drama club in high school and one of the main lessons I remember is to not break the fourth wall unless it was for a specific reason such as comedy or dramatization of a plot like a movie Deadpool for example. The mission for Fourth Wall Cinema was to do just that – break down the barrier between the audience and the experience. We felt that the idea of the holiday spirit in San Diego was different than what some of us experienced on the East Coast. We were used to seeing snow, cold weather, hot chocolate and other things that speak to what we knew the holiday season to be. The best way we could share this feeling was to find a way to bring part of our other home to sunny San Diego!
After many nights of meetings, eating tacos and figuring things out we moved on to building an immersive set that revolved around the theme of the holiday season. Those who bought tickets and participated in our giveaways had the opportunity to experience a winter wonderland, which we called Among the Pines. Within this wonderland, the audience walked through into a toasty fireplace setting, up to a chimney, across a snowy roof-top, down to a lighted pine tunnel and into a holiday-themed movie experience. We showed a total of seven showtimes in one weekend on December 14th and 15th.
I won’t speak for the whole team, but I’d say I’m most proud of our ability to build and put on seven showtimes in a matter of 3-4 months. Of course, we had some setbacks and a rocky start, but once we got going, the shows got better and the feedback from our audience was awesome! I learned so much in a short amount of time. As far as the future goes for Fourth Wall Cinema, we are currently on hiatus trying to figure out the next moves. However, we hope to keep the concept going. This was by far, the most challenging thing I have ever done in my life, but also worth it.
What is “success” or “successful” for you?
To me, success is defined as being happy and more than content in a lifestyle. I believe that when I can finally get to a point where I can say “This is what I want to do for the rest of my life” and “I’m happy” without fault then I’ve reached a point of success.
Contact Info:
- Email: fourthwallcinema@gmail.com
Image Credit:
Valeria Alkan, Chris Cameron
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