Cinema, Sweets, and Support: Combining arts to form a community
As a creative, Scott Danzig has always believed the best art comes from collaboration. Whether it’s the actors, editors, and visual artists behind his independent films, or the venue managers, caterers, and hospitality teams behind his events, Scott has seen firsthand that people helping people leads to better work — and having a lot more fun along the way.
Scott first started as an independent filmmaker in New York City, where he honed his craft and grew his skills. After a stop in Upstate New York, he moved to Pittsburgh in 2019 and quickly fell in love with the local culture: walks in Frick Park, an appreciation for bridge architecture, and the strange allure of a cookie table at every event. Combining his need for community in a new city with his love of filmmaking, Scott founded the “Pittsburgh Filmmaker’s Community” group on Facebook. Through that network, he connected with dozens of other independent filmmakers in the area.
But he noticed a problem: there were plenty of great filmmakers and films, but few opportunities to showcase them. Scott wondered if a film festival could bring the community together — and wanted to make it his own. He set two goals: build collaboration across artistic mediums, and give something back to the Pittsburgh audience. For collaboration, he combined indie films with stand-up comedy, weaving comedy routines into the interludes between films. For Pittsburgh, he brought back the cookie table. And with that, the Cookies & Comedy Film Festival was born.
Knowing he needed help scaling the business, Scott reached out to the Greater Pittsburgh Arts Council, who connected him with the Pitt Small Business Development Center (SBDC) for support with his business plan, marketing strategy, and financial training. Working with Pitt SBDC Consultant Jonny Gamble, the Cookies & Comedy Film Festival held its inaugural event in March 2025 and its second in March 2026. In supporting one festival, Scott has helped build compounding support for filmmakers, comedians, cookie bakers, sponsoring partners, and more. The future looks bright — we’re all looking forward to the 2027 edition!
