Marietta-based program uses favorite films as leadership tools

What your favorite films say about you

REEL Experiences founder Bryan Coley has turned talking about your favorite movies into a unique way of developing stronger leaders and working relationships.

MARIETTA, Ga. - There’s a good chance you’ve mentally made a list of your top 10 favorite movies. But have you ever stopped to think about what that top 10 list says about you and your personality?

Bryan Coley has — and he’s turned it into a unique way of developing stronger leaders and working relationships. 

Coley is the founder of REEL Experiences, a Marietta-based leadership and team development program rooted in something almost everyone shares: a love of feature films. REEL Experiences was born out of Coley’s work with Art Within, the nonprofit he founded in 1995 with a mission to foster creative storytellers of faith. Through the course of that work, Coley says he realized just how much a person’s favorite movies say about them, their self-awareness, and their potential — and how really analyzing those films could lead to positive change. 

And thus REEL Experiences was born.

Now, Coley works with individuals and teams from organizations including Chick-fil-A, Cobb County Government and Wellstar, using the lens of film to achieve goals including improving collaboration and deepening empathy. Best of all, Coley says nobody has the same top 10 list, which means every experience is unique and illuminating. And beyond the potential benefits in the workplace, Coley also hosts REEL Date Nights, challenging couples to connect through the movies they love!

So, are you a fan of romcoms? Big-budget action blockbusters? Chilling horror movies? Whatever your movie-night pick, there’s a lesson to be learned! Click here for more information on REEL Experiences and the programs offered — and click the video player in this article to check out our "REEL-y" interesting morning with Bryan Coley!