Not going to lie, with lockdown 03 upon Ireland, I’ve found myself entering New Year uninspired to say the least. It just seemed like a never ending gloom. Anyone else feels the same?
I’ve managed to pull myself out of it now, remembering what I did when it all started last year. Thought I’d share that, in case someone else needs it.
In a nutshell- I made myself busy. Very busy. So that I have no time to ponder about the whole pandemic situation too much. Here are some awesome resources, that are keeping me on my toes:
I mean, these guys have just been AMAZING!
- They have a Writer’s Cafe, on 3 times a week, where writers from around the world would gather and write to a prompt for an hour, and then meet and discuss it in the breakout rooms. I’ve met some awesomely talented people there! (Psst.. See Intro by The XX in Writer’s Cafe Spotify playlist? Yep, that’s my contribution to it.)
- I’ve listened in to a ton of their webinars by amazing filmmakers and actors and composers and met even more like minded people in their webinar chats. Brit Marling from The OA was my personal highlight (love the series!), and Carter Burwell on film score side. Talking about getting the inspiration!
- To make things even better, most of these webinars and talks are FREE, you guys. FREE! They do have courses though, and paid membership to unlock more resources. But if you are on a tight budget, there is always something on that is not going to cost you anything. And might inspire you for your next project.
These guys are my local fave’s and they have been AMAAAZING with their own workshops and web meetups, some sponsored by Screen Skills Ireland. I’ve done directing and screenwiting courses through them and they’ve all been fantastic. Thought by tutors such as Lenny Abrahamson, Mary-Kate O’Flannagan, David Keeting, Stephen Cleary.. They’ve all been sharing their writing and filmmaking wisdom with us, top notch stuff.
If you are a creative, join their Facebook group for updates and jobs, to ask a question etc. etc. 17K members and growing.
film festivals
That’s another great way to stay connected to filmmakers community and to get inspired with new works of fellow professionals. Plenty of networking events within online festivals too, usually. There are loads of great local and international film festivals to pick from and join, all different and amazing.
I wanted to mention Underground Cinema run by Dave Byrne. And the reason I mention this, is because I found myself watching films and networking with fellow filmmakers quite a lot throughout last year. It was such a positive experience! Dave is a true pioneer of filmmakers of all kind on his platform.
Another great resource for filmmakers. They also run webinars and talks about the business of filmmaking throughout the year and do online screenings of films.
The awards season is coming up and ITFA’s will have screenings and talks again soon. I think I pretty much attended all of their organised Zoom’s last year. It’s a great way to stay up to date with great films that are being made in Ireland, and listen to a bit of backstory about the making of them. You can join with a membership or subscribe for open events on their webpage.
These, these are the saving grace of a theatre lover throughout the pandemic. They have recorded their theatre performances to a very high standard. One may feel that they are truly are attending a play or a musical. Just superb stuff, I’m a big fan.
Another thing I got hooked to last year is this podcast by Sam Parr and Shaan Puri. It’s a brainstorm of business opportunities and interviews with millionaires/billionaires on how they have earned their first million. If you are into business and tech asides from filmmaking that is.
Similar thing to My First Million, but in a short written form. Business and tech in 5 minutes or less, essentially.
This is another kick ass podcast I absolutely love by Tom Bilyeu. The name of it kind of says it all. P.S. I always have to copy/paste his surname though, as my brain just goes bdaah and won’t ever spell it correctly. Is it just me or anyone else?!
Hope this is of value. Let me know.
