STORY, SUSPENSE AND LATE NIGHT SCREAMS: MWFF DAY TWO

By Liza Dezfouli

Friday’s panel, The Ins and Outs of Mentoring, hosted by Women in Film and Television Victoria (join up and check out their co- initiative Mentor Her), went overtime. In short, everyone gets a leg-up of some sort in their career. Mentoring can be a formal process, it might be a casual arrangement. Ask and ye shall receive. Make it easy for people to help you by being clear about what you’re asking for. Things to remember: Don’t have tunnel vision, have a few ideas on the go. Don’t burn out. Feel the fear and do it anyway. Say ‘no’ to things that don’t matter. Trust your own voice. Do what excites you. Let go of perfectionism. It’s all about STORY, STORY, STORY. And fellas can be great mentors, too.  

We watched Samantha Lang’s much acclaimed The Well, made in 1997 and recently digitally restored; it left us sitting silently with mouths open. Grab the chance to see it when you can.  At the Q&A Samantha Lang said a few things; one of them was “To have a good career, you have to have a lot of support, personally and professionally.” See above. Late Night Screaming gave us the funny, squirmy visceral Blood Sisters and then the deeply unpleasant story/excellent film Inner Demon by Ursula Dabrowsky. Home late, couldn’t sleep. Thanks to Ursula.