I love playing with my toys. My whole working career (over 30 years) has been forged around my hobbies. This includes scriptwriting, filmmaking, event organizing & project management. My working life is a mixture of pleasure and work, and for this, I consider myself lucky.
 
Training as an actor has been a significant help with public speaking, moderating and presenting. Since becoming a Director at Berlin Sci-fi Filmfest in 2017, filmmaking and film festivals have been placed at the heart of my working life. I have participated in many workshops, panels and discussions on the subject. All of which have had a significant impact on bringing this book to life.
 
I have no idea how many festivals I’ve submitted to over the years, and the amount spent on them runs into thousands of dollars. The numbers of laurels I have pasted on my wall are many. Every filmmaker knows the excitement of submitting to film festivals. The opportunity of being accepted and going on to win is the icing on the cake.
 
What I have learned as a festival director is “WHAT YOU DON’T KNOW WILL HURT YOU!” As a festival curator, I have increased my submission success rate from 1 in 20 to 1 in 3. My last feature script was submitted to 8 specifically targeted festivals. My strategy gave my film script acceptance into six of the festivals. The final outcome is that I won four awards, was a semi-finalist in one and nomination in the other – Not bad, huh?
 
To conclude, From the beginning, as a film festival director, I could clearly see all of my past mistakes. I knew then that I wanted, even more, to help filmmakers NOT make the same mistakes I had.