At the end of every year at York’s University film program, we watch a whole bunch of movies we made. It’s called Finish Line and was held in one of York’s theatres: Price Family Cinema. Every year (I am 2nd) has two days of the program, and we watch around 60 movies in those two days. One of the movies was mine. 

I wrote about that earlier here, but long story short – I pitched my movie, and it was greenlit for production. Here are my learning from this process and my movie on the big screen.

1. Making movies is a collaborative process in which there needs to be a considerable amount of trust. Well, I knew that; now I learned how to “let go.” And when I say to let go – I mean to respect the process and be open to other people’s views on something I wrote. I saw many changes that my director made, eventually improving the movie.

2. I made mistakes, and seeing them as I watched my and other movies was outstanding. Now I know what I don’t want for future films and what I can improve. It is true; I could see that on the small screen but not surrounded by the audience.

3. To feel the audience’s response was powerful. After all, we write for an audience – it is something we can easily forget. I learned that I need to keep that on my mind, and it should be more present. When I write a scene, I should actively consider possible audience reactions and their understanding of the scene/movie.

4. Community is essential. I heard that from movie makers, producers, and creatives many times this year, and I agree 100 %. To feel York’s film community support and energy was encouraging.

5. Having a movie on a big screen is addictive, and I want more of that! It is a fantastic feeling that gives you the energy and motive to push forward. What does that mean in real life? That I should actively think about the production part of the movie when I’m writing. I am not saying I need to give up on something if it is essential in the movie; I just want to ask myself if it is.