GYFF Blog

In my teens I decided to apply to be a part of the Glasgow Youth Film Festival 2015. I knew I loved movies but had no idea how it would help shape my career and deepen my appreciation for unconventional and international stories.

When I first started and heard about the role of a programmer, I assumed I could just rattle off a bunch of classic films and that would be that. Easiest job in the world. Soon enough I discovered that it was a rigorous process of consuming lesser-known films from all the world and creating and coordinating events around them. Of course, we would occasionally screen a classic but the festival scene was more about negotiating rights and finding new stories and talent, at home as well as abroad.

My first year was amazing. I watched a ton of international films and met some great people that I’m still in contact with today. The absolute highlight was securing an unlikely Scottish premiere for Robert Eggers’ The Witch, which had just come out of Sundance to rave reviews. We introduced the film to a packed GFT 1 auditorium of just under 400 people. I remember the lights going down and feeling the energy — and fear — in the room as it began. I felt proud to have been a part of something that felt so big, and excited that it was affecting so many people in real time. The next year we screened Wes Anderson’s Moonrise Kingdom in a local church that resembled the one from the film’s climax. The event sold out and the screening had a really nice response from the community.

I didn’t realise at the time but GYFF was effectively my first ever experience of working in the industry, it trained me in presenting, creating and coordinating events and gave me up close interaction with experienced professionals.

A few years after GYFF and in my final year of university I applied to be a Young Selector for the main event, Glasgow Film Festival. This was a smaller group and offered more responsibility. The Youth film festival was a perfect foundation for this type of role. That year I got the opportunity to host a satellite Q+A with one of the directors from our programme and have a more active role in the promotion of the events. We saw so many films in one day and it felt great to help curate such an extensive programme in my home city.

These two roles gave me the confidence to apply for other industry opportunities and helped me understand the festival circuit for my own films which I made in the following years. I discovered my love of curation, connection and live event hosting. 

I’ve since worked for two BAFTA-winning production companies and achieved a Master's degree in directing. My graduation film Floored had its world premiere at this year’s GSFF where it won the Scottish Audience Award. I owe a great deal of this success to the people I met at Glasgow Film and the amazing opportunities they gave me as a teenager.