Every Writer Should Make a Film: Lessons from No Money, No Problem with Fenella Greenfeld

At last year’s LSF, Fenella Greenfeld walked her audience through her incredible journey of making her feature film 2.0 Lucy for less than 40,000. Instead of trying to replicate her entire talk, I decided to focus on two major themes that emerged again and again. First, there is no such thing as “too late” when it comes to passion. Second, every writer will become a better one once they’ve made a film themselves. 

Never Give Up, Never Surrender

The beginning of Greenfeld’s story probably looks like a lot of people’s – she wanted to do something great, but life got in the way. Once empty-nesthood set in, however, she took the radical step of declaring “I’m making a movie.” Greenfeld set out to use as many free and cheap resources as she could to learn about the producing, directing, you-name-it-ing roles on set, and there are a lot. She praised YouTube frequently, as well as podcasts on topics like film editing. If you have the drive, the information is out there.  

She also talked about the power of speaking those words out loud, and the generosity of those around her who wanted to see her succeed once they knew she was doing it. 500 quid in a line for coffee, 5000 quid from an old friend on a whim – she wouldn’t have gotten either of these contributions if she were some wilting violet when it came to her film. And once she had that money, there was no turning back. “People jump on once the train has left the station,” she mused a few times. Momentum begat momentum, and the more people who signed on, the more people believed in the project and wanted to join up too. 

Lessons for Writers

“I think if you really want to be a great writer you’ve got to make a film … it’s such an incredible learning curve and you come back from the experience a completely different writer.” Fenella Greenfeld

I recently worked on the set of a short film for the first time, and even with that limited experience I definitely echo Greenfeld’s sentiment. A few weeks after the shoot, I went to a film festival and through the nearly 80 films I watched, my mind was electrified with totally new observations and questions about how the filmmakers created what was up there on the screen. Here are some of Greenfeld’s most important insights into how the experience has affected her as a writer.

Scripts Need to be Tight and Tested

We’ve all heard the stories of “development hell” where writers have to go through draft after draft (although it sounds like that is more of a Hollywood problem than something the UK grapples with). Even though she was the writer, director and producer of 2.0 Lucy, she understood the importance of the revision process. Not just in terms of “artistry” or “story”, but in very practical terms you want to know that any page could be taken out of order and shot, and you’d still have a movie at the end. Because that is closer to the reality of actually making something. You rarely do things in a linear way, and you don’t want anything to fall through the cracks or need to go back for reshoots, which is rarely an option for a low budget production. 

Greenfeld told us about how she went through 15 drafts of 2.0 Lucy, then did a table read, and then completely revised the last 25% of the script all over again. And that it was so totally worth it. She also recommended using coverage services that give you an actual scoring rubric to work from. Even if you are making it yourself, you want to have a script worth of a “consider” or “recommend” to lay down the bedrock. Finding a group of other writers who want to swap notes is a great, free way to get insights, too. If you have a script that is hard to follow, your film will probably be even harder, so the sooner you can tackle questions of clarity, the better. 

Understanding the Challenges of Different Roles

If you’re making your own movie, there are going to be a lot of roles you have to take on yourself, while hiring others should definitely be part of your budget instead. For example, Greenfeld emphasised the importance of paying for a casting director rather than doing it yourself. This wasn’t because she couldn’t judge if someone could do the part. Casting directors know who you can get at equity prices who will give you an excellent performance. Low-budget films we make ourselves are nearly always going to be small casts with performance-driven stories, making it crucial to use an expert to find you the best people for your budget constraints.

Speaking of roles and actors, Greenfeld talked about the challenges of being a writer/director who had to figure out how to talk to actors. She later took an acting class herself and said it helped her understand how directors are telling a story, but the actor needs to understand the moment they are inhabiting in a completely different way. She mentioned the old cliche “what’s my motivation” makes sense when you are an actor who needs to speak the words and try to accomplish something on a granular level as opposed to accomplishing the logline. I’ve seen this advice before and as someone who has dabbled with stage acting since I was a kid, I agree completely. Actors are your allies when it comes to subtext, and they may find things in there you never even realized you put in there. 

In a bit of a self-deprecating way, Greenfeld said by the time they were actually shooting, she felt like all she did was say action and cut. She emphasized surrounding herself with people who would be spot on when it came time to deliver, but I think she may have missed one of her own most important tips due to modesty. So as a fan, let me toot her horn for her. Everyone could show up and execute like clockwork because she had done an excellent job preparing them for the shoot. Those 15+ drafts of the script was just one aspect. She also made detailed storyboards, drafted airtight contracts that laid out clear expectations and held up to the scrutiny of distributors, listened to hundreds of hours of podcasts and scoured the internet for resources. She had “thousands” of to-do lists, and she did them.

I was struck by how it wasn’t just that she made the declaration “I’m making a movie” and away she went – Greenfeld also showed a lot of patience, diligence and restraint in order to make sure it crossed the finish line. It’s easy to get caught up in the thrill of deciding to take an action after only just dreaming, but that can also lead to missteps, burnout, and waste. 

Luckily, if you’re like Greenfeld and you’ve remained passionate even though life got in the way and you’re willing to funnel that passion into preparation, you’re well on your way.  

What’s on Next for LSF Replay? 

Are you a sci-fi, fantasy, or horror writer? Or maybe you just want to get better at setting the scene in your screenplays? Make sure to sign up for our next Replay session happening Feb 24 – Beyond Our Reality: Creating Compelling Alternate Worlds with Frank Spotnitz and Peter Harness. 

And don’t forget to grab your tickets for the 2026 London Screenwriters Festival.