After weeks of office work, the 18th of March presented a refreshing and invigorating change of pace with a site visit at Regents University.
On this fleetingly sunny morning, Chris, Chloe, Max, and I ventured to Regent’s University London, the home of the 2025 London Screenwriters’ Festival.
Despite being a bit of a challenge to find the entrance (delegates note that York Gate is closed at the moment) , strolling the park’s grassy fields was a heavenly start to the day. The blue skies welcomed hoards of eager puppies, as well as a few goslings, marking an early start to springtime. By the time the festival is underway in April, this will hopefully be a daily welcome to the festival.
Once through the gates, the sights don’t stop. Coming from a University in Boston, I expected to be met with the usual school experience: mediocre dining hall food, classrooms that need a bit of updating, and lifeless lecture halls.
Boy was I wrong.
Regent’s University feels like the country club of Universities.
With tall windows bringing in natural light from the courtyard, an extensive dining hall off-shooting into a Michelin Star restaurant, and even a trendy bar for a post-class cocktail, I felt as if I was living large.
Aside from the facilities, the conference rooms themselves were just as magnificent. Herrinham Hall and Tuke Hall, the primary rooms for the Festival’s sessions, have been refitted with state-of-the-art LED screens replacing outdated projectors, and brand-new sound systems have been installed, allowing for complete control over the environment. I guarantee all of you, speakers and delegates alike, will be thoroughly impressed.
After a quick and simple briefing from the Regent’s team about the weekend and a complimentary lunch (which, again far surpassed my preconceived ideas of dining hall cuisine), our team split off.
I suppose I wasn’t quite ready to leave the luxury just yet, so I settled within the University’s courtyard to do some work before heading home.
We have BIG plans for this year’s festival, and finally seeing the venue where the magic happens made it feel all the more real. The end of April can’t come soon enough!
Emily Monaghan is a screenwriter and director from the New York City area in the United States. Monaghan has written and directed several short films, including Changing Tune (2024) and Le Fleur (2023)
