It’s at this time each year that I pack some stuff into my camera bag and head of to live tweet and to blog from the London Screenwriters’ Festival. It’s a jam packed three days of seminars, meet ups, parties, book launches, pitching, mentoring, networking, readings, and a million other little things and each year the festival seems to get bigger, more efficient and with over 800 attendees, something that can be overwhelming, especially if you’ve never been before.
This year I’ve told myself I’m travelling light, meaning that I plan to take just one bag with only the essentials I need to get my work done during three long days. It’s easy to let oneself get bogged down with unnecessary items.
Travelling light is also a metaphorical thing for me because turning up to the festival with a light heart and leaving any baggage you don’t need back at home sets you up for a wonderful time and a lot of discovery. Some of the most incredible sessions I’ve attended at the LSF have been one’s I ended up in unintentionally, whether because the session I was going to go to filled up or I happened to change my mind and tag along with a new friend I’d made. Some of those friends tried their hands at pitching just for the heck of it and had incredible success. And while I don’t knock planning ahead, it’s really great to experience the festival moment by moment and to feel free to go to new places.
With so many people, no way to truly tell who’s all going to pile into what area at any one time, and an endless stream of information, people everywhere and pitching pressures, sometimes things don’t go to plan and if that happens and you find yourself getting frustrated, intimidated or flustered in any way, my advice is to put down your baggage right there in that moment and lighten your load of expectation. Let the festival, it’s incredible staff and facilities look after you. It’s what being part of a screenwriting community is all about.
I’ll see you there, or online (@momentsoffilm on twitter & via this blog), free as a bird!
Posted by a member of the London Screenwriters’ Festival team.
