the mentor is speaking
Megan Gallaghers report
After Valerie Saunders returned from Hannover, I sent an email to Kwok Zune, Mahdi Jafari, Ursula Ulmi and Veronica Kedar, letting them know that I was at
their disposal for any advice on writing and developing their next stories. I was pretty clear with them that even short films need proper story structure, and that I was a firm believer in getting the script in
shape before filming begins. I was also very clear that I tend to respond to emails quite quickly, and that I try to be as specific as possible, because I believe specificity helps writers a great deal, especially in the early development phases of their work.
Kwok quickly let me know that he was going to take some time to travel, but he'll contact me with his ideas. So, I am still waiting to hear from him. He has said that he'd like to make another short
film before attempting a feature, which I thought was insightful and smart on his part. Ursula is still tossing around ideas as well, and isn't ready to talk about her next project yet, though she's sent me some of her animated
films so I could see more of her style. So impressive. I'm hoping she'll come forward with story ideas soon. I have had the most exchange with Mahdi and Veronica. Mahdi has another
idea for a short film which also features a little boy in school. We've talked a lot about the difference between plot and story (plot being the events that take place during a film, and story being the emotions behind
everything). I thought his awarded film BABA AB DAD was such an emotional film, and so I have gently pushed him to continue in that direction, to narrow down the emotional story he wants to tell, rather than just focusing on plot. We've
had a lot of email exchanges. He's really so bright. Veronica has also shared a story idea with me, which seemed much larger in scope (almost could be feature length). I sent a very detailed response to her, letting her know how interesting it was, but also asking a lot of questions about where she sees this going, and offering a great deal of advice about how she might develop the story, depending on her personal taste. I imagine she's doing another round of work on it, and will get back with me once she's ready to move forward. So, that's about where we are. It's been fun to work with such talented people, from all over the globe.
