Reflections on 2023
Intro
I’m back… I’ve been a little quiet on here lately, as something pretty major happened last year… I became a mum. It was the single best thing to have happened (aside from meeting my husband) and the year was full of highs and lows as I tried to become even better at multitasking! There wasn’t enough capacity for everything, so this personal writing had to pause, but I’m excited to pick this back up. See below some of the exciting things we got up to last year, and remember to sign up for my newsletter for my monthly musings.
Here is a quick summary of the best year with my new daughter. I always hoped to have a baby who loved to travel and could sleep anywhere. I knew that I wouldn’t take the traditional year off on maternity leave, and was thrilled that I could continue to growTogether Films (thanks to an amazing team) alongside nurturing the newest member of my family. Massive respect for my husband who also traveled to many film festivals (for the first time in our 17 years together) to ensure that we split the childcare 50/50 all year.
February
Ava arrived on Feb 6th through a planned C-section 3 weeks earlier than her original due date. It was a surprisingly calm day (which for someone with anxiety felt strange at first). She was born at 13:13, which was super surreal, as 13 is our family’s lucky number. It was a good sign for things to come.
Confirmation from the BFI Global Screen Fund that they wanted to support the growth of Together Films expanding into international sales. This felt like a dream to hear and I cried on the call when they told us. This gave me such a personal confidence boost that it was the right strategy to be moving forward with. Big thanks to Alex + Vicki who helped so much with the application.
March
Ran a business strategy session for one of my favourite clients - Earthrise Studio. Ava slept on my chest for the entire 6hr session whilst we covered business growth strategy, impact evaluation, content expansion ideas, and more. This team has been on fire all year and I can’t wait to see what more they produce in 2024.
Hosted a marketing & operations strategy session for the Raindance Film Festival to improve their audience and industry engagement.
April
Interviews for new team members as the team needed to grow with additional clients and a growing sales slate coming into focus. It was so lovely to meet with so many potential people who were interested in joining the team.
Signed In Camera by Naqqash Khalid for international sales - the first title on our debut slate!
May
Ava’s passport arrived early and so we made the bold decision to book last-minute flights to Cannes. We had just announced the funding from the BFI Global Screen Fund to support our new sales agency, and it felt important to be on the ground to meet with some of our clients. Up until this point, my husband had never been to a film festival in the 17 years that we have been together. It mainly consisted of him and Ava hanging out at parties, from then on he agreed to come to all future events…
After Cannes, we then headed to Greece for a friend’s wedding. Ava slept on the whole flight. It was clear we had a travel baby.
Started working with a brilliant new brand client in the US exploring high school transformation. I love working with passionate brands that understand market & audience strategy.
Ran a strategy lab with Eloise King on a new feature documentary project Exed by Steve McQueen. Having been an admirer of her work for so long, was great to jump into a deep impact strategy conversation to outline her ambitions for 2024.
June
Return to Sheffield DocFest to take part in the MeetMarket and announce the opening night film TISH on our sales slate. Modern Films signed the film for the UK and launched a tremendous theatrical campaign in November. Incredible work from Eve and her team!
Whilst in Sheffield, got to catch up with Isy Barrs, who was my first assistant and longest serving member of TF, who after 6 years had moved on to a role programming at a local arts venue in Sheffield. Also got to see the gorgeous Beccy Ashdown, who had again secured an incredible lineup for the Sheffield industry programme. Beccy was my work wife for several years, and Together wouldn’t be what it is today without her brilliance. I’m fortunate to still keep in touch with most of my team who have moved on to new roles and it fills me with joy to see them thriving in their new positions.
Mentored on the EsoDoc programme for the 8th(?) year running. Great to hear all about the new slate of impact projects in development.
Attended a Doc Dinner hosted by Sarah McCarthy, where some of my favourite people in the field were in attendance. We drank, we laughed, we cried and we ate brilliant food. One of the highlights of my entire year.
Virtually attended a panel at Sunnyside of the Doc on the balance of impact & sales.
Team lunch at Somerset House - Ava’s first official day in the office ❤️
July
In Camera World Premiere at the Karlovy Vary Film Festival. Wild to plan a premiere at a festival I hadn’t been to in person before, but the team pulled together to make it all happen.
Ava’s first cinema trip obviously had to be the mother and baby screening of Barbie - yes we all wore pink. Thanks to the Picturehouse team for running these screenings, it was a great thing to do together.
The saddest and most surreal day of the year came when Jess Search passed away suddenly. She was an incredible human, who inspired so so many people in the documentary industry. If you aren’t aware of the work that Doc Society does, I encourage you to check out their website. She was my first boss in the industry and mentored me in the formative years of my career. I don’t think Together Films would exist without the mentorship that Jess & Beadie provided at Doc Society. What most people weren’t aware of, is that Jess was also my husband’s cousin. I had met Dan at university, but we didn’t realize the connection for over a year. Since leaving Doc Society in 2013, Jess was therefore more family to me in the past decade rather than just an old colleague. She inspired me to think bigger and be better often. As Jess provided in her closing call to action for the world, there is no time like the present. Go out and make those bold choices today to create a pathway for a better world tomorrow.
August
Welcome two new marketing team assistants Margaux & Veronika who have been excellent additions to the team. Their due diligence and proactive approach to their roles have made a huge impact on the performance of the team.
As an initial celebration of Jess’s life, a group of family & friends attended Margate Pride (where she and Beadie had married a few years prior). The dress code was typical of a Jess party - everyone delivered above and beyond on the brief! It was a day of mourning, but also joy, celebrating the lasting impact that she will have on the world. We became a tribe of ‘Lucky Fuckers’ to have known Jess, a phrase that she had created to describe her love for this life that she had.
At the end of August, we hosted an outdooring for Ava. This is a tradition in Dan’s family, as part of his Ghanaian heritage. Usually happening in the first week after birth, we brought family and friends together for a party at Dan’s parent’s house to celebrate her arrival. The photo below shows Dan’s grandfather introducing Dan to the world nearly 40 years prior.
Welcomed Jess Reilly as the new International Sales & Acquisitions Manager. What she has managed to achieve in the first few months of her role is incredible. I’m so excited that our filmmakers get to have her as their agent in this market.
September
A weekend in France to celebrate one of our best friends’ wedding. It was stunning.
Welcome Glynnis Ritter as our new Head of Impact Campaigns & Strategy (joining us from our friends at Picture Motion). Glynnis has brought so much enthusiasm and knowledge to this team and we are already seeing brilliant outcomes for our clients. Learning to fully delegate this year has been great for my mental health, and Glynnis was able to run forward with our goals after just a few days in the role. It’s true that when you have the right fit for hiring, everything feels better.
Hosted an UK all team away day at Somerset House to go over our growth plans. We have a lot coming up in 2024 and we need to get our heads together to ensure we were all on the right path. Big thanks to Alana who transitioned from her strategy role to support more of our HR function for putting together a great agenda for the day. This was my first full day in the office with Ava, but she popped in at the end to say hi as we were finishing up.
October
In Camera UK Premiere at London Film Festival (on my birthday!). I previously had a premiere of the first film I produced - They Will Have To Kill Us First - at LFF in 2015, also on my birthday. Maybe this has to become the annual tradition.
Joined friends and family at a celebration party in honour of Jess during LFF. Lots and lots of dancing, along with plenty of Margaritas and some heartfelt singing at the end. She knew how to love life.
Welcomed Jamie Webb as our new Film Sales Manager, with a focus on our festival & non-theatrical bookings. Our Director of Operations Alex Cook came back from her sabbatical and brought all of the office pastries with her.
Announce White Nanny Black Child as our next acquisition, working with the brilliant Producer Natasha Dack (TigerLilly Productions) and Director Andy Mundy-Castle (Doc Hearts).
November
Travel to DOC NYC for meetings and drinks reception to announce the new CMSI report on sales and impact, in associated with the Ford Foundation. We were one of the sponsors for the POV Annual fundraising gala. Great to see so many friends.
I flew in the entire US team so we could have a few days of bonding. Brilliant to have such experienced team members on the ground across the US, who can bring regional knowledge to our campaigns.
Announce Jeanie Finlay’s Your Fat Friend as our next acquisition.
Following NYC, flew down to Cancun in Mexico for a wonderful family holiday.
Second Doc Dinner of the year at Sarah McCarthy’s house - again brilliant food and company with guests including some of our current and previous clients Waad Al Kateab (For Sama), Tamana Ayazi (In Her Hands), and Rachel Ramsay (COPA 71).
December
First time at the British Independent Film Awards (BIFAs) for a double nomination for In Camera. Unfortunately, we didn’t take home the prizes, however had a great night celebrating the best of the UK independent film industry.
Hosted a You Fat Friend watch party with thousands of fans from around the world to help fundraise for the UK/US theatrical release. Jeanie’s vision here was totally correct, this audience was ready to support!
Lovely online Xmas celebration with some of our team. Detailed planning for our 2024 growth goals, including new hires, clarifying our service packages and mapping out our market attendance. We got the best festival acceptance just before the holidays (which we will be announcing very soon!), which made the end of the year feel so much more delightful.
Reflections
For my own mental health, I knew that I wanted to choose to keep working when Ava was born. I wasn’t sure how it would go or whether I would have a baby that would let me do that. I had no idea what the impact would be on my anxiety when she arrived. However, by some kind of brilliant intervention, she has made me less anxious. I am now hyper-focused in a way I haven’t felt before. I had fewer panic attacks this year than in the last decade. I make quicker decisions. We are on target to have the best performing year in our company's history, and I have a better sense of work/life balance than ever before. To all those who said becoming a mum is like becoming a superhero, it’s true. Mums really can get shit done when they need to.
As I look forward to 2024, I’m so excited about what a less anxious brain feels like and what we can achieve if I let go of the imposter syndrome doubt that plagued me for so long. I’m proud to have built a business with flexibility built into the operating structure, so that I can benefit from taking my daughter around the world with me, and so can my team. They are allowed to work from any location (home or abroad) as long as they operate on either UK or US timings. They can structure their days around nursery drop-offs, and lunchtime play dates as long as they complete their required tasks. I trust them all completely to deliver on their work. I’m proud that my daughter will get to watch me building a business in a moment of growth, and can’t wait to see what this update could look like this time next year.
Of course, none of this would have been possible without such a supportive husband - thanks to Dan for being a legend every day.