Short Circuit Industry Focus Takeover at Glasgow Film Festival 2023

Short Circuit is taking over Glasgow Film Festival’s Industry Focus programme on Tuesday 7th March 2023! Join us for a jam-packed day of surgeries, case studies, panels and networking.

Confidence Surgery with Sasha Damjanovski

09:15 – 10:45 | Robert Burns Suite, Hilton DoubleTree

What is the difference between confidence and self-confidence? What do I need to stand up for myself, or lead a team? Where does confidence end and arrogance begin? And what has self-esteem got to do with it?

Confidence Surgery is a masterclass about how to build, maintain and how to demonstrate confidence in life, professional and personal. From daring to step out of our comfort zone at work, handling high-stakes situations (e.g. job interviews, meetings, pitching etc), handling disagreements with a client, a boss, or a partner. How do we defeat the notorious imposter syndrome?

Confidence Surgery is an interactive and highly motivational masterclass. We’ll look at some of the reasons behind confidence issues, and focus on developing strategies and habits to address them. We’ll learn practical skills to build up and sustain the self-confidence we need not only to do well, but to manifest our worth and potential.

Confidence is not a mysterious talent one has to be born with, but a set of skills and habits that can be practiced and perfected by everyone. Yes, everyone.

Sasha Damjanovski is an award-winning filmmaker, coach and counsellor. He is an Associate Lecturer at Central Saint Martins (UAL), and works with a variety of individual and corporate clients.

Turning Rejection into Strength

11:15 – 12:15 | Robert Burns Suite, Hilton DoubleTree

How do you move forward after an unsuccessful pitch? Rejection is something that everybody in the creative industries faces, and learning how to channel that feedback effectively is a vital skill to keep forging ahead. In this panel discussion, we’ll hear from commissioners and development leads who’ll shed light on how projects are selected, advise on understanding the market and audience for your work, and speak about using feedback to improve future pitches. Speakers include Lauren Castro (Manager of Adult Animation/Comedy at Netflix), Sophie Peacock (Script Editor at Bad Wolf) and Laura Grange (Commissioning Manager, Original Film at Sky Cinema). This session will be hosted by Short Circuit Talent Executive, Iria Pizania.

Case Study: Dog Days

13:00 – 14:00 | Robert Burns Suite, Hilton DoubleTree

Following the world premiere of Dog Days at GFF on 5th March, we’re delighted to welcome director James Price and producer Carolynne Sinclair Kidd to join us for an in-depth discussion on the making of the series and their experiences of creating work in Scotland. This session by hosted by Jamie Dunn, Film Editor at The Skinny.

Short Circuit: Alumni in Focus

14:30 – 15:45 | Robert Burns Suite, Hilton DoubleTree

Filmmakers Eubha Akilade (Writer/Director – Black Wool), Reece Cargan (Producer – Living With It), Sarah Grant (Writer/Director – Candy) and Misha McCullagh (Producer – Candy, Beatless) will join us to chat about their Short Circuit-supported projects, providing a useful insight into the making of their films and the scheme’s funding and talent development programmes. This session will be hosted by Short Circuit Project Coordinator, Rachel Wilson.