Unlike Liz Truss’ comically short 44-day service, Raindance Film Festival has been running in full swing for 30 years. The rise and fall of Liz Truss – the shortest ever serving British Prime Minister has several painful lessons filmmakers can learn from. Never before has a political career risen so sharply and fallen so dramatically. Her resignation speech, only 90 seconds long, was dripping with self pity. Have a listen.
The First Painful Lesson: Get the Script Right
All of her speeches, including her resignation – are dry and totally devoid of any passion. Like Boris Johnson, or not – but he always delivered with the sort of passion that made you listen. He had a better script, and of course, he was a far better performer. Not that I had any ‘like’ for him.
Learning: The words on the page are so important.
Second Lesson, Equally Painful: Personal Branding is Everything
When you have an idea to present, or pitch, you need to do it with conviction. And it can’t seem fake, as it did with Liz Truss
Learning: Personal branding has nothing to do with websites or logos. It has everything to do with what people think about you. Get it right, and the career obstacles slice like butter. Get it wrong, and, well, you risk ending up like Liz Truss.
Why not make the odds stack in your favour? N.J. Simmonds delivers a 5-star Branding class at Raindance
The Third Painful Lesson of Liz Truss: Seek Advice
Liz Truss did something many first time filmmakers do – she didn’t get advice. Her tax cuts programme was ill-advised. And she never thought to have her economic plans run under the eyes of a seasoned professional, or the Bank of England. The result? The pound plummeted, now known as the Northern Peso. And the UK stock markets collapsed.
Why? You might ask, would someone make such a rash decision that impacts an entire nation, without any professional advice?
Learning: Advice and mentorship are both important. And before you enter into any programme, you need to make sure that your mentor or the programme you are entering is there to help, and not to ruthlessly exploit you.
Raindance has an excellent mentorship program.
Liz Truss’ Mistake # 4: Know Your Audience
Ms. Truss got into power by promising cuts in taxes to the core members of her Conservative party. Of course, the Conservatives are wealthy and represent a fraction of the British population. Her badly formed idea was simple: If the wealthy paid less tax, the economy would prosper.
However, she totally misjudged her audience. When her Mini-Budget was released, the proverbial hit the fan. and a few days later she was out.
Learning: Filmmakers’ first job is to find out who their audience is. And the tool that successful filmmakers use is the tool of genre. Each of the basic story genres will have its own particular audience. Filmmakers and screenwriters need to decide which genre suits their story. Then, of course, the trick is to deliver.
Mistake Number 5: Get Your Budget Right
The mockery that Liz Truss, and her long-gone Chancellor of the Exchequer Kwasi Kwarteng endured was the most painful lesson ever. Basically, you can’t come up with tax cuts unless you know how to pay for them.
Learning: Whatever film a filmmaker and screenwriter plan, you need to make sure you get your budget right. Why not take an evening out and learn about the all-important Budgeting and Scheduling class at Raindance.
Lesson 6: Truss Failed to Pitch Her Plan Properly
When you have an idea to present, or pitch, you need to do it with conviction. And it can’t seem fake, as it did with Liz Truss
Learning: Getting your ideas across, or ‘pitching’ requires practice and confidence. You can learn how at the Raindance Pitching Skills Workshop.
Fade Out: Winners never quit. Winners never Quit
Liz Truss’ famous speech: I’m a fighter, not a quitter was delivered just one day before she resigned. Why was she forced out? Because she had lost credibility. And, because she had failed to learn the painful lessons (listed above)
Learning: Filmmakers need to learn how to deal with rejection and setbacks. Liz Truss changed her mistakes far too late. This is something filmmakers do all the time. They keep changing their plan, their strategies and their marketing plans no matter how painful. But filmmakers who win. Never quit.
I should know. I have been fighting for independent film for thirty years.
Let’s make movies
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Photo Credit: Bertie Watson
I founded Raindance Film Festival in 1993 because the British film industry was closed, polite, and congratulating itself while shutting new filmmakers out.
I co-founded the British Independent Film Awards in 1998 because British indie film deserved more than a shrug, a pat on the head, and a Tuesday night screening.
Raindance didn’t start as a brand. It started as a rebellion: film training without gatekeepers, a festival without permission, and a community built by filmmakers who weren’t waiting to be invited in.
Later, we took it global: Toronto, Vancouver, New York, LA, Berlin, and Brussels, because independent film doesn’t belong to one city, one class, or one accent.
I’ve produced 700+ short films and seven features, including Deadly Virtues (2014) and ALICE, which won the SXSW Grand Jury Prize (2019) not because someone “discovered” us, but because the work earned its place.
I’ve written three books used by filmmakers worldwide because too many courses taught compliance instead of survival.
In 2009, I was awarded a PhD for services to film education, ironic, given that most of my career has been about tearing down the rules that education insisted you follow.
I don’t believe in waiting for permission.I believe in making work, building systems, and forcing the industry to catch up.
Specialties: Independent Film (the real kind) · Producing · Writing · Film Education · Festivals · Breaking Broken Systems
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