My mum used to hate indecision and dithering. Whether it was one of us kids playing while on the loo, or my farmer dad trying to decide which crops to plant in the spring, my mum would always say ‘shit or get off the pot.’
It’s about commitment. Isn’t it strange how one’s life accelerates when we commit to a dream? Days, weeks and months flash by as if nothing.
Indecision causes a paralysis that is numbing and soul-destroying. Indecision is often caused by fear. The fear of what happens if you fail to keep your dream alive.Or the fear of failure. When I look at my own life’s regrets they are almost always caused by indecision. I have gotten very good at resisting making a choice.
What you resist, persists.
Carl Jung
I have written countless emails and web posts about the extraordinary training sessions at Raindance. I have endlessly applauded the spectacular films and filmmakers we have screened at our amazing festival over the decades. What is really hard for me to convey in words is how Raindance can give you a boost and a lift that you simply won’t get elsewhere.
Joining Raindance is like joining a tribe. A tribe of like-minded people. Opportunities like Raindance don’t come along very often – opportunities where people like you and me can make massive changes to our career and our lives.
But Elliot, why did you start Raindance?
People used to ask me why I started a film festival. They’d say we have London Film Festival here in London, and TIFF in Toronto. I was told I hadn’t the ‘balls’ to continue after the first horrifically hard years. But I did – thanks in large part to the support and kindness the Raindance community has shown.
While the Raindance Film Festival is an outstanding cinema experience for audiences and filmmakers alike, Raindance is so much more.
Raindance is an outstandingly original and powerful professional development initiative. Raindance is also an innovative film school that has shaped the careers of hundreds of writers, directors and filmmakers.
Here I am going to start sounding sentimental. Or perhaps evangelical like my family before me.
What is the goal of Raindance?
Everyone involved in Raindance has exactly the same goal. We want you to succeed. We want you to take a stand and express yourself creatively.
If you do join us here at Raindance, you will also be joining with hundreds of other creative people all over the world. All of us trying to reach our creative potential together.
Now, about the public health crises…
Everyone is understandably worried about the viral pandemic. But here’s the trap. News headlines blaring doom and gloom provide the perfect excuse for indecision.
I too suffered indecisiveness the first ten days of the lockdown. But not any more. Here’s what those ten days taught me:
Your vision and your ideas are more important now than ever before. With Raindance you can become fully self-expressed. I don’t want to see anyone I know shut down and dispossessed of creative expression. And remember, we are living in very troubled times – a world filled with cynics who do not see the meaning of creativity and art. Plus this health crises which is giving politicians the power to dismantle our democracy.
It’s totally fine to disagree
You don’t need to agree with me. I’m all for debate. And you don’t need to feel excluded if you don’t have creative ambitions either. Many of our patrons feel that way. But they believe what Raindance is about is so important they contribute as patrons to help Raindance be what it is.
Raindance isn’t about giving you some sort of elixir that will zoom you to the top. It’s about welcoming you to a whole new peer group that will hold you to higher standards, inspire you to let your full creativity explode.
For these reasons, Raindance exists. To share knowledge, experience and to encourage each other to raise our game and continue the journey to success, however we individually define it.
Are you ready to move beyond the fear of the current crises?
Let’s kick some ass. Now, are you ready to get off the pot?
Did you know?
- Raindance members save 20% on filmmaking courses in London and out international hubs?
You can join online >HERE< and access freebies and discounts immediately - Our open courses are FREE for our HND, top-up BA and postgraduate/MA/ students
- You can book a free 1-1 consultation about our full-time degree filmmaking courses HERE
- The Raindance Guarantee: If any filmmaking course fails to meet your expectations, let us know at the break and we will make a full, 100% no-questions-asked refund
- We don’t teach ‘filmmaking’ at Raindance. At Raindance we make filmmakers.
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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