Don't Stress, Stay Blessed

(2023)

Roles: Director, Editor

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On a Thursday, Nataylia asked me if we could make a film Friday for festival submission on the Tuesday. She had a song with a vague idea of black and white "stress" to colourful "bless", but the rest was up to me.

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To make the most of the couple of hours we had, I came up with a rough plan, but it was mostly improvised. Having directed documentaries and comedies, I quite like improvisation, and the kids really shone with creativity.

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A couple months later, with the our film nominated at Birmingham Film Festival, she asked me to insert some shots of her at the beach. She'd already tried herself, but the new clips were breaking up the music. To keep the film's momentum without losing the beach clips, I placed them amongst the credits. 

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Watching it screen at Birmingham Film Festival, I was proud of how complete it felt, considering how quick the production was.

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