Episode 048: Sanne Jehoul, Co-Director of Glasgow Short Film Festival

This week's episode is tinged with a bit of sadness. I recorded it with Sanne Jehoul, co-director of the Glasgow Short Film Festival, whilst visiting the Glasgow Film Festival 2 weeks ago, ahead of their 2020 edition which was due to kick off tomorrow. Unfortunately Coronavirus has waylaid those plans and the festival has been postponed until later in the year.

It’s a tricky but necessary decision, and my thoughts are with Sanne and the whole festival team, whose hard work will have to wait to be rewarded. I decided to put this episode out anyway, because I think it’s still very timely given that festivals around the world are having to postpone or move online to hear what goes into the organisation and execution. 

Sanne joined the Glasgow Short Film Festival in 2014 and worked her way up to the position of Co-Direction. She is also a programmer and producer of Document Human Rights Film Festival and freelances as a writer, conversation host and curator. She also sits on the advisory board of Femspectives, a feminist film festival in Glasgow.

We talk about the process of selecting films for the festival, how they support filmmakers, what excites her about Scottish talent, the expanding short film landscape and some recent highlights in her career. Its heartbreaking having heard Sanne talk so ardently about her work on the festival to think that it won’t be going ahead right now, but it will be back and with Sanne and her team at the forefront I’ve no doubt it will be with a bang. 

On a similar note, I hope wherever you are self-isolating, you’re doing ok. Now is definitely a really difficult for freelance creatives, filmmakers and crewspeople and the film industry at large, and more than ever we need to be connected, so setup that Whatsapp group, get on the phone, Skype a friend or peer or colleague and stay energised, stay healthy and most of all, watch all those films you’ve been meaning to get around to.