MAF has been a highlight since first year and I was keen to get out of my comfort zone since returning to uni as I knew it'd be one of the last chances for a while that I'd be up North.
I'm so glad I did! I applied thinking I had no chance of getting accepted so it made it an even more valuable experience.
I was very lucky to be scheduled constantly in panels which meant less networking as I was tied to locations but the fortune of seeing amazing work throughout the week! Meeting the other volunteers was great and the team environment was so much fun, as exhausting as it was!
Stand out moments-
- Bunuel in the Labyrinth of Turtles - the mix of real footage and animation was amazing, the film was like nothing I've seen before in terms of narrative- so captivating.
- The making of Klaus- a hilarious talk but also just in absolute awe learning of the techniques and software that went into making one of the most beautiful films I've seen recently.
- Swallows of Kabul- heart wrenching and beautiful animation style.
- Diversity Panel- I was keen to attend this to help my COP essay. It had valuable statistics and was good to see the conversation lifted at an event such this but I did think there was a certain irony to having to white men leading the conversation on diversity in the workplace. The blase statements of improvement of BAME in the workplace was contrasted to the actual personal experience of a black female panelist. It was great to be able to interact asking that 'although you may have seen improvement behind the scenes, what would you say of the diversity of the on screen faces?' to which the reply was along the lines of 'well the last report included Smurfs as people of colour' ... which I think says it all.
