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CONNECTING TALENT, SKILLS, AND OPPORTUNITY ACROSS THE GLOBAL FILM AND CREATIVE INDUSTRIES.

DIRECTORY EXISTS TO ENABLE LOCAL DISCOVERY, ENCOURAGE COLLABORATION, AND BUILD MEANINGFUL CONNECTIONS, ONLINE AND OFFLINE, ACROSS GLOBAL CITIES, CREATIVE ROLES, AND FILMMAKING FORMATS.

FOUNDED BY DANIEL MCKEE WITH IAN PONS JEWELL.

THE CURRENT LANDSCAPE

FRAGMENTED NETWORKS

FILMWORKERS OFTEN WORK WITHIN ISOLATED BUBBLES (CREWS, COMPANIES, CITIES) LIMITING COLLABORATION AND KNOWLEDGE SHARING. THESE BUBBLES ARE HARD TO BREAK INTO AND HARD TO BREAK OUT OF, RESTRICTING TALENT, IDEAS, AND OPPORTUNITY FROM FLOWING FREELY ACROSS ROLES, DISCIPLINES, AND SECTORS.

ALGORITHMIC INVISIBILITY

FILMMAKERS ARE LOST IN FEEDS AND RECOMMENDATION ENGINES. LOCAL WORK IS BURIED, COMPETING WITH GLOBAL ENGAGEMENT. ALGORITHMS FAVOR SPECIFIC STYLES OR FORMATS, CREATING INCENTIVES THAT DO NOT ALWAYS SERVE AUDIENCES, FILMMAKERS, OR ALIGN WITH CREATIVE OUTPUT.

UNEQUAL ACCESS

PROFESSIONAL DISCOVERY IS LIMITED TO A FEW TRUSTED SPACES: FESTIVALS, AWARDS, AND CURATED PLATFORMS. THESE ARE OVERSUBSCRIBED AND COMPETITIVE. PROFESSIONAL NETWORKS AND ROSTERS ARE EXCLUSIVE. SYSTEMIC BARRIERS EXIST THAT MAKE BUILDING A CAREER TOWARDS REPRESENTATION CHALLENGING.

EXTRACTIVE & EXCLUSIVE NETWORKS

PROFESSIONAL NETWORKS OFTEN MONETISE ACCESS TO TALENT, OPPORTUNITIES, OR BOTH. OTHERS ARE HIGHLY EXCLUSIVE, WITH INFRASTRUCTURE AND RESOURCES INTERESTED OR CAPABLE IN SUPPORTING A SMALL GROUP.

COLLECTIVELY, THESE FACTORS CONTRIBUTE TOWARDS LIMITING SHARED OPPORTUNITY AND RESTRICT THE GROWTH AND HEALTH OF OUR INDUSTRY.

PHILOSOPHY

DIRECTORY IS FOUNDED ON THE FOLLOWING PRINCIPLES:

FILMWORKERS FIRST

DIRECTORY’S FOCUS IS ON SUPPORTING INDIVIDUALS WITHIN THE FILM INDUSTRY’S EXISTING ECOSYSTEM. IT IS NOT OUR OBJECTIVE TO BUILD AN EXCLUSIVE NETWORK. DIRECTORY REVERSES THE CONVENTIONAL DISCOVERY FLOW: INSTEAD OF LEADING WITH THE WORK, WE LEAD WITH THE FILMMAKERS. NAMES GUIDE INTO CREDITS AND PROJECTS, FACILITATING HUMAN DISCOVERY.

OPEN VISIBILITY

EVERYONE ON DIRECTORY IS SHOWN ON EQUAL TERMS. EXPERIENCE, CREDITS, AND STATUS ARE INTENTIONALLY HIDDEN IN OVERVIEW. BY REMOVING CONVENTIONAL LABELS AND METRICS, DIRECTORY OPENS SPACE FOR NEW CONNECTIONS AND OPPORTUNITIES.

LOCAL DISCOVERY

FILMWORKERS ARE DISCOVERABLE BY LOCALITY, ACROSS REGIONS, AND ROLES, FOSTERING REAL-WORLD CONNECTIONS AND OFFLINE COLLABORATION BEYOND EXISTING BUBBLES. DIRECTORY UNCOVERS INVISIBLE NETWORKS OF LOCAL FILMMAKERS WHILE MAKING COMMUNITIES AS COLLECTIVES VISIBLE ACROSS REGIONS AND BORDERS.

GROWTH THROUGH CONNECTION

RELATIONSHIPS, PROJECTS, AND OPPORTUNITIES ARE ENABLED, OFFLINE AND ONLINE, WITHOUT ALGORITHMIC INVOLVEMENT OR MONETISATION-DRIVEN MECHANICS.

OBJECTIVES

SUCCESS IS MEASURED OFFLINE.

DIRECTORY ENABLES:

DISCOVERY

BE VISIBLE TO, AND CONNECT WITH, COLLABORATORS, CREWS, TALENT, AND SOURCES OF INSPIRATION BEYOND YOUR IMMEDIATE CIRCLE AND OUTSIDE OF RECOMMENDATION ALGORITHMS.

COLLABORATION

FOSTER NEW CONNECTIONS THAT LEAD TO PROJECTS, PARTNERSHIPS, AND CREATIVE OPPORTUNITIES. STRENGTHENING CONNECTIONS BETWEEN LOCAL AND GLOBAL CREATIVE ECOSYSTEMS.

NETWORK

A SUPPORTIVE, NON-COMPETITIVE NETWORK WHERE PARTICIPANTS ARE VISIBLE AND EQUIPPED TO IDENTIFY AND CONNECT WITH LOCAL FILMWORKERS AND THE WIDER INDUSTRY.

FORWARDS

DIRECTORY IS AN EVOLVING PROJECT. ALONGSIDE THE CONTINUED DEVELOPMENT OF THE ONLINE PLATFORM, INCLUDING MAKING SITE CONTENT MULTILINGUAL, IT WILL EXTEND INTO OFFLINE ACTIVITY INCLUDING MEETUPS, SCREENINGS, AND WORKSHOPS.

NEW ROLES WILL BE ADDED AS DIRECTORY GROWS. IF YOU WORK IN A ROLE NOT CURRENTLY LISTED, YOU’RE INVITED TO REQUEST A ROLE VIA OUR SITE FORM.

DISCOVERY STARTS ONLINE. CONNECTION HAPPENS IRL.