Background information of NE
Name & surname: Luke Foy
Country: UK
Sector of activity: Creative Industry
Name of business: WoFF Glasgow
Background information of HE
Name & surname: Katja Kotnik Prosenjak
Country: Slovenia
Sector of activity: Creative Industry
Experience in running a business: 6 years
Name of business: Kulturno društvo Slovenj Gradec
Period of Relationship: 29/07/2019 – 29/01/2020
Duration of Relationship: 6 months
How was Katja Kotnik Prosenjak supported in the management of the SHOTS film festival in Slovenia?
How to effectively organise and run a local film festival was at the basis of the professional encounter between Katja (HE) and Luke (NE) during this successful exchange. The collaboration was so successful that it managed to bring together two film cultures – namely the Slovenian film culture and the UK film culture.
Under HE mentorship, the NE participated in day-to-day activities including staging and planning of live events related to the SHOTS film festival and similar meetings in Slovenj Gradec in northern Slovenia. By constantly interacting with the social media team, NE helped in activities related to social marketing, branding and in designing promotional strategies for the mentioned film festival. During the festival, NE supported HE in collecting information on the festival – particularly information about the guests, qualitative feedbacks from attending visitors at the end of each film projection as well as information regarding the number of attending visitors.
Also, by invitation of the HE, NE took part in panel discussions during the SHOTS film festival. HE thus gave NE a chance to talk about the British film making industry and present his own ideas focusing on how to promote a film festival. Parallel activities undertaken by NE under HE’s mentorship included recruiting volunteers for live events at the festival and interacting with them so to secure efficiency at the film festival.
Thanks to a fruitful mentorship and their daily cooperation, HE and NE managed to develop new business ideas applicable in the field of arts and the creative industry at a local level. They were successful in rendering them particularly appealing thanks to the knowledge of the HE in the field of outdoor film events. HE worked for several years on planning local film events such as the SHOTS film festival in Slovenia, and had planned panels, presentations and interactive events related to the film industry. NE benefitted very much from her mentorship, which was rich in terms of professional advice and suggestions.
On the other hand, HE was able to benefit from a different, external point of view on the film festival and a number of related events that she was organising during Luke’s stay. She was lucky to receive NE’s feedbacks on how a foreign person may react to the touristic and cultural offer in that part of Slovenia. Even more importantly, HE obtained a number of ideas on how to get more filmmakers from the UK coming to Slovenia in the coming months and years.
Concluding Remarks
Katja Kotnik Prosenjak: “After 6 years of experience in the film industry and management of film events, I felt ready to share my knowledge with others. I was looking for a young dynamic person who would show enthusiasm for cinema. Luke showed all these qualities and more: he had a very positive impact on our team and – I dare to say – on the entire SHOTS film festival community during his stay with us.”
Luke Foy: “This was an important experience for the development of my professional career. Participating at the SHOTS film festival and observing how to organise and manage such a festival helped me brainstorming, collecting ideas and cultivate my passion for arts-related live events. Furthermore, the fact that I have been exposed to the Slovenian culture for some months helped me broaden my vision, get a grasp of a local Slovenian culture and its heritage, and meet new friends. With pleasure I will bring these memories back with me into my own community in Scotland.”