Five stars in every category for Hammad Zaidi and the Lonely Seal Festival! This is a hidden gem and I can only hope it will gain more notice as the years go by. The summary of my experience is: the festival absolutely live up to its two promises: 1) telling “stories aching to be told” and 2) offering excellent career advice and networking opportunities.
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My film was selected for the festival and I wanted to attend, but I had to miss the middle days since I was the maid of honor in a wedding in a different city. Hammad was so good about accommodating me and I was able to see my film being screened. The wedding also meant I missed the scheduled career talk session. When I told Hammad this and asked if it would be recorded, he said I could just set up a time with him to talk over the phone instead. Indeed, I walked away from every conversation I had with him having learned a new and valuable piece of advice.
It was also a delight to be at a festival committed to supporting diverse voices. The Grand Prize film this year (Oklahoma Breakdown) taught me about an incredible musician I had never heard of. I saw films that centered around disabled main characters *and* films with disabled side characters. While both are important, it is so rare to see the latter. At Lonely Seal I got to see a film with a deaf character where their deafness isn’t remarkable, where they are allowed to just be another friend in a group, in addition to incredible films that did center around characters’ disabilities. What a joy it was.
Lonely Seal puts their money where their mouth is: they support diverse storytellers and diverse stories through the films they screen and through the fountain of advice and networking opportunities they offer.
Margot Bruce – Director, Harbor