From February to August of 2022, I interned with Lonely Seal Film Festival to curate a catalog of films to showcase at their festival that was held October 5th-10th at the Regent Theater in Arlington, MA. I specifically chose to intern for Lonely Seal after Professor Cynthia Savaglio recommended festival screening as a valuable experience for those who wish to pursue screenwriting, as it is a way to read other people’s writing for potential inspiration. Our internship team, led by Hammad Zaidi, would gather for weekly Zoom calls to discuss films we had watched and interns could ask for any advice related to the real-world film industry. Zaidi was even open to putting aside time to speak with anybody one-on-one for further mentoring. My time spent with the Lonely Seal internship team not only taught me more about collaboration but also instilled in me a deeper appreciation for global films of all types.

Each intern was given access to Lonely Seal’s official FilmFreeway account and assigned a number of submissions to score. The list of worldwide submissions ranged from short films to feature-length films to music videos, screenplays, and more. Each submission would be scored based on an assortment of criteria, including but not limited to structure, cinematography, originality, and directing. As jurors, we also left short written reviews that were generally 3 sentences minimum to leave notes on the films’ triumphs and critiques. Not only did judging teach me how to be critical while watching films, but it also granted me insight into techniques I may use for future film projects of my own.

Having viewed dozens of films throughout my internship, I have come to find watching movies to be joyous rather than a tedious chore. When I wasn’t reviewing festival submissions, I learned to set aside time to watch one movie per night as a way to help myself get through the laundry list of amazing films I had yet to watch. I’m also now more inclined to attend film showcases out of pure curiosity. After hearing that short films by two UT students would be shown at the Orlando International Film Festival, I bought myself tickets and went out to support them. While Shape of the Past and Maid were the two films that had brought me out to the event, I greatly enjoyed sitting in on the other films that were shown in between. Now having the perspective of a film reviewer, I understood the effort that went into each film and the unique reasons for which they were all selected. After this experience, I hope to attend more film festivals in the future so I can watch movies I may otherwise never see. Overall, my time spent with Lonely Seal Film Festival has benefitted me in many ways and I’d gladly recommend others to work alongside them.