Marco from Trapoja at dinner in Prishtina 😁 His name is Arben and he's an extremely talented actor from France & Kosovo, and an exceptionally kind person. Don't let the movies fool you 😆 Thank you Ardian for continuing to help grow the industry here one connection at a time.
Showing up is the main key to success in life and work. So, when you get that last minute invite to the opening of a friend's show, you go! Whether that friend is a Prime Minister or not 😀
Three rules to success in Hollywood:
1) Show up
2) Be on time
3) Be nice to everyone
The event: Catalyst CEO, Philip Gilpin Jr with artist Edi Rama (Albanian Prime Minister) at his opening exhibition Chrysalizing at Societe gallery in Berlin. Congratulations 👏
Here we go! Beginning of a wild work week: Tirana to Prishtina to Berlin to elsewhere. The film industry is gaining steam here... got to be in multiple places at once to teach, produce, and push things forward 🤪
For the last two years, I have been living and working in Albania. Why? To create a home for filmmakers. Not just a festival, or a workshop, or a pitch session, or an incentive - but a real home where storytellers can afford to live, work, and create. And we have succeeded.
This effort has been supported by an amazing team of Americans & Albanians from inside and outside the industry, corporate sponsors and all levels of government and local community.
We have opened a training center for cast and crew, brought top industry executives here to scout, sourced equipment and services, fostered production service companies and support infrastructure, found low cost high quality lodging, and more.
The result is this: it costs about 50% less to shoot your project here, and with a higher quality of life and lower cost of living. You can live well here on under 2,000 dollars a month.
Now, producers are starting to ask me to prepare budgets for their projects. We've done comparisons for indie, studio, sci-fi, drama, comedy, everything. If you have a project that can't raise the rest of the money you need, message me and I'll see if you could make it here with what you already have.
An extraordinary day meeting with the President of Kosovo, our Catalyst team & film/TV industry producers, and the President's staff to discuss the economic, cultural, and global impacts of the film industry.
Special thank you to @albanians.for.america and Learta for making this possible!
It was an honor for our Catalyst team and Hollywood producers to meet with Hajrulla Çeku, the Minister of Culture, Youth and Sports in Kosova.
There was a great discussion about how to grow the local film industry through partnerships with existing productions from Los Angeles, New York, London and elsewhere around the world. It is so impressive to see a country make the film and media indistry a priority for the next generations of artists and storytellers!
Thank you @albanians.for.america and @qendrakinematografike for opening the doors and making powerful connections 🙏
Congratulations to our Catalyst students & the FoodLovers team for making this first-of-its-kind production in Albania 😊 There's always something magical anywhere in the world about finding the people who take risks, show up, and work hard to create new things for their community & country.
photo: @tanasescunicusor
Yes, in Albania there is a community of filmmakers, storytellers, and creatives gathering under one roof, and it’s POWERFUL! 🎬
I got to be part of this event hosted by @catalystories_albania & @gretlmarlene and saw first-hand how they’re investing in the arts, making space for voices, stories, and growth.
It’s beautiful to see mission-driven work like this: equipping actors, writers, producers & directors, giving people creative tools, and believing that our stories matter.
Albania deserves spaces like this. Our creative pulse here is strong and only getting louder. ❤️🇦🇱
#albania #tirana #filmtok #creatives #film
I'll be giving a TEDx talk on Sept 21 in Tirana 💡Excited to join other great speakers to discuss these important topics for the Balkan region.
Thank you Brenton for the invite!
In 2019, I had the privilege of working with Melissa Hortman. She was a kind force who got things done. A group of us went to LA to meet with studios and industry leaders, and her yellow pad notes turned into what is now the thriving film tax incentive program in Minnesota.
She was a normal everyday person trying to be a good public servant. I never got to know her beyond our few work meetings together but as a human, she was a threat to no one. If America is now a place where people like her are seen as targets to be eliminated, then no one is safe from the political cancer that has consumed the country. No one. That includes you, your local selectboard members, mayors, reps, school boards, etc.
This is beyond shocking both for the action itself and what this means for the USA.
Paraditen e sotme, grupi i producentëve pati një eksperiencë të paharrueshme teksa vizituan Bulevardin e Tiranës dhe Shtepinë e Gjetheve. 🏛️ Gjatë turit në këmbë, ata patën mundësinë të njohin më mirë bukuritë e kryeqytetit dhe një pjesë të rëndësishme të historisë së tij. 🎬✨ #Tirana #FilmIndustry #CulturalExchange
