Why don’t you do it?
It is all about planning (and luck).
I don’t know when this idea came to mind. It should have been a mix of dreams and chaos.
I should say that I was pretty lucky but certainly I went through some of the darkest of times.
At the beginning of 2019 I was unemployed, I broke up with my girlfriend and had to pay off the mortgage of an expensive house, alone. In addition to that, a few family members had health issues and some very close to me passed away. I had never experienced anything like this, at least not all at once, but I just did one thing right: planning ahead.
I knew that I was going to be laid off from the multinational production company in which I was a creative producer, the organisation was literally collapsing and it was just a matter of time after two quite harsh acquisitions.
Therefore a few months before “that call” in the office of HR, I already spoke with some people in my network with whom I had been talking about collaborating and, regretfully, I never had the time to do it, and then it hit me: Do I really want a job?
They all had inspiring projects on the table, but all on a freelance basis and even though the idea of stability and income coming every month sounds good – I should say I’ve never been one of those people saying that going to an office every day is the worst thing: it depends on the office and the job – but yeah, the idea of freedom is kind of my jam.
The first book I read was Jonathan Livingston Seagull, and since I was very little I wasn’t dreaming of a job – becoming a filmmaker – but I was dreaming a lot, and it was mostly about flying. So I went for it.
Things went well, I took the chance to make Accepted, a low-budget Short Film which later won many international awards, and a series of cool projects started, global documentary projects for institutions like Anne Frank House, Borussia Dortmund and many others. It was a moment of relief, and I started calling more and more professionals to join me to help. But then… Covid came.
I am Italian, and my parents were living in Rome. When in the Netherlands people were laughing at this idea of “Corona”, in Italy people knew it was no joke. So I could start planning. One thing that I always took pride in is my curiosity and versatility. I love everything in and around filmmaking and I can do a little bit of everything. When Covid came I was in the position to have the footage for almost two documentaries. This is also because I shoot the last part of one remotely with a crew in Moscow, just one day before they shut down everything and went into full lockdown. I had the Visa and the ticket to Moscow but I could not go, so I shot remotely, and yes, I was also lucky to do it one day before lockdown in Russia.
Anyway, I managed to go through Covid times with a good deal of work and a steady income, thanks to planning (and luck).
As things started opening up and new projects came in, I had the privilege to start contacting all the best people I worked with and sharing the IMR project. I was invited to join Football Makes History as a partner with my organisation, and then in March 2022, this was a big push to get things out of my head and be also real formally and out in the world. As the months passed by I worked with a team to make the identity, website, change the trade name and launch it.
Now IMR is partner in another big EU project funded, that I signed just on the day of my birthday on 21st December 2022 – and I will talk about it soon on these pages – and many creative people collaborating and working in IMR.
I am glad you can now check out this amazing website powered by ours truly Diego Femia. Please reach out for any questions, for business enquiries or just to have a chat. We are always on the lookout for more talented people to join so, if you are interested, we’d love to meet you.
