Zelma Vidina

What did you do after EFC?

I am full time entrepreneur, ever since I finished my studies in EFC and up until this day. I have been busy working in companies we have built together with my mom and brother over the past two decades. The fields of our business activities are translation and localization; preschool education and renovation of historical wooden buildings in Riga. 

I also completed in the years to follow my MA in Culture Management, EMBA in Stockholm School of Economics and currently am doing another Master’s Degree in Social Anthropology. I did a post graduate class in Pedagogy this year for professional needs of our preschool.

What did the EFC experience mean to you?

It was a very creative time living in this commune of people who love and are passionate about cinema and the film industry. It was probably one of the most intense educational experiences I had as you literally wake up and go to sleep with film ideas and projects in your head and heart. In fact, this is the same thing in entrepreneurship - you work on these ideas, projects and companies from dusk to dawn. It is very intense, sometimes exhausting, but result is satisfaction that something was created and then you move to the next project. 

I often compare entrepreneurship to a film set when I talk about it with kids who want to have their own businesses: you have a plan, you have a budget for the project, your team, but then there are so many aspects that change during the process and affect the end result and also changes you – different experiences, people you meet etc. 

Is EFC a part of your life today?
I think I definitely need to go to one of the EFCs reunions soon! Many years have passed and it would be great to return to the place and walk some of the streets of Ebeltoft. I am still in touch with some of the people from EFC.

In what way is film a part of your life today, if any?
I do some creative writing now and then. I was mainly interested in screenwriting, film production and film editing at the time I went to EFC. My interests when it comes to cinema have not changed much. I still think if I will get bored with entrepreneurship, I will turn back to cinema in one way or other.