Sandra Thomas, Product Strategist at Proper.
Student at European Film College 2008-2009.
What did you do after EFC?
After the year at EFC I studied Social Anthropology in the UK. During my Bachelor I was part of starting the film festival Watersprite (still running). The friends I got at EFC pulled me back to Denmark after my studies and I landed a job in a tech start-up called Planday, where I started as a support/customer success specialist and ended up leading a team of 13 people after 2 years. The tech start-up space is similar to EFC in the sense that a group of people huddle up, with a common vision, and use the skills they have to make it work. It is fast paced, creative and you feel that you are creating something. It is also similar to film productions in that you are often part of a team for a few months, up to a few years, then you move on to the next project.
Now I work in a scale-up that aims to improve the renting experience for long-term rental homes. I work as a Product Strategist, where I work in a team of designers, developers and software architects. I use skills from filmstudies on a weekly basis. We draw up user flows similar to storyboards, I write and re-write feature descriptions with similar editing strategies to scripts, and I plan feature releases similar to how you would do a film release strategy.
What did the EFC experience mean to you?
I went to EFC because I was convinced I wanted to be a writer/director. I am glad I got to try it out in a setting where I had everything I needed to give it my best shot. While doing it, I realised that I liked the idea of doing it, more than actually doing it. What I did not realise at the time was that I also learnt what it means to work as a team where everybody have very different skill-sets roles and opinions - and how you make a team work well together under time pressure and on a budget. This I have found to be a useful skill in any business management position.
Is EFC a part of your life today?
The biggest way that EFC is part of my life today is that I met my husband at EFC. We really connected while we were spending the warm spring days in the dark editing suites, working on the final projects, as the rest of the teams were playing beach-volley in the sun.
In what way is film a part of your life today, if any?
I still love watching film…and I am glad I have insight into how the magic was created. It adds an additional dimension to watching film. I also follow my friends from EFC on their journeys - where many of them pop up in relation to new film and tv productions - both in Denmark and abroad.