Media Preview - A Shaded View On Fashion Film

by Jen Paulousky of Blue Alvarez Designs

I was contacted this week to participate in a short documentary film about the fashion industry's intersection with the handmade community. Chelsea Spear, a Medford local and filmmaker, is planning to enter a new contest backed by Talenthouse and guest-judged by Tavi Gevinson.

The contest is to allow newer filmmakers to win a spot having their film shown at the ASVOFF festival. This festival, which showcases films on style and fashion in Paris, sounds like a holy ton of fun, and I am honored to possibly be a small part of Chelsea's entry.

Photo of Tavi on LOVE Magazine cover

This is was an interesting point of contact for me because it brought out the importance of three things:

1. Friends. Especially friends in the same industry as you. I think this is colloquially referred to as "networking". Without Guido Stein being just a generally awesome person and unexpectedly valuing my skills, I would not have been contacted by Chelsea.

2. Collaboration. Some of the most engaging work is done when worlds collide. I have zero idea what Chelsea is going to want me to talk about but she's already interviewed some amazing people and by being willing to just show up and help, hopefully she can get what she needs and after a lot of hard work (and loads more interviews) her film will be shown in Paris!

3. No matter what level you're at, you can contribute to the community. Ms. Gevinson is a precocious tween who's also hyper-famous. Myself, a largely-unknown rounding 30. Chelsea, an filmmaker with several titles under her belt, at what age je ne sais pas. But we are all passionate about the same subject and can participate in a project that furthers visibility for handmade art and design. How cool is that?

I'm excited for this project and this festival, and definitely glad for the opportunity to talk about the thing I love most - to create. Vivre la mode!