Freedom 1

When the opportunity to go to Bratislava came out of the blue, my immediate response was to say no. I’m already pulling in favours left right and centre to attend college. How could I pull off a week’s jaunt to Bratislava? But the project coordinator isn’t one to take no for an answer, and within about 20 minutes, the deal was done and I was going. 

A team from IADT would be taking part in the FilmEU Annual Challenge, meeting with film students from all over Europe to collaborate on a film project. This year’s theme would be Freedom, very apt, I thought, since me having the freedom to attend this event was at the expense of my long suffering husband, who would have to relinquish his freedom for the week to man the fort at home. 

There was great excitement as we gathered in the airport. I was delighted to bump into a real life hero of mine, Fionn of Fionnathon Productions, a film maker and advocate for people with Intellectual Disabilities. He and his dad were also heading to Bratislava where Fionn was due to speak at a conference on Independent Living and guess what his topic was? You guessed it – Freedom. 

When it turned out that we would be sitting together on the plane, it was like it was all meant to be. I had lovely chats with Fionn and his dad Jonathan all the way to Bratislava and so, it was a great start to my adventures.