Meet our Alumni: Tommy Flavin, originally from Wexford. A former award winner for the musical Wired!, Tommy has turned his early passion for filmmaking into a decade-long career. Alongside his filmmaking partner Kevin, he now runs a successful production company and a networking platform “Crewless” for industry professionals. We caught up with Tommy to discuss the importance of not “rejecting yourself” and his transition into the business side of the Irish film industry. Here is his story, in his own words.
WHO YOU ARE
I’m Tommy Flavin, originally from Wexford. I think I won 3rd place for our musical Wired!.
HOW IT STARTED
Fresh Film was one of the very few high-quality film festivals in Ireland that gave young people a chance. We’d already submitted stuff in previous years and loved the experience. I was 18, just finished the Leaving Cert, and we borrowed a mini DV camcorder from a friend. I used a cracked version of Adobe Premiere Elements to edit it, and we used the free programme Audacity to edit the music.
We were friends with a lot of incredibly talented singers who had lots of experience with musical theatre, and Kevin (my filmmaking partner) is a really good musician. So making a musical was a no-brainer for us.
THE FRESH FILM MOMENT
I never got to go to any of the in-person stuff, but for me, I think it’s really lovely how Fresh keeps an eye on its alumni over the years. From time to time I come across people working in the industry who started out with Fresh, so it’s so nice to see that impact out in the world.
The experience gave me belief and confidence for sure! The short film scene is so competitive and it’s particularly hard when you’re a teenager with no money. So knowing there’s a serious, high-quality festival out there where you have a fair chance of getting your work shown is so important. It motivates you to make good work, and it also gives you a leg up afterwards, being able to say that you’ve been screened or won an award.
WHERE YOU ARE NOW
Me and Kevin are still working together! We’ve been running The Reelists, a commercial video production company, for the last ten years. We’ve recently started Crewless.ie, which is a platform where freelancers in the industry can find work and build their professional networks.
Find out more about Tommy’s projects: The Reelists: https://www.thereelists.com Crewless: https://www.crewless.ie
I’m really excited about Crewless at the moment. I get to meet so many incredibly talented freelancers, and I’m really enjoying figuring out how to help them build their careers in the film and TV industry.
FOR THE NEXT GENERATION
One mistake I’ve seen repeatedly over the last 10 years of working in the industry is people not taking the opportunity because they think they’re not good enough. You should always take the chance. The person on the other end will decide if you’re ready, not you. It’s such a competitive industry, and you’re going to face a lot of rejection on your path to success, so why make that harder by rejecting yourself?
There is nothing like the experience of seeing your film in a cinema. The moment your film starts playing on the big screen, it’s going to look and feel completely different. You’re going to learn so much about your work by feeling the energy in the room and seeing what things people do and don’t react to. If I could give my younger self one piece of advice, it would be to make sure you have a new film ready to submit every single year you are eligible for Fresh. Plan your filmmaking around Fresh’s submission deadlines.
QUICK FIRE
An inspiration: I’ve just finished Conor Niland’s book. His story of plugging away relentlessly in the face of loneliness, rejection, and lack of support is quite similar to the dedication it takes to be a filmmaker.
Your next big challenge: Building Crewless into a viable business. Now the hardest challenge is to get the funding and revenue in place to translate those good vibes into a real business that can help support freelancers for years to come.
