Week One
Just as 2019 began taking flight, so did I, as I eagerly boarded a plane to San Francisco to begin my 7 week internship with Charming Stranger Films. After weeks of watching movies based in San Francisco, I was so excited to finally arrive and start working. While I was looking forward to this new adventure, I was also pretty nervous to be in a new place all alone while also balancing a rigorous internship. However, in my first week all my nerves faded away and I was filled with motivation.
In just three short days, I have already experienced so much! When I first arrived, Sylvia and I got settled in to our AirBnb and took a walk around the neighborhood we were staying in. The next morning, Sylvia and I woke up early, nervous about our first day and hoping not to get lost on the subway. We arrived at the Charming Stranger office just in time and saw Cameo waiting for us outside. Immediately, I felt so at ease; Cameo was super welcoming as she showed us around the office and walked us through our daily tasks as interns. We spent the rest of the day watching films for the Coven Film Festival, working on our individual scripts, and learning more about the Charming Stranger brand.
The next day was just as exciting, as Sylvia and I were included in our first big meeting to discuss the Coven Film Fest and were introduced to Melinda who is a big part of setting up the fest. It was so interesting to be involved in everything that it takes to create a film festival, especially as I hadn't had much experience with festivals in the past. We also spent the afternoon working closely with Connie Jo to revise our scripts and make them more detailed. She told us that our production days were fast approaching and I was keen to make my script as solid as possible.
Friday came quickly and was by far the most fun day of the week as the Charming Stranger team went on a tour of San Francisco to visit film locations for tons of different movies. This day was super rewarding as I had watched a mass amount of films based in San Francisco in preparation and seeing the locations in real life was really eye-opening. We toured with San Francisco Movies Tours and were able to watch scenes from the movies while driving by locations including, Harvey Milk's camera shop on Castro Street (featured in the movie Milk), the Palace Hotel (featured in The Game), the Four Seas Restaurant (featured in Big Trouble in Little China), and the Golden Gate Bridge (which is featured and destroyed in dozens of films). We also stopped to eat lunch at the Sutro Baths that are featured in Harold and Maude, and the view was absolutely beautiful! At the end of the tour, I was feeling more inspired than ever to take advantage of the beautiful city I was in to really help set the tone for my own film.
Overall, my first week in San Francisco was incredible and so rewarding. As I reflect back on these few short days, I can't help but think about how grateful I am for this opportunity to work for Charming Stranger Films and I can't wait to see how much I learn with Cameo and Connie Jo guiding me as a filmmaker.