For a long time, I have wanted to make my own film. After training in directing at The Royal Exchange Theatre in Manchester and in production at the BBC, I knew I wanted to make my own content and tell my own stories. In 2018, I became an ambassador for the charity One Girl. They are striving to make sure that all girls, no matter where they come from or how much money they have, have access to education. Not only is it their right, but giving girls access to education is the number one way to fight climate change, to reduce poverty, and to create a fair and sustainable planet. 

I knew for a long time that this was the topic that I wanted to make a film about. I wanted to start a conversation about our education and to get people to try and imagine what our lives would look like without one, as that is the reality for so many girls around the world.

But, where to start?

Like most creative people, I have a first class degree in procrastination. In my head, I’ve created countless ideas for plays, novels, films, tv series, podcasts, defeating Borris (okay, let’s not go there), but if you asked me how many I’d actually completed, or written down...

During my time at the BBC, I learnt that copyright on an idea does not exist. That’s it. Copyright can only exist once you have actually physically made something like a script, a painting, a film of a book. So, my main resolution for 2019 was to make it the year of doing, not just dreaming. One of the many things that held me back was a lack of equipment and the worry that my work would not look professional enough. Some of the best advice I ever got was from a cameraman from the BBC. He said to me, “It really doesn’t matter about the quality of the filming, or the quality of the sound. You can always buy a better camera or a better mic. What will shine through all of that is your ideas and your message. That is something that will always be unique to you and something that you can’t buy.”

With that in mind, I bit the bullet and got together a group of amazing women, from a range of backgrounds, to come and talk about their education. For some of the women, this was the first time they had heard the number of how many girls across the world are denied an education. To be able to capture that reaction on camera for me was so powerful, and something I will always remember. They spoke with so much honesty and beauty and I really hope this film makes us all stop and think about where we would be without our education. You wouldn’t be reading this article for a start!

Deciding to make this film that’s been in my head for such a long time is one of the best things I did in 2019. So, if you have an idea you’ve been wanting to try for a long time, as scary as it is, just start. Write it down, message that person, book that room and get started. You never know what you could create.