Many relationships never develop beyond small talk. That's okay for a while, but what about when someone asks, "how are you?" and you want them to stop and listen?

We have been feeling isolated over the last several years, especially because of the COVID-19 pandemic. It's been challenging to find, build, and nurture lasting relationships. We know we're not alone in this feeling. Plus, it seems there's a cultural shift (at least in the U.S.) toward a more individualistic, fend-for-yourself attitude, even more than it used to be.

We are craving community. A group of values-driven people we can connect, share, learn, and grow with.

We found our parenting people

We got lucky. ⚡️

Our power went out for a few days after a large thunderstorm last summer, so we spent a day at the library in the children's section. Our child played with a family who has three kids, who also lost power at home.

Their oldest child was about to start kindergarten, so we chatted about school options. We mentioned we are looking to homeschool because we'd ideally like to follow a Montessori-based education and travel around the world for longer periods of time.

"Have you ever considered a homeschool co-op?" they asked.

Feeling a little defeated, Joehey responded, "Yeah, we have. That's actually our preferred option because our child could learn with other kids and we could work with other adults to organize it all. It's a lot of work! We just haven't figured out how to find a group like that."

The other parent said, "This might seem a bit awkward...but I have a friend. She has a kid about the same age as yours and lives close to here. She's trying to organize a Montessori Homeschool Co-op, and I think they're having their first meeting with interested families next Monday."

My eyes opened wide. This sounded perfect.

"Can I give you my number?"

Fast forward to now ⏩

We participate weekly in that parent-led Montessori Homeschool Co-op, which we co-created with three other families. We meet at one family's home for five hours, work with educational and creative materials, practice social and emotional skills, play outside, and cook a community meal together.

It's supportive, collaborative, fun, intentional, and meaningful. All of our kids look forward to it. We do, too.

We found our parenting people.

• We share core values.
• We're willing to co-create a system that fits our shared values instead of conforming to the traditional system.
• We each take responsibility for our collective success. We observe, evaluate, communicate, provide feedback, learn, and iterate as we go.
• We learn from each other. None of us are the expert. We lean into each individual's skills, interests, and passions. We are stronger and wiser as a collective.

We are soaking up all the heartwarming and fulfilling feelings from this Co-op that just came out of nowhere. If it weren't for that large thunderstorm, we'd likely never have found this wonderful group of families.

Our next goal is to find a community that makes us feel like the Co-op does, but for filmmaking.

Only this time, we don't want to rely on luck.

We want to find our filmmaking people

People who love film, share our values, and are willing to push the boundaries of the status quo to make independent filmmaking more enjoyable and impactful, both on and off the screen.

To find our parenting community, we had to be in the right place, at the right time, with the right people. We just needed a thunderstorm to get us there.

So, how do we gather independent filmmakers who share our values and are looking outside of the traditional industry normsfor a new way to build a sustainable career in filmmaking?

We feel like the thunderstorm we need to find our filmmaking community is an educational filmmaker summit. So, we're going to create one. We're calling it: Filmit Together.

Starting with Filmit Together, our intention is to find our filmmaking people. In this community:

• We share core values.
• We're willing to co-create a system that fits our shared values instead of conforming to the traditional system.
• We take responsibility for our collective success. We observe, evaluate, communicate, provide feedback, learn, and iterate as we go.
• We learn from each other. None of us are the expert. We lean into each individual's skills, interests, and passions. We are stronger and wiser as a collective.

Notice any similarities between our parenting people and our ideal filmmaking people? 😉

It's not a coincidence. We're seeking our "Co-op" for the filmmaking world.

Making our thunderstorm

We've committed to making Filmit Together as a catalyst for finding our filmmaking people. 🌩️

So far, we've found a non-profit partner (or two) who will help promote and organize the event—we'll share more on that later!

Right now, we're working on creating materials to share with sponsors who can help fund Filmit Together.

Then, we'll move on to creating the event itself. Things like this:

• inviting presenters
• designing marketing materials
• organizing interactive social and learning activities, and
• creating a post-event challenge for participants to put their learning into action

We look forward to sharing more about Filmit Together with you as it develops. Let us know what questions you have or if you're interested in participating in the process!

What kind of community are you searching for? What are you looking for in your relationships? And, what challenges do you have to find or connect with those people?

Take care,
A Creative Duo