Hello Reader 👋

It’s been a while since I truly sat down and watched a movie.

Life lately has been a mix of baby naps (or the lack of them), our trip, and hopping from one Bali hotel to the next — nine so far, number ten tomorrow. We change places so often I sometimes wake up and forget where I am. It’s like my surroundings hit the reset button every few days.

And maybe that’s why, the other night, I found myself sinking so deeply into Dead Poets Society. It had just popped up on Netflix. I’ve seen it before — probably 10, maybe 15 years ago — two or three times, always in French. I thought I knew it by heart: the lines, the characters, the whole arc. But this time I pressed play in English… and it was like watching it for the very first time.

For nearly two hours I was gone — no baby monitor in the back of my mind, no suitcase half-packed in the corner. Just Robin Williams, the boys at Welton Academy, and that bittersweet story unfolding. I think part of the immersion came from our constant moving. When nothing around you feels familiar, a good film becomes a refuge — a place you can settle into completely.

If you’ve never seen it, I won’t spoil it. But at its heart, it’s about choosing the life of an artist instead of the safe, “respectable” path. Robin Williams says it perfectly: yes, lawyers, doctors, and police are essential for life to function — but they are not the reason we live. We live to love, to feel passion, to create.

As artists, we know this in our bones. And yet, the world still asks us to explain ourselves. “Why do you do this?” “What’s the point?” Most days I shrug it off — I’m 47, I don’t owe anyone an explanation. But somewhere deep down, I’m still that young guitarist who just wants to make music or tell stories, without any “practical” purpose.

It’s not always easy to be understood when your compass points toward art. But like Neil in the film, when the pull is that strong, you follow it anyway.

So here’s to the dreamers. The stubborn ones. The ones who create because they have to.

On that thought, let’s start this week’s issue. 🌟

Some shorts take their sweet time.

This one jumps out of the gate—and stays in your thoughts long after it’s done.

​

A Single Life by Job, Joris & Marieke is a gem rooted in a concept so sharp it practically writes itself. It’s that same thrill I got watching Skhizein by Jérémy Clapin—a short where the idea hits you so hard the rest just falls into place. In Skhizein, the protagonist, Henry, is struck by a meteorite and afterward exists exactly 91 cm away from himself—a beautifully strange setup that lingers like a dream.

Back to A Single Life: Pia receives a mysterious vinyl single. The moment the needle drops, magic happens—she can travel through her own life, forward or backward, just by sliding the record. In just over two minutes, it zips from playful to profound, with minimalist visuals and quiet humor carrying an unexpectedly poetic weight.

Nominee at the 87th Academy Awards for Best Animated Short Film, it didn’t win (that year went to a Disney short), but its impact is pure and immediate. It’s quick. It’s clever. It’s emotionally resonant.

Fast-paced, concept-driven, deeply human—and likely to have you rewinding before you even realize you’ve reached the end.😊

PS: Some links in the newsletter are affiliate links.😊
​PSS: Was this forwarded to you? 👉 Subscribe here​
​PSSS: Loving this newsletter? Buy me a coffee to say thanks! 🤗

Hit reply any time! I love hearing from you 😊 and I reply to every single email.

​Come say hi 👋 on LinkedIn​