Artist Sara Rajaei participated in the first Vrijplaats organized by FilmForward in 2020, with the theme “New Wilderness.” In this interview, Sara talks about her experiences during the Vrijplaats and how the program aided her artistic professionalization.
“It was a very unusual situation for 2020: I was suddenly in a room with a group of people, wearing face masks and maintaining a distance, but still together,” says Sara Rajaei. The participants of FilmForward’s first Vrijplaats started during the coronavirus pandemic, meaning the program had to continue in a modified format. Sara: “I found it a very lonely time, alienating too, because we suddenly could barely see each other.
Vrijplaats was a welcome change: it was a warm space, a safe space, not only artistically but also emotionally. We truly formed a small family with the group of participants, the coordinators, and FilmForward staff. Outside, reality was happening, but inside we could all escape for a moment, at a large table where a kind of ‘forest’ was happening in the middle.” The interior was designed and created by Production Designer Arne Leddy, also a former Vrijplaats participant from 2024-2025.
RESIDENCY DURING PANDEMIC
The group consisted of a very diverse group of professionals, not only from the film industry but also from theater and dance. “Creativity was immense in the group; it was impossible not to feel inspired.” In addition to guidance from professionals, the Vrijplaats participants also gave each other a lot of feedback. “It was truly amazing, receiving so much feedback from each other for months. I haven’t experienced that since. As an artist, you can sometimes work in complete isolation: you sometimes ask for the vision, help or advice of artist friends, but it’s rare to sit down with people from other disciplines to look at each other’s work and process in such a caring way.”
FEEDBACK
During the project, the Vrijplaatsers presented their work to each other, demonstrating their project stage and how it was developing. “A presentation could be very detailed, if an artist wanted to follow a specific step-by-step plan. That also made me reflect more deeply on my own process: what exactly is my question to the group? Where do I feel a blockage in my own path? This type of feedback completely broke open my ideas: suddenly so much more was possible than I thought. We were a kind of combined brain of ten people, all so eager to learn from each other, and I miss that.
ORIGINAL IDEA
Sara applied to the Vrijplaats with the idea of developing a feature film. During the Vrijplaats, she grappled with several questions: the language of the film, its visual approach, the content: “The influence of the Vrijplaats on the first steps towards the development of the film is enormous. All those conversations, those discussions, the feedback ultimately led to decisions I might not have made, or never have made otherwise.”
VRIJPLAATS AS COMMUNITY
Sara summarizes the Vrijplaats in four points: feedback, socializing, discussion, and asking questions—lots of questions. After the Vrijplaats, the Vrijplaats participants stayed in touch through app groups: “It felt like a kind of community; you spend months having so many inspiring conversations that it’s almost unavoidable. And you also realize how special it is to be in such a diverse group, with so many disciplines you don’t always get to work with.
“For me, Vrijplaats was exceptional; you don’t often find something like that in the industry. Being able to share my creative process, specifically in those days when sharing was nearly impossible, is something I’ll never forget.