Master Classes are in-depth, interactive learning experiences focused on craft and career building and led by renowned industry experts. Topics include fiction and documentary filmmaking, TV writing and production, and navigating and succeeding in the entertainment industry.


Creating in any art form can be one of the most rewarding and fulfilling experiences we can have as humans. However, the life of the creator also includes networking, pitching, deadlines, meetings, countless rejections, collaboration challenges, and mishaps along the way which can be draining, destabilizing, and sometimes even devastating. That’s not to mention self-doubt, procrastination, and inspiration gaps. How do you maintain confidence through the highs and lows and keep that creative cup full?


This Master Class explores ways artists can build and maintain confidence in themselves and their work and strengthen their emotional stamina as they navigate their careers. Filmmaker and coach Sasha Damjanovski will help you form a holistic approach to self-reflection, and give you actionable steps to help you confidently move forward with inspiration and impact.


Topics include:

  • 0:01 - Opening acknowledgments
  • 3:35 - a little about Sasha
  • 6:09 - Why confidence and emotional resilience matters
  • 8:14 - What is confidence? What is self-confidence? What is self-esteem?
  • 18:00 - Exercise: listing your self-criticisms and your self-congratulations
  • 23:18 - Navigating obstacles that get in the way of confidence
  • 45:49 - Q&A
  • 58:54 - Break
  • 59:12 - Building blocks of confidence and emotional resilience
  • 1:15:00 - How to build emotional resilience
  • 1:24:40 - Building narratives
  • 1:30:45 - Building good habits: closure and the practice of letting go
  • 1:40:23 - Dealing with comparisons
  • 1:46:10 - Q&A
  • 1:55:03 - Break
  • 1:55:24 - Body language
  • 2:05:54 - A note on shyness
  • 2:12:20 - Hacks to exude confidence
  • 2:23:13 - The importance of self-care
  • 2:33:25 - Q&A
  • 2:40:10 - Closing

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Sasha Damjanovski
An award-winning filmmaker, Sasha has nearly 30 years experience writing, directing and producing film, TV, theatre and short-form commercial projects. He has received multiple awards, critical acclaim and audience appreciation for his work, which has been distributed in cinema, and shown on TV, at film festivals and on stage. As a coach and educator, Sasha works with a great variety of corporate and individual clients from all around the world. He is also an Associate Lecturer at Central Saint Martins (UAL), and collaborates regularly with NFTS, several film festivals and filmmaking organizations. more...
Katherine Street
Moderator | Digital Course & Event Producer
Katherine "Kat" Street is an LA-based award-winning filmmaker and Philadelphia native. A cinephile at heart, she writes female-driven stories with complex (oftentimes damaged) main characters, centered around self-discovery, self-love, and belonging. She has written numerous short-form projects, including original shorts, pilots, and features. She wrote and directed the dramatic short film “Cycles,” which received festival recognition in both acting and best romantic short. She also created her award-winning flagship web series "The New Adult,” which is currently streaming on Kweli TV. Kat is a Stowe Story Lab SAGIndie Fellow and a participant in the BlackMagic Collective Emerging Filmmakers Initiative. In 2021, she founded the Black Film Challenge, a project that showcases filmmakers of African descent and the movies they create. She earned her BFA from the University of North Carolina School of the Arts with a concentration in Cinematography and has literary representation with Culture Creative Entertainment. more...

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