The irony that the shiny new arts centre in Tilburg was situated next door to the job centre seemed lost on the group of indie filmmakers I trained yesterday. That’s perhaps because it seems the Incubate festival (here in the Netherlands) is the most extraordinary, eclectic celebration of art, music, film and pretty much any other creative expression that I have ever attended.

After presenting a half day Guerilla Film Makers masterclass I headed off to the green room where I hung out with what appeared to be about 20 top euro metal/goth/doom bands. That’s in between wandering around art galleries and watching shorts at the solar powered mobile cinema in the plaza.

And the crazy thing is that Tilburg is a really small town. It doesn’t seem anywhere near big enough to support such a sprawling and massive festival. Apparently Incubate is just one of several annual and equally eclectic festivals too. Chatting with some of the delegates from Tilburg it seems that the locals have a real ‘roll up your sleeves and get on with it’ attitude. I got to say I like the town and the people a lot.

I have another session today at the DIY conference, so sadly I needed an early night last night and had to skip the 1am Heavy Metal Disco. That, I think, would have been something to see.

There’s a lot to be learned from the people here… their get on with it attitude, their celebration of all creative expression, and their love of events that connect artists with audiences in extraordinary ways.

Love it.

Onwards and upwards!

Chris Jones
My movies www.LivingSpiritGroup.com
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