Film Production Lead Malachi Rempen on How Creativity Can Conquer Corona

Film Production programme lead Malachi Rempen knows the transformative power of creative limitations. In light of the Corona crisis, he shares some inspiring words of encouragement. Photos by Dico Baskoro.

Butterfly effect would be an understatement. It’s crazy to think that something microscopic could push us towards a new world order – and fast. Even in our little creative community, Corona has seemingly changed everything. One day we’re out shooting films on location or collaborating on music in the studio; the next, we’re hunkered down in self-isolation, without a clear forecast of where we’re headed. Corona has somehow become a synonym for the unpredictable. And with long-term decisions feeling almost impossible, big dreams seem as if they’ve been put on hold.

Yet, one thing we have always known is the power of working together. The future is forever at the top of Catalyst’s vocabulary, as we constantly strive towards collective growth. The only thing that’s changed is that – using the creativity we’ve been honing – we must overcome a new set of challenges. For us, there’s still one thing that remains set in stone: whatever happens, providing our students with a quality learning experience will always be paramount. After all, education – a lifelong investment – is a no-brainer.

On that note, Film Production programme lead Malachi Rempen penned some inspiring words of encouragement. Here’s to squeezing the maximum creativity out of 2020!

What this crisis has taught me to ask is: when is creativity not possible? We design our courses with the fundamental belief that the best way to learn is by making work, making mistakes, getting feedback, and making more work. Even before Corona, our courses deliberately put limitations on our students so that they could learn to rise above them.

I always knew that filmmakers, actors and musicians were experts in adaptability, but I have a whole new appreciation of that fact after seeing how readily the students and tutor team at Catalyst adapted to the situation this year. It hasn’t been easy. But if these art forms were easy, everyone would be doing them!

We don’t know for sure what the future holds, but what we do know is that the fundamental skills of project management, professionalism, teamwork, and storytelling are relevant under any circumstances. Training those skills will always be at the center of our offer, no matter what’s going on in the world. We might have to adapt and change the details as we go along, but that’s what we’ve always done: guide our craft around the rocks to reach our destination.

When you join us, you’re joining an entire community of creatives who won’t let a little thing like a global pandemic stop us from making work, making mistakes, getting feedback, and making more work. When the dust has settled, someone will need to tell the stories. Why not us?

Have you heard the amazing news? As of the 15th of June, Germany’s travel restrictions have been lifted for 26 partner countries in the EU, as well as the UK, Iceland, Norway, Switzerland and Liechtenstein. This means that if you’re still considering applying for one of our Summer School courses or a degree course in September, you can now plan ahead knowing that you will have access and that you won’t need to quarantine upon arrival.

As per the latest travel restriction information Non-EU citizens will also be allowed to enter Germany for study purposes – be sure to check your country’s official guidelines. What’s more, local schools in Berlin and the Brandenburg area will no longer have to observe the 1.5 metre distance rule after the summer holidays.

Click here to read why Germany is statistically one of the safest countries in which to weather the Coronavirus situation, plus the safety measures we are implementing in order to ensure the health and safety of our community.

For more information about Catalyst’s response to Corona, visit our COVID-19 FAQ page or contact us.

Next up: Read 4 reasons why 2020 is still a great year to start studying.