SARAH HALFIN
Sarah halfin has devoted most of her career to Marketing and Brand Strategy. She had the opportunity of working for some big names in the fashion industry including L'Oreal, Burberry, Diane von Furstenberg, as well as for match.com. When she turned thirty, she realized that it was high time for her to devote herself to developing her passion - filmmaking. She enrolled in the Met Film School where she wrote and directed her first short film, “The Blessing”, which has already been selected by 3 festivals. She is now in the middle of directing two new films.
If there was one piece of art you could feature in, which would it be and why?
Antony Gormley’s “Feeling Material XIV” Sculpture. To me, Gormley’s standing man echoes the constantly-changing, energetic nature of what everything in the Universe is made of. Watching it enables me to access a fleeting sense of enlightenment - a mysterious, radiant awareness beyond matter and time.
Who inspires you and why? An artist, a family member, someone current or historical?
My aunt, who is an inspirational fashion designer and woman. She inspires so many other women because of her strength and self-confidence. She taught me that fear is not an option and that the only thing that really matters is to do things. She also made me realize that if you embrace what you think are your weaknesses, they can become your strengths. How powerful is that?
What are your cultural aspirations? What do you still want to see, do and achieve?
While visiting a museum or an exhibition, I consider myself a rational viewer in a spiritual quest. Art is one of my sources of inspiration and spirituality. My other sources of inspiration are science and eastern spiritualism. I still dream about visiting the CERN, one of the world's largest centres for scientific research. I would also love to travel around the world to encounter the rare species of people who are still connected with nature and its essence - from scientists and shamans, to philosophers, thinkers, hermits or farm workers.
What are your favourite cultural cities in the world and why?
Paris, London, Berlin, Venice, Rome, and Basel. I am very European in my tastes and in my gut. In my opinion, there is no place like europe in terms of charm, wealth and beauty.
What are you up to at the moment and where can we find it?
That is a good question. I’ve just spent a year in England, learning about Art History and Filmmaking. The only thing I am sure about is that, from now on, I want to contribute to making a positive change in the world. In order to do that, I have to truly believe in the values of the people and companies I will be dealing with. This is not a challenge, I think it is a personal commitment that many people of my generation are starting to become aware of.
Of course, it has to start with an inner change. This is what working on at the moment. And obviously, it is a process. I guess this answer could seem somewhat vague and abstract; I could have told you about the feature film I will work on this summer as a junior assistant or about the next short film I am about to direct, but I am much too superstitious to speak about future projects.