This morning, the Mediterrane Film Festival welcomed the award-winning Casting Director, Margery Simkin, to conduct a highly engaging masterclass to a room of established and emerging actors, filmmakers and industry executives.
Moderated by the Malta-based actor and producer Larissa Bonaci, the session began with a look back at Simkin’s impressive career to date and her work across renowned international titles, such as Avatar, Little Shop of Horrors, Erin Brockovich and the recent Star Trek series.
Simkin also shared insights into how she entered the film industry and was introduced to the wide array of jobs that existed within this world. She went on to discuss how she benefitted from working in a production office and immersing herself in how a production takes shape, which helped her identify where her talents would work best.
Another key topic during the masterclass was how the film industry has evolved in recent years, especially in relation to technology, diversity and inclusion. This included Simkin touching upon how technology has fundamentally changed the way casting directors now work and how, despite there being both pros and cons, actors are now able to share self tapes from anywhere in the world – which has significantly supported equity and inclusion within casting.
Simkin went on to talk about finding the importance of finding a balance between your casting vision and the director’s, as well as the needs of the production team and studio. Simkin also explained how a significant part of her role is about selling in a project to managers and agents, and how she will only take on a project that she feels passionate about and has an interesting hook.