Natalie MacMahon

Country and nationality

Germany, German

Professional role in the film industry

Screenwriter & Director

Years of experience in the film industry

More than 10 years

Natalie originally started studying performing arts and worked many years as an actress, first in theatre and later in films. After a couple of years working as an actress, she discovered her passion for Storytelling and started to work as a director producing her own films.

After many years of experimenting and gathering knowledge traveling to different film festivals, she realized that there is a lack of festivals for women in film and thus she decided to found her own one “The Film & Filmmaker Festivals Berlin”, in which she´s been working as a director since then.

Today Natalie also works as Screenwriter in her own production and marketing agency called “MacMahon Media” creating content for online digital Storytelling.

This is her project, where she fully feels her life’s purpose “There are smiles that should last forever!”.

Challenges

Natalie started her career in the film industry when she was very young. As a young female director, she struggled being taken seriously at the beginning and founded it hard to gain trust from the team. Natalie also had difficulties in applying and getting funding for her films and her own festival. However, the situation has improved and has been improving also thanks to many new born initiatives supporting women in the film industry.

Overcoming Obstacles

Natalie had a strong passion and a clear vision of what she wanted to do. She believed very much in her ideas and that strength helped her achieve her goals. She believed the only way to achieve her goals was to experiment, to shoot as much as possible, and to find her own voice, no matter if the initial outcome wasn´t great. And through finding her own voice and unique way of telling stories, she managed to create something that stood out and convinced people.

“You can only convince people when you have something to show. t´s never just enough to talk about it.”

Recommendations

Believe in yourself, keep being active, keep learning and find your own community.

“If you create something, it does exist and you don´t need someone to tell you that you could do it, because you have already made it happen”.

CASE STUDY LIBRARY

The WIFILM Case Study Library will provide VET providers, females interested in developing a career within the industry, or those working alongside females in the industry with a series of case studies on successful women in the film industry. The Case Study Library will highlight the barriers to entry for females in the industry, including deficits in role models, confidence, and career planning.

The European Commission’s support for the production of this publication does not constitute an endorsement of the contents, which reflect the views only of the authors, and the Commission cannot be held responsible for any use which may be made of the information contained therein.