What do you do?
I work with Ben & Jerry’s Openair Cinemas, managing their marketing Australia-wide, and I make short films in my spare time.
Why do you do it?
I never dreamt I’d go into marketing, but as long as I’m letting people know about something fun and interesting, it hardly seems like work! The filmmaking is something I just love — telling stories is a wonderful form of expression that’s a part of all cultures, and doing that via a visual medium reaches out to people who might not take the time to hear a message otherwise.
What do you love about the city you live in?
I lived in London for 4.5 years, so coming back home to Sydney really made me appreciate the beauty of this city. The changes in licensing laws since I was away have created an exciting new buzz around the bar scene which is wicked too, and I’ll never complain about the weather again! That said, the rain can be a bane to an Openair event…
Where did you go for your last holiday?
Down to Hobart for the Dark Mofo music festival earlier this year.
What's your favourite item of clothing? Why?
Lately it’s a red woollen jumper that I bought from a charity store in Tuncurry. Because it was a dollar. I’m not a huge fan of consumerism.
What was your favourite TV show when you were a kid?
Press Gang or Degrassi Junior High.
If you could travel back in time for a day, where would you go?
Back to that Roxette concert in Feb last year. The '50s had the fashion but I prefer my rights. To Roxette.
If we were coming over to your place, what would you cook for us?
I do two dishes. You can have risotto with leek, zucchini, tomato, pine nuts and parmesan. With a Mexican flan for dessert if you’re lucky. That’s a family recipe taught to my Mum by our maid (!) Adolphina when we lived in Mexico.
What's the best lesson you've ever learned?
Command+Shift+N gives you an Incognito window in Chrome.
Tell us one thing about yourself that nobody else knows...
That I’m the Scenestr of the Day. I’m a little bit worried about them finding out.
Are you happy with your work/life balance?
Yup. I do 4 days a week paid work, and put my dosh into my films on my 5th day, which I include under the “life” part of the equation. I would recommend the 4-day work week to anyone.
How do you define success?
In terms of happiness, and not of belongings.
What's your spirit animal?
According to the quiz I just found when I googled “spirit animal”, I am a hawk. Which means I have a photographic memory and sometimes forget to eat, sleep or pay bills since I’m caught up with being a brilliant visionary. None of these things are true. Especially the forgetting to eat bit.
Sarah Steel - scenestr of the day
