Windwood's Ian Scura Wins 2024 NH Film Festival "New Hampshire Filmmaker of the Year" Award

We are so proud to announce that our Assistant Creative Director Ian Scura took home one of New Hampshire’s biggest filmmaking awards during the 2024 New Hampshire Film Festival; “New Hampshire Filmmaker of the Year” For his work directing our feature documentary “A Handmade Life” and his work on a personal documentary project that was also entered into the festival titled “Liquid, Fragile, Perishable.”

This win is a huge celebration for the whole Windwood team, as we’ve seen Ian pour so much effort into these projects over the past few years.

Team Windwood taking a photo after their World Premiere of “A Handmade Life” at the 2024 New Hampshire Film Festival

In an excerpt from a CONCORD MONITOR article, Ian explains: “What’s so fun to me about that process, and what’s so special to me about being able to highlight both of the films I worked on with the groups of people I worked with, is that it’s a collaborative medium. This isn’t just my story. None of these are my stories. They’re collectively the stories of the people they’re about. And they’re also collectively, partially, the stories of the people that are trying to tell them.”

From his interview with In Depth NH; “NH Filmmaker of the Year award recipient Ian Scura grew up in Concord, New Hampshire and works at Windwood Productions based in Concord. Says Scura, “Winning NH Filmmaker of the year is so special because while it might seem like an award for an individual, I think it truly celebrates all of the amazing people and filmmakers I work with regularly. The two films I presented this year were both very different in style. I view this award as an honor I share with all of the incredible teams with whom I worked including my brother Ryan, my dear friend Dylan, and the Windwood team.”

A photo of our premiere showing of “A Handmade Life” at the New Hampshire Film Festival.

We could not have been happier with our premiere experience at the New Hampshire Film Festival for “A Handmade Life”, with two screenings on Thursday and Friday we’re close to announcing the release date and distribution strategy for the film, none of this would be possible without Ian’s direction. We’re so excited to see what Ian continues to do to impact the creative landscape in New Hampshire.

The Art of Adaptation - 3 Tips to Overcome Obstacles

Nothing ever goes as planned- plan for that.

You can plan something, anything- a shoot, a meeting, even a simple lunch date- well in advance and still have hiccups occur when it comes time to put it into action. Regardless of how thorough you are in your planning, there is always room for something to go off track. It’s easy to let this worry consume your mind and get caught up in the “what-ifs”, but recognizing that mistakes are inevitable is crucial in overcoming them and getting your project back on the right track. Here are a few tips on how to deal with obstacles as you encounter them.

1. “Yes, and…” This is the golden rule of improvisation. What this essentially means is to accept any and all challenges that are thrown at you with open arms, and work with your partner or partners in a project to build upon it. To say “no” or “but”, to shoot down or deny anything that is thrown at you, slows down progress and helps nobody. It’s important to grit your teeth and work with what you have.

2. Make your partner(s) look good. Teamwork is essential to any project, and as you probably already know, there is no “I” in “team”. When you are operating a project with a team, you are no longer just an individual, but a crucial mechanism in a larger machine. If things go wrong, act as a team! Don’t spend time putting someone else down.

3. Reflection and Future Growth. Any feedback, criticism, or reflection that may come up during a project should be brought up again once it ends, and this reflection period can be where you determine what to include or cut out during your next project. Reflecting on the high and lows of your project allows for everyone to understand and celebrate what went well, as well as recognize what didn’t go so well and understand how to prevent those hiccups in the future. 

If you browse through some of our older blog posts (such as this one on shooting outside in natural lighting and this one on interviewing subjects), you will quickly see that regardless of all the tips we can share with you based on our own experiences during the production process, we frequently advise adaptation as something to embrace. No two shoots are the same, and even with the information we provide, you will inevitably run into something unexpected that you don’t have time to reach out and ask about. However, if you do have questions, feel free to reach out to us here- we are happy to help you on your project however we can!