We’d like to introduce you to one of Baret’s Fellows, Ronan MacRory. Ronan is a filmmaker and musician with an incredibly diverse career. Born in Rome to an Irish family, he studied at Oxford and has a MFA in Film Production/Directing at UCLA and an album on Spotify (We recommend “I Want to Be a Rockstar”). He joined Baret because he wanted to participate in our journey and have the chance to mentor young minds. We talked to him as he was settling into São Paulo and asked him to reflect on his journey so far.

What brought you to Baret?

Creatively I felt it would be one of the most incredible experiences. I felt as if I needed to get out into the world. Wanted to reconnect with a sense of enthusiasm and joy that is inherent in a younger mind and that has been infectious.

What are the Scholars taking away from their journey?

They’re loving it. They’re getting an incredible chance to explore the cities. The one thing I didn’t expect is that it’s challenging their plans for the future: through the Morning Program and their Fellowships, they’re meeting people that I never would have been able to meet at their age, and these people are changing their ideas about what’s possible. For example, we have a scholar who has lived and breathed physics for years, and now he wants to be a cinematographer.

Everyone is so open to helping our Scholars. On our LA fellowship, famous filmmakers were more than happy to give them their numbers, to continue mentoring them. The Scholars are taking the bull by the horns and taking advantage of these opportunities.

How was your Fellowship in LA?

Highlight of the journey so far. I lived in LA for fifteen years so I invited all of the filmmakers I knew to talk to the students, and we had a mini Morning Program which was incredible. I tried to make it so they met a filmmaker or two every day. The Scholars met Esther Shubinski, Jeffrey Hevert, Sarah Labrie, and Thabo Wolfaardt. We also went to UCLA film school, met with people from the animation department, and checked out the projection booth. We ended the trip by seeing Pulp Fiction in 35mm.

We also went to the house of Catherine Hardwicke who directed Twilight, Thirteen, and Lords of Dogtown. She was incredibly gracious, invited us into her fascinating home, showed us her office where she works, and how her films get made: her storyboards, production schedules, the art in her house, which is largely of Mexican origin because she grew up on the Mexican-US border. She showed us a memorabilia room, letters from Kristen Stewart and Robert Pattinson. 

What was your favorite part of visiting New York?

Getting to know the students in our three weeks in New York. They are an exceptional group of students.  Starting to teach Creative Writing was incredible, because I felt I was sharing things I had learned later in my career. This sense of joy and curiosity I can sense in them is incredible.

I also went to the Met Opera and it was pretty amazing. Exploring Brooklyn, Manhattan. Our native New Yorkers on the trip made it feel like home for Baret. And that’s the case in Sao Paulo now, too. Having an insider’s take is an invaluable gift.

How has your Creative Writing class been?

The scholars all have great ideas. They remind me of my peers from international school when I was younger. The thing I wanted to instill in them an understanding of structure so they know where they’re headed. They might not know all the intricate details between the beginning, middle, and end in their stories, but they need to know the signposts. As a writer, it took me till later in life to learn, so I wanted to give that to them. 

Learning to outline, to have a plan, and to have room in between the lines to make changes, that’s actually great life advice beyond screenwriting or writing for plays…

It can be freeing to work within a framework. You can feel lost without a frame. This has a direct parallel with our journey. Our itinerary from New Hampshire to Hokkaido, and the Morning Program and Advising give structure, but between the lines you have freedom to explore and fail.

That’s what this whole program is about. 

These scholars are such assets to each other. They’re ambitious, and I think this cohort will be together long after this year.