Article 28: In-Person Networking: Building Authentic Connections Beyond Formal Events

The best professional encounters do not always happen at a “networking” cocktail.

They happen after a screening, during a workshop, in a festival line, around a table read, outside a theatre or simply on a set.

The context matters less than the quality of your presence.

That is the human side of a professional network: relationship before pitch.

Go where the work exists

If you want to meet filmmakers, go see independent films and short films.

If you want to work in theatre, go to the theatre.

If writing interests you, attend readings and writer events.

That may sound obvious, but many actors mostly attend events where other actors are also looking for work.

Broaden the communities you spend time in.

The more genuinely you participate in artistic life, the less artificial professional encounters begin to feel.

Arrive with curiosity, not a pitch

A conversation becomes uncomfortable when one person is simply waiting for the moment to recite their résumé.

Ask questions whose answers you genuinely want to hear.

“What drew you to this text?”

“How did you build that scene?”

“What was it like filming in that location?”

Talking about the work is often the most natural path into a professional relationship.

And if the conversation drifts toward music, travel, family or sports, that is not a missed opportunity.

You are talking to a person, not a job title on an organizational chart.

Know how to introduce yourself in one sentence

You do not need a memorized elevator pitch.

But if someone asks what you do, answer clearly.

“I’m a Montreal actor. I work in French and English, mostly in film and television.”

Then let the conversation continue.

If the person wants to know more, they will ask.

A short introduction creates much more curiosity than a complete summary of your career.

Know how to leave a conversation too

At an event, notice whether someone is trying to join another group, looking elsewhere frequently or answering more briefly.

End simply:

“I’ll let you circulate. Really glad we met.”

You leave a good impression and give yourself the chance to meet other people too.

A good conversation does not need to end with a request

You can meet a director and not hand them a card.

You can talk with a producer for twenty minutes and not send your reel the next morning.

The fact that nothing transactional happens immediately does not make the encounter useless.

Relationships need a little oxygen.

If the conversation has a natural reason to continue, exchange contact information or connect on the appropriate platform.

Otherwise, let it simply be a good conversation.

Festivals are community spaces

A film festival is not only a place where you hope to be noticed.

Watch other people’s work.

Attend discussions.

Talk to filmmakers after you have seen their films, not only because you identified a professional title on a badge.

Conversations immediately become more interesting when you share a real artistic experience.

And when your own film is screening, go if you can.

Support the team. Introduce colleagues to one another. Enjoy the moment.

Your role is not only to stand in front of the poster.

Classes and workshops create relationships too

Training lets people see how you work.

You may meet scene partners, coaches, writers or invited filmmakers.

But do not turn the classroom into a prospecting ground.

The best networking in a class is doing the work seriously and being generous with your partners.

That is much more memorable than handing out your reel during the break.

Your presence in a workshop belongs first to continuous learning, not to a networking campaign.

Introverts can network very well

Networking does not require you to be the most energetic person in the room.

One meaningful conversation with two people can be far more valuable than twenty superficial interactions.

Give yourself a reasonable goal: see a film, reconnect with a colleague, speak with two new people.

Then go home.

Alcohol is not required either

Many industry events happen around a bar.

You are under no obligation to drink in order to participate.

If you do drink, simply remember that you are in a space where colleagues may be meeting you for the first time.

The advice is not moral.

It is practical: you want to keep your judgment and remember your conversations.

Safety and boundaries

A professional invitation never requires you to accept a situation that makes you uncomfortable.

A meeting with someone you do not know can happen in a café, an office or another public place.

The desire to work should not erase basic personal-safety boundaries.

Even in networking, you have the right to say no, leave or suggest a different context.

The second-meeting rule

One meeting often creates an acquaintance.

The second or third begins to create a relationship.

That is why regular presence in the same community matters.

Return to the same festival. See colleagues’ shows. Attend readings. Come back regularly without trying to be everywhere.

Familiarity develops slowly.

And it works precisely because it does not feel forced.

That continuity naturally prepares the ground for professional follow-up and, more broadly, reciprocity in lasting relationships.

One small monthly goal

Choose one industry-related activity each month:

• screening;
• show;
• workshop;
• festival;
• panel;
• reading;
• union event;
• association meeting.

The primary goal is to see work and participate in the community.

If a good meeting happens, even better.

In short

Stay curious. Talk about the work. Respect people’s time. Leave conversations gracefully. Return to the same communities.

A network is built less through dramatic moves than through an accumulation of credible presence.

Once the relationship exists, one delicate question remains: how do you maintain it without becoming pushy?

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