The Art of Listening and Mentoring

This month, we had the privilege of welcoming four extraordinary mentors to our home on Almanack Pond Road: producer Mollye Asher (Nomadland), writer/director Stephen Belber (Match), writer Sabrina Dhawan (Monsoon Wedding), and writer/producer Jamund Washington (Random Acts of Flyness).

As they prepared for their one-on-one sessions with our writers, each mentor—independently and without prompting—shared a similar approach: they planned to listen first. And that’s exactly what they did. They listened attentively, asked thoughtful questions, listened some more, and then offered insights shaped by decades of experience in this challenging industry of ours.

There’s an invaluable lesson in this for all creative collaborators—and for all of us, really. We are surrounded by people with rich, complex stories, but to truly understand them, we must first be willing to listen.

By prioritizing listening, our mentors were able to discern the story each writer was trying to tell and how they envisioned telling it. Beyond plot points or set pieces, they tuned into the writer’s intentions and their personal connection to the material.

To Mollye, Sabrina, Jamund, and Stephen: thank you. We’re thrilled to welcome you into the Almanack community. Your time, generosity, and the reminder of the profound importance of listening are deeply appreciated.