My film "Migrul" written, shot and edited in 72h was screened last night for the closing of the Off Courts Festival.

It's a film I'm really proud of – both the process and the result – and it was extremely well received at the screening. I've had lots of people bringing it up over the past 24 hours.

Also very happy about this week where I met and reconnected with more people than in previous editions.

I'll post the film soon. In the meantime, here are some photos from the shoot taken by Huseyin (thanks!!) :

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All of this in ONE day and this is only part of the locations... Results in upcoming posts!

I didn't post yesterday because we were right in the middle of shooting – I've never been busier in my life !

Today (well, tonight), I'm taking a break. The film will be posted here very soon because for once, I finished it COMPLETELY. No touch-ups needed.

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My film idea for the Kino is taking shape. I've found the story, the crew, a few locations.

I'm finishing the script tonight, I need to make the shot list, and find one or two more people to assist me.

The pitch? It's a racist horror film.

There you have it.

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Yesterday was magical. The joy of seeing friends again, chatting in the cafeteria, at the concert, at the bar. It had been so long since I'd had conversations that were so joyful, deep and intimate.

My film idea is taking shape: it will be a horror film in 4:3, somewhat in the style of Méliès.

To be continued.

I'm going to make a kino (72-hour film) on Tuesday at the Off Courts Film Festival and I have no idea what I'm going to do.

This isn't bad news—quite the opposite.

When I show up empty-handed, with nothing but my wits, it means I'm confident.

Confident in the process. Confident that by meeting people, feeling the vibe, seeing the locations, something will come. Or not—that's fine.

Right now, I'm listening to sounds on Ableton. Maybe I'll start with the music first.

We'll see.

I feel like there are 3 "public" Nicolas :

• the Nicolas who makes funny videos
• the Nicolas who makes zen videos
• the Nicolas who sells stuff

And my goal is to combine all three. I'm working hard on it.

If I make a video a day, it's partly for that reason. Learning to find my voice, express myself freely, no longer letting myself be intimidated by stupid obstacles.

I want to be able to express fully, easily and freely what's deep inside me. Not that I'm more interesting than others, not at all.

This is what I've realized: we all hide something brilliant. Something that could attract, fascinate. But very few know how to express it due to lack of practice and fear of exposure.

So I've decided to work on that.

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Related links:

• The regret to avoid on your deathbed (today's video)
• Being yourself is not a luxury

If we worried less, it would be the great liberator.

I'm not talking about suicide. I'm talking about perception of life.

A large part of the anxiety we accumulate comes from our tendency to take everything seriously. As if every action were important and momentous.

Except that everything ends on equal footing.

The billionaire like the homeless person, the beautiful and the ugly, the pleasure-seeker and the worrier, all end up the same way and you only need to wait a few decades for no one to remember them anymore. At best (or at worst), what remains are stories that have little to do with who they actually were.

Everything is less important than expected.

Nothing is as serious as we think.

The point was never to last.

Be free.

When I walk on the beach holding something in my hand, there's always a crazy (but happy) dog who runs toward me and asks me with his eyes:

Hey, what's that?
Is it a ball?
Is it a treat?
Is it a rock?
Is it for me?
Never mind gotta go bye!

And off he goes. 🤷‍♂️

I just finished redesigning the ChezFilms website.

Basically, I'm focusing on what has worked in the past: helping experts communicate better by working on strategy, expression, and producing (or helping them produce) their content.

What's new: our services for individuals.

If you know someone who might be interested :)

LinkedIn Post (and new manifesto for the future):

My LinkedIn policy for 2025 (and beyond): I'm dropping corporate speak.

I can't remember a single time in my life when it served me. Not one memory of someone who used it that made me want to follow them on any adventure.

It's the language used by those who feel obligated to communicate but don't want to rock the boat.

It's the language we encourage in companies when we build profitability on teams that we deny the tools to create genuine connection.

It's the lukewarm water of the last century.

Done!

I don't intend to be rude or hurtful, but I can't stand the blah blah blah anymore.

And I'm going to stop with the systematic emojis too. Once in a while, sure, to capture a smile on my face, but when it becomes a style "to grab attention," honestly, I can't take it anymore. I don't even read anymore.

And if you use an LLM to format your posts and add the right icons and "the positive tone desirable on a professional network," I think you're collectively hurting us and I'm going to stop following you.

My mistake was trying to network with people who don't interest me. Telling myself "I'll keep them just in case." No no no no no. "Hell yeah, or nothing." Or, as Jung said: "For the best to happen, the good must be set aside."

This is also a good time to stop following me. The worst is yet to come 🙂.

Happy back-to-school season.

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Related:

• 5 ways to hide
• Being yourself is not a luxury