There are few writer-centric events in the film world, so, naturally, I gravitated to ACT UP, a monthly series of table reads at the National Black Theatre in Harlem.

What makes ACT UP special is the opportunity to work directly with actors—hence the name of the event. With no experience directing, I have a lot to learn about actors, and more importantly, from them. Like what kind of character background is useful. And how much they crave direction—even when they don’t explicitly ask for it.

Caméra d’Or winning film director and writer, Michael Rowe, is a fellow Aussie who, like me, departed for foreign shores in his early twenties. Unlike me, he had the good sense to immigrate immediately to Mexico, a smart move that puts him several decades ahead and at the time of writing this post, many degrees warmer. Last year, at the Oaxaca Film Festival over lunch at my favorite fancy Oaxacan restaurant, Los Danzantes, he invited me to teach at his school in Mexico City, La Escuela Itinerante de Cine y Narativo. I haven’t taught at a film school before, but how could I resist?