Sometimes it Starts with Spam
Updated: 2 days ago
By Julie Sisk | June19, 2026
This week, I received an unexpected email. From Russia!
It began:
"I'm writing to you because your recent newsletter about Cannes took a rather adventurous detour straight into my Spam folder. Out of curiosity, I took a look inside, read your letter, and I must say — I'm really glad I did."
The note was from filmmaker, who had read my reflections on Cannes and about my transition to Take2Film.
What struck me wasn't simply that someone had discovered my newsletter in their spam folder. It was that, somehow, a conversation had begun between two people connected by nothing more than a shared curiosity and a love of film.
It was a small exchange, (from Russia!!!) but it struck me because it perfectly captured something I've experienced throughout my career.
Film has always been an excuse for something bigger.
Yes, we gather to watch films. But what often stays with us long after the credits roll are the conversations, the shared discoveries, and the people we meet along the way.
For nearly four decades at Cannes and myriad other festivals, I watched these connections happen every day. Students met mentors. First-time attendees met seasoned festival veterans. Filmmakers found collaborators. Strangers sat next to one another and left as friends. I met someone on a chairlift at Sundance and we continued to connect in Park City once a year for many years!
Those moments were never the result of an agenda. They happened because people came together around a shared love and appreciation of film (and maybe skiing!).
As I build Take2Film, I've realized that these connections are just as important as the destinations themselves.
Of course, we'll attend extraordinary festivals. We'll walk red carpets, discover remarkable films, and experience some of the world's great cultural events. But what I'm most excited about are the moments in between. And possibly the skiing!
The conversations over coffee after a morning screening. The debates over dinner about a film everyone saw differently. The chance encounter with a filmmaker. The realization that someone you've just met shares your curiosity, your passion, and your excitement for discovering stories from around the world.
In a time when so much of our interaction happens through screens and algorithms, there is something incredibly meaningful about gathering in person with people who may have arrived as strangers but leave feeling connected.
That, in many ways, is what Take2Film is all about.
Creating opportunities for people to come together through a shared love of cinema, culture, and conversation—and allowing a little room for serendipity to do the rest.
Who knows? Sometimes it even begins in a spam folder.
Warmly,
– Julie
