Why I booked next year before I even left by Helen Tompson

Last year, I partnered with Chris Jones to add to the official LSF podcast. It’s now up and running, and it’s opened doors I didn’t even know were there. So I came back this year already knowing just being at LSF could change things. What I didn’t expect was quite how much when at the closing ceremony I put my money where my mouth is!

I booked my ticket for next year before I’d even left the building, it was the easiest decision. And as a woman who spreads herself thin, I like easy decisions.

I came back to familiar faces, people I’d met last time, people I’d encouraged to come, people I’d stayed in touch with. Which meant I wasn’t starting from scratch, I wasn’t wandering that awkward girl in the corner feeling on the outside of things.

I got so much out of last year: the table read with professional actors and a director, Live Script edit with Lucy V Hay, Script Editing hour with Euroscript, Mentoring with Lisa McMullin and access to the Pitch Fest. I didn’t expect to find this year better than last, but every day, it just exceeded the one before. The biggest surprise was recognising the change within me and my peers since last year.

Over the last year, because of LSF, I’ve grown in a real, tangible way that I could feel as I moved through the festival. This growth came from the people and conversations that carried on long after the festival, sharing wins and setbacks and actually doing something with it.

I met Dominika Scott-Jones in the queue at Pitch Fest and we stayed in touch across the year. I joined one of her co-labs with a production company and had a script selected for development through that. We’ve supported one another through the year matching each other’s drive to see the other one succeed so it was a joy to see her growth in real time when I attended her workshop at LSF 2026!

I watched another Pitch Fest 2025 Queue Friend, Vicky Ellis, win Pitch Factor after a really difficult year, celebrating her own determination to not give up on what she loves and show up and be celebrated for it.

I saw Suzanna Miller win the audio competition and then sat and listened as her work was brought to life in front of us. I’ve known Suzie for a while now and seeing her dedication and passion for audio be rewarded with a LIVE audio dramatization recording of her script with Dirk Maggs filled me with so much pride.

I bumped into producer, Grace Alwyn Ashworth (who I’d met last year), in Regent’s Park when I nipped out to grab a sandwich and ended up in a completely unexpected conversation with a friend she’d bumped into that looped all the way back to my home in West Somerset. I was able to offer a solid connection to the crew she needed for her Somerset based film that she was stuck with!

I’m not alone in this brilliant way we’re all connected and how enriching these connections means progress and growth.

And alongside all of that, the festival made it possible for me to actually be there, properly.

I suffer with migraines and I have to pace myself. Knowing sessions were recorded meant I could step out when I needed to and not feel like I was missing out. I could take a break, reset, and come back in. There are quiet spaces, darker corners, the courtyard for fresh air, you’re free to come and go as you please. Places where you can sit on your own or sit with others and take a moment to orientate yourself. Some of my best conversations happened in these spaces.

And yes, I wore my BEAUTIFUL boots! I always do. They’re from Irregular Choice if you were wondering. People remember them and come up and say hello because of them, “Weren’t you wearing the red ones last year?” It sounds small, but it helped to get that conversation started.

The value of this festival is immediate; you feel it as long before you arrive. But it doesn’t stop there. You come back a year later and you can see what’s changed for you, your career and in yourself.

And you’re not doing that alone. You’re doing it alongside people who get it and are figuring it out with you over a coffee, supporting each other.

That’s why I came back. That’s why I didn’t hesitate to book again.

So what did I agree to in the closing ceremony?

I made a public pledge to moderate a panel that means a great deal to me. A conversation about women finding their way into screenwriting, particularly if you’re starting a little later in life than you planned.

Book now for LSF 2027 and come and support your peers and in return gain the support you’ve been craving!

Let the work begin!