The two weeks we spent in Sweden turned out to be the life-changing experience that I was waiting for. I wasn't really expecting anything of YEFF Sweden, but I can no longer deny the impact it has had on me. The people I met during YEFF were amazing. We've lived together for only two weeks, but it felt like living with old friends. I've never had the experience of connecting so fast, so well, with so many people in a short period of time. I loved it.

Then I realized that all of us were there for the same reason: we love making films. So we sat there one day, watching our films, and talking about them afterwards. We discussed everything, from practical issues ("what camera did you use?") to deeper thoughts ("is this film a reflection of your personality?").

And that's when the storm in my stomach started.
None of the films I've made are a reflection of my personality.

You see... I've only recently started working in the video-industry. I quit my job to go back to school and become a videojournalist. I did it so I could turn the stories that I have inside me into films. It wasn't an easy decision to make, and I tried to keep in mind why I wanted to learn filmmaking. But still... somewhere down the road I forgot.

Sure, now I'm a videojournalist, and I love my job. But I've never made a film I wànted to make. I always hàd to. Until now. The experiences and talks that I've had during YEFF have triggered something. I'm now writing two scripts and shooting a film. My own film.

So there you have it.

The storm in my stomach are the stories that are waiting to be told. It's also the growing feeling that nothing is impossible. The storm in my stomach are the people that I've met during YEFF Sweden. It's also the knowledge that - no matter how much I'd like to relive those two weeks - I can't turn back time. But I will hold dear every single experience that I've had and, above all, every person that I've met during that incredible journey.

Thank you everyone, thank you YEFF.

Abbie, Belgium