Rosa Brooke's Weekly Hello #4

[2/7/25]

Hello! 👋

Hope you’re all having the most incredible Thursday!

Last week I posted a ton of GOOD NEWS and PHOTOS and AWARDS and HAPPY FEELINGS 🌞🥳🤩. Wow!

And that was all real and exciting and lovely-jubbly etc etc, but it’s not the whole story. Social media creates this one-sided, airbrushed, polished version of life, and that’s exactly the opposite of why I started this letter.

I want to do something different here; to take some actual time and thought each week to write to people I care about, to connect in a way that feels a little more real.

After the graduation and film showcase and family events and film festivals and mega-high-emotion-levels of recent weeks, right now I feel kinda wiped out.

Kinda blank.

Kinda overwhelmed.

Kinda 😮‍💨

I know there’s SO MUCH for me to do in the coming weeks, including but not limited to: moving house, finding an income, finishing “Birthday Boy”, applying for festivals, writing new scripts, returning to self-employed life, building a website, editing an up-to-date showreel, creating an up-to-date CV, visiting family, applying for grants, finishing music work, reconnecting with friends, training for a half-marathon, planning the next film shoot, sorting out credit cards, researching new opportunities and all-round general hustling.

Plus, you know, working on being mentally healthy so I can handle all that other stuff.

When does anyone find the time?

It can feel really disorienting to have this HUGE HIGH of FINISHING SOMETHING BIG, and then to be just… like… here… unsure where to go next, waiting for the next thing to start, looking at a long list of possible directions to go in.

So if you’re feeling that way right now, you’re totally not alone.

Actually, I think this might be an important part of the whole process: to pause, to not-know, to feel lost, to just kinda wonder/wander for a while.

Even…

…to do nothing.

The Playlist 🍿

• 📖 “How to Do Nothing” by Jenny Odell (thanks Madi!) (Bookshop) - So yeah, this book was perfectly timed for me to read this week. It’s not just a simple self-help solution about escaping into a cave somewhere; it’s a thoughtful challenge to find ways of engaging with the world, without being sucked in to the attention-economy that keeps us overwhelmed, scared and absorbed in 24/7 never-ending bullshit. It matches up so well with a lot of my own thinking over the past couple months. This is a refreshing, smart, inspiring read that I super-recommend ❤️

• 📱“How We Feel” App (Website)- This is a simple (and free!) phone app that I’ve been using lately to help take stock of what I’m feeling throughout the day. It prompts you to check in a couple times a day, selecting from emotions grouped into pleasant/unpleasant and high energy/low energy. Honestly, this app is really helping me to notice and understand my own emotional states, without judging them or trying to “fix” them (which is honestly REALLY fucking hard sometimes). It’s very well-designed and genuinely helpful, and you can also link with other people if you’d like. Another super-recommend ❤️

• 🎥 “The King and the Mocking-Bird” (French: “Le Roi et l'Oiseau”) directed by Paul Grimault (thanks Key!) (Kanopy) - I had never heard of this French animated film from 1980, but it’s AMAZING - one of the most gorgeous, magical, unique animations I’ve seen in ages. The backdrops are like surrealist paintings, the perspectives are odd and creepy, the story is funny and heartfelt and strange, the soundtrack is so evocative… it was even an inspiration to the legendary Miyazaki (of Studio Ghibli). Check out these gorgeous shots below, and if you have any interest in animated films, go watch it! Because… I SUPER-RECOMMEND ❤️

📩 You Can Now Hit “Reply” To This Letter! ✉️

That’s right, if you’d like to send thoughts, notes, recommendations of your own, or updates on creative work you’re engaged in, you can now REPLY directly to this email, and it will come straight to me! What a world.

Seriously though please do send a ‘hello’ of your own. It’s always super-nice to hear back from people who read this, and I’d love to support and promote other work if I can along the way.

Thanks again for taking time to read this.

Have a lovely week! 👋

Rosa