St. Andrews alum & AGBO EA, Tom, shares what it was like to return to St Andrews for the festival, take in the films and conversations, and reflect on how creativity, mentorship, and community are shaping the future of storytelling.

Tom works on AGBO’s Business Affairs & Legal team by day—and writes stories by night. He’s also a proud alum of the University of St Andrews, which made attending this year’s Sands Film Festival a full-circle moment.

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This past month, I had the privilege of attending Sands film festival in St Andrews, Scotland. Nestled in the peaceful medieval town on Scotland’s eastern coast, St Andrews University provides the perfect venue for a festival centered around creativity, community, and the future of storytelling.

The first AGBO event was a conversation with Dominic Hughes, AGBO’s Chief Scientific Officer, addressing the increasing prevalence of artificial intelligence. Dominic’s experience in working with the biggest tech companies in Silicon Valley as well as top creatives in Los Angeles provides a unique perspective on AI in entertainment today. He spoke about the need to marry new technological advances with our continuing urge to tell powerful and lasting stories. Dominic described how, as AI generates more and more content, the role of the artist and storyteller becomes even more vital. He emphasized that creative professionals are necessary to bring meaning, cohesion, and emotional truth to what could otherwise be a deluge of noise.

With that in mind, the theme of this year’s flagship AGBO panel, “Holding the Door Open,” was a call to action: how do we make space for new voices—writers, directors and artists—in an industry in flux? The question was explored from multiple vantage points by Joe Russo, Angela Otstot (Chief Creative Officer at AGBO), and Frank E Flowers (director of Haven, Shooting Stars, Bob Marley: One Love, & the upcoming AGBO/Amazon production The Bluff, starring Priyanka Chopra Jonas and Karl Urban).

Angela Otstot’s message was straightforward and resonant: she reaffirmed that the best creative work happens in partnership. Collaboration across sectors of a production company like AGBO– with partners at studios and streamers, artists and directors, producers and writers– all form an interconnected web of creativity that is needed to nurture great stories. In her experience, the most successful projects she’s led have all grown from environments where trust and openness were prioritized over ego.

Director Frank E Flowers added his perspective, explaining the importance of creative and professional relationships—finding your people and growing together—while staying grounded in your own story and personal truth as an artist. He described his working relationship with his longtime writing partner, Joe Ballarini, as well as his ongoing collaboration with producers at AGBO, including Anthony and Joe. He encouraged young creatives in the audience to first focus on their unique backgrounds and stories, then find the right partners to help take those stories to the next level.

Finally, Joe Russo offered a challenge to the current Hollywood elites: he suggested that the industry needs to better celebrate commercial stories which have the power to connect global audiences at scale. These large projects not only transcend borders, boundaries, and cultural differences; they provide an ongoing lifeline to the industry and allow for small projects to also thrive in theatrical settings. These blockbusters ‘hold the door open’ in a tangible way for creatives across the industry, and Joe’s remarks reminded us of the connection even between indie debuts and billion-dollar franchises.

SANDS festival wasn’t just about films—it was about the people who make them, the way they make them, and the way our industry can support these artists in the future. For those of us working at the intersection of technology and creativity, it was a reaffirming experience—and a call to continue building a future that invites more voices to the table, continuing to tell an entire spectrum of new, fantastic stories.

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By Tom Longano