In conversation with Noel Goodwin
1. Introduce yourself
I’m Noel. New dad to baby, Gaia (5 months old at the time of writing this), and loving it! In fact, I feel like my work and home life are aligning in ways I never would have imagined since becoming a dad with several projects and aspects of my work centring around parent/fatherhood. I’m currently working as a freelance talent development producer and previously worked at BFI for 15 years supporting talented young filmmakers by running the BFI Future Film Festival and helping to set up and run BFI Film Academy.
2. What is your job title?
Well, I call myself a Talent Development Producer as my work encompasses talent management, development and executive producing.
3. Who looks after the kids when you are working?
My incredible wife, Taranjit. She’s currently on mat leave so we’ll have to figure out what things look like when she goes back to work. At the moment, I look after Gaia on Wednesdays so that Taranjit can have a day to do other things, and we try to spend Friday afternoons together. Weekends are a mix of family time and work. But being freelance sometimes all that goes out the window if a particular job comes up which means we have to flex our schedule.
4. How long did you take off work after having your baby?
None, unfortunately. I’m fairly new to freelancing and running my own company, and tonnes of work came in which meant the 6 weeks after Gaia was born were incredibly busy. Our families came from Bristol and stayed with us in London for some of that time to make things a bit easier. We managed but it was tough. Since then things have balanced out a bit though and I work from home mostly so I’m able to help out a fair bit, although that can also make it somewhat distracting with work because it’s very tempting just to hang out with my wife and baby instead!
5. Would you say that you have a good work/life balance?
On the whole, I’d say yes. We’re still working on it (and probably always will be), and I’m lucky to have such a brilliant, understanding wife who wants me to do well, and steers the ship when things get busy. Do I feel there’s room for improvement? Of course! But it seems to me that being a parent and being a freelancer also requires adaptability, flexibility and an open mind to be able to pivot to meet the changing needs of your baby/family/job.
6. Are you job-sharing or working flexibly?
Freelancing, so working flexibly. I try to get up early and get 6-7 hours in before taking a late lunch, then I can take over baby duties for an hour or so before doing a bit more work in the afternoon, with more family time in the evening and early to bed!
7. What do you think is the hardest part of being a working/industry parent?
It depends on what you do, but I think production must be one of the hardest aspects of working in film as a parent. I worked on a feature film immediately after Gaia was born and the hours are brutal - you’re out of the house for 12-14 hours a day. It’s not really practical if you have a family, and I guess that’s part of the reason why so many parents (and mothers in particular) feel like they have no choice but to move on from working in the film industry when they have children. Luckily for me, I was subbing for the main producer on a part-time basis for the production in the summer so it was only 3 days a week. But if I had to do 6 days a week it wouldn’t really have been doable with a newborn.
I’m currently developing a parent-centric feature film project that would embrace a more parent/carer friendly production process including 8-hour working days, extended flexible teams, an on set crèche with production taking place mainly in a studio, and mums and parents taking lead roles both in front and behind the camera. (Please do drop me a line if there’s anyone reading this that would like to know more and maybe help get the film made - noelgoodwinfilm@gmail.com)
8. What are your tips for any other industry fathers out there wanting to have kids and keep a career in film?
I think flexibility is the key, so you probably need an employer or position that allows a lot of working from home, at least in the early days of having a child. Maybe it gets easier (lol) when the kids go to nursery/school - we’ll just have to see!
9. Any advice for anyone about to return to work after having a kid?
I’d say mostly to try to keep a positive mindset. It’s easy to allow the pressures of juggling parenthood and work to get on top of you. But if you can remain grateful for this wonderful gift life has given you, allow it to inspire you, embrace the change and try to put in place as much flexibility as possible you’ll find the joys outweigh the challenges. And once your baby starts to smile you’ll be racing home every day after work to see that lovely little face!
10. What advice did you wish someone had given you?
Don’t give your baby a dummy! No one told us why this might be a bad thing. So here it is…once they get used to sleeping with a dummy you’re in trouble! Every time that dummy falls out of their mouth and they wake up crying and wanting it, you are waking up to put it back in and calm them down. This can happen several times a night and it’s frustrating and exhausting. We’re weening our little one off it now, but it’s a challenge! So there you go. Don’t be a dum-dum!