The week, we’re getting to know Sabrina Dridje, Executive Director of The Telly Awards, the world’s largest award honouring excellence in video.
Sabrina is a leading voice that infuses a bold spirit of change into an ever-evolving industry. With her finger on the pulse of all things content (TV, film, gaming, and more), Sabrina dives deep into the wants and needs of the entertainment community to find out what’s most important, curating a diverse list of awards categories, managing events, and developing new areas of content to focus on.
She believes the evolution of The Telly Awards is the evolution of the industry itself — committed to working with those at the forefront of new ways of creating to ensure the show remains relevant, useful and close to its mission. She has also been instrumental in organizing the Tellys’ live events as well as The Telly Awards Podcast and their Hot Takes series.
We joined her for a chat about the evolution of the awards and how she’s been instrumental in keeping the Tellys in tune with an ever-changing industry.
Tell us a bit about your role! Is there a “typical” day?
I oversee all aspects of The Telly Awards - an award focused on honoring video & television on all screens (everything from documentary to animation, immersive work to branded content). I am singularly focused on making sure that the very best work from around the globe (regardless of size of budget or team) is celebrated and do many things to make sure that mission happens.
Whether it's overseeing our marketing efforts (email, social, strategic partnerships), working with my team to curate work and voices for our global touring screening and podcast or inviting new leaders to our judging council. I also spend a lot of time meeting our entrants - from major networks and studios to post/production companies to indie creators hearing what they are working on and guiding them through the entry process.
Each and every day is focused on how to reach folks producing stand out work and ensuring we are constantly thinking of new ways to honor our winners year-round.
What was the biggest challenge in getting to your current position?
I would say learning and understanding that advocating for myself didn’t have to be synonymous with arrogance - something I had always thought to be true. I spent my 20s heads down, quietly working and learning but not being vocal about my career ambition.
Luckily I had a series of colleagues who supported me on the way up - especially when I made the jump from the UK to New York in 2012 and had to start my professional community from scratch. Moving to New York, suitcase in hand, without a job definitely quickly makes you realize that hustling hard and advocating for yourself is key!
I look back now on what at the time felt like a series of random/opportunistic career moves and see how they were all perfect stepping stones to my current role which is a multi-hyphenated role of producer-creative-business-marketing-partnerships-curation!
What is your personal background and what role did it play in your career?
I was born in the UK with an Algerian father and French mother until I moved to France and went to an international school from age 12. We were surrounded by a multitude of cultures, opinions and backgrounds - an environment that pushed us to adapt quickly and make fast friends with folks from all walks of life.
I am so grateful for this time and really believe it laid the foundation for a lifetime of cultivating joy from building meaningful connections (personal and professional) and always looking to build true collaborations between people.
I feel like I have always been in the relationship business and feel lucky to say that. Whether that was at my first gig working in film financing / sales for London-based Hanway Films, or my time running a media/tech incubator in Dumbo to my role today connecting with the video and television community and the multitude of people within it.
I also recently became a mother. This has monumentally changed how I feel about work - I have always been driven by a passion to do great work as efficiently as possible, while hopefully leading my team with compassion.
Since becoming a mother, there is no way around having to prioritize life in a way that pushes me to be productive and effective at work, in order to make sure I have time to show up and be present for my family. I am fortunate to work for a company that has that embedded in its values.
What is your biggest career-related win? What is your biggest loss?
Rising from Community Manager to Director of a media/tech incubator, in a new city, in my late 20s, is something that I will always be proud of. We grew the space from an empty 20,000sq foot cavernous warehouse to a living, breathing community of creatives.
It was this experience that showed me that I should always aspire to take on new jobs that are a few steps outside my reach, comfort zone and past experience and be confident in the knowledge that I will hustle hard to work it all out.
I have always taken calculated risks when leaving a job - mostly driven by intuition - sometimes this has paid off, and other times it has not! Before moving to NYC, I tried to freelance in London, and I was just not ready yet. It was a real struggle, and I felt like I had jumped the gun too soon and ultimately felt like I had failed.
Now looking back I don’t regret - I learnt so much from this time, including how to navigate and process decisions I make, even if they are bad. I tried to freelance consult again later in my 30s in NYC to great success. Time and place does matter!
Which individuals and/or agencies do you gain inspiration from? Do you have any heroes in the industry?
Truly? My colleagues who are more gifted than me in areas I aspire to be - design, production. Also everything WePresent puts out, the work they commission, the art direction of their website, the creative live manifestations of their work.
If you could go back to your teenage years, would you have done things differently? Do you have any regrets?
I am truly fortunate that my teenage years were spent in France, making friends from all over the world, who all wanted to work hard (and play hard) - these friends have become family. I learnt some tough life lessons along the way but I don’t regret them!
If you weren’t in your current industry, what would you be doing?
A florist or an artist - perhaps these are the same thing?
What’s your one big dream for the future of the industry?
That diversity across production (in front and behind the camera) becomes an irrefutable part of the industry rather than an add-on or after thought.
What are your top tips for aspiring creative professionals?
Always apply for that job that feels out of reach if you truly believe you can have real impact and have relevant experience. Learn quickly how to be an effective collaborator with colleagues across the board.
What are your top tips for other creative leaders?
Bake in time for mentoring your team always. Also, as we all know, as we rise up the ladder in the creative field, we move away from the hands-on creative process which for some is a loss. I find time to still connect with the work, the process and the people behind the work - it feels so so so essential to not only my job, but also to stay inspired.
When you think about your team, what is the thing that matters to you the most?
Are they enjoying their work? Are we working collaboratively? Are we matching skills to responsibilities? Am I leading with integrity and transparency? What does career growth look like for my team? How do we encourage a sense of belonging and purpose in the work, so that out in the world, they are also genuine brand ambassadors for our work and mission?
Do you have any websites, books or resources you would recommend?
I don’t! I truly get my energy and inspiration from other people and living vicariously through them - that, and the very inconveniently heavy pile of photo coffee books I own.
