Sara Blecher
Sara Blecher is an internationally award winning documentary and fiction film producer/ director with extensive training and experience as an intimacy coordinator.
As the founder and former chairperson Sisters Working in Film and Television (SWIFT), the premier Southern African organization dedicated to the concerns and experiences of women working in the industry, she led the organization's mission to advocate for safety, gender parity, and intersectionality in front of and behind the camera. Additionally, she served on the South African Screen Federation council and was a member of committees advising the Ministry of Arts and Culture on transformation and policy in the industry.
Throughout her over twenty years of experience as a director and producer in South Africa, Sara gained a deep understanding of the challenges faced by performers of intimate content. This led her to explore the field of intimacy coordination, which she saw as the solution to many of the issues she had encountered. She completed level 1 & 2 training under Ita O'Brien, the founder of Intimacy on Set (IOS) and a pioneer in the field in the UK, where she met Kate Lush. Together, they went on to found Safe Sets and IPSA (Intimacy Practitioners South Africa), and have worked to develop a set of protocols for the South African industry.
She was also part of the Safe Sets team that delivered a training program for Netflix, which aimed to provide intimacy coordinators across the EMEA region and beyond. This was then followed by a joint venture with Netflix Grow Creative, the NFVF (South Africa), and the IPO (South Africa) to deliver a similar course in South Africa and the Middle East.
Sara's vast experience as a director and producer gives her a unique understanding of both actor process and production constraints, making her a highly valuable intimacy coordinator trainer.