“You can DM a hundred people looking for a co-host,” Portolan says. “Or you can go out, engage with the art you love, and see who’s standing next to you in the lobby. I’m glad I was looking up from my phone that night.”

Since that serendipitous meeting, Portolan and her co-host have translated that initial spark into a tangible audio product. While many podcasts rely on a singular host’s monologue or a chaotic "best friends" dynamic, their show is built on the foundation of that first debate: structured critique meets free-flowing conversation.

Lisa Portolan, a well-known personality in the podcasting sphere, attended the film event as a guest. Her podcast co-host, whose identity was not disclosed, was also present at the event. According to eyewitnesses, the two individuals crossed paths during a networking session, where they engaged in a warm and enthusiastic conversation.

The partnership began when Lisa Portolan, an author and academic researcher, met Ruth Borgobello at the where Ruth's film, The Space Between , was being showcased. Ruth, the first Australian to direct an Italian-language feature film, and Lisa, then a PhD candidate researching dating apps and intimacy, found a shared passion for storytelling and human connection. From Film Festival to Slow Love

Film events are inherently collaborative spaces; they gather directors, writers, actors, and audiences in one room. It is an environment that demands engagement. For Portolan, this environment provided the perfect testing ground for a new partnership.

Finding a creative spark in the most unexpected places is a classic origin story, and for and filmmaker Ruth Borgobello , that moment happened at an Italian Film Festival in Canberra. This chance meeting eventually led to the creation of the Slow Love podcast, a series that explores the complexities of intimacy and dating during the COVID-19 pandemic. The Meeting: Cinema and Connection