Film City
Production Agency

Newsletter

JUNE/JULY 2008

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LATEST FUNDING DEADLINES, CREATIVE OPPORTUNITIES & FESTIVALS

BBC BLAST COMES TO DERBY
BBC Blast will be in Derby Market Square from Wednesday 25th to Saturday 28th June. Free workshops are on offer from film making to breakdancing to turntablism. 13-19yr olds can sign up for free workshops and masterclasses online or drop in to take part on the day.

AMERICANS FILM STUDENTS VISIT DERBY
A group of 12 young people from across America are visiting Derby in July to make a fim. The students are the second group to come to Derby following last year's group who made a documentary on how terrorism effects young people in Britain. A group of film-making students from the Joseph Wright Centre will meet up with the group to share ideas, and will be making films themselves whilst the US group travel around England.

VIRGIN MEDIA SHORTS COMPETITION
Deadline Monday 30th June

Last chance to submit your shorts! Virgin Media have announced that Kevin Spacey will be joining the judging panel for Virgin Media Shorts, the first ever short film competition to run across four platforms - TV, cinema, mobile and Internet. The competition aims to find the best up and coming British film makers. Kevin Spacey will also be joined by; Oscar-nominated short film director, Daniel Barber, Founder and chairman of the Virgin Group, Sir Richard Branson, Lenny Crooks, Head of the New Cinema Fund of the UK Film Council.

Filmmakers can now submit their short film (no longer than 2mins 30 seconds) online and take part in the competition. The top 12 films will be blown up to a 35 mm print and shown on 211 cinema screens across the UK. The winner will be given the chance to work directly with the UK Film Council and Virgin Media to develop and produce their next short film with a budget of up to £30,000.

BBC PERFORMING ARTS FUND
The BBC Performing Arts Fund helps aspiring music-makers and performers looking for a way to get ahead. To date the fund has allocated £2.4m to fund young musicians, from a range of genres, to help them pursue their careers in music. Its mission is to seek out and support excellent aspiring performers and those directly supporting performing artists, who for reasons of lack of existing opportunity, personal background or circumstance, would not have been able to achieve their most ambitious goals, or their talent's greatest potential without the Fund's support or intervention.

EDINBURGH INTERNATIONAL FILM FESTIVAL
18 - 29 June 2008: 3 Day Industry Events Pass for newcomers

Filmmaking can be a tough business, often low-paid and seemingly impenetrable, with access to training, contacts and sound business advice hard to find, which is why this year EIFF is offering a dedicated, value for money 3-day delegate pass, specifically designed for newcomers to the industry.

Spanning the first weekend of the Festival, the 3-day Industry Events Pass provides a full range of training, networking, critical panel discussions, speakers, public events and a listing in the 2008 Industry Guide along with over 500 industry professionals, all for only £50.

DEPICT! 08: NOW ACCEPTING SUBMISSIONS
Deadline for submissions: Mon 8 Sept '08, 1700hrs (BST)

Now in its tenth year, ultra-short film competition DepicT! continues to celebrate the imagination, style, emotion, drama, mystery, humour and passion that can be packed into one captivating mini-movie.

Can you do it in 90 seconds? DepicT! offers emerging filmmakers the opportunity to win a range of unique prizes and to gain priceless exposure through Encounters International Short Film Festival, the Digital Screen Network, depict.org and beyond. Judges, who in the past have included directors Peter Jackson, Terry Gilliam and Royston Tan, film critic Nigel Floyd and Aardman AnimationsÕ David Sproxton, are looking to discover distinctive voices which evidence originality, creativity and the ability to engage the viewer.

4TALENT SEARCH FOR THE GRIERSON:SHEFFIELD YOUTH JURY
Deadline extended!

4Talent has partnered with Sheffield Doc/Fest to present an exciting national hunt for the documentary voices of the future. Due to popular demand they are extending their deadline for receipt of applications. They want young people to have a bigger voice in the documentary world - and that's why they want to find 5 young people to be part of the Youth Jury at this year's Sheffield Doc/Fest, who will select the winner of the Grierson:Sheffield Youth Jury Award. So if you're 16-21 and want to get involved Ð visit the website and enter reference 4T

CARRIBEAN FAMILIES WANTED FOR WINDRUSH DIAMONDS BBC DOCUMENTARY
This major four part BBC 2 documentary series is a celebration of the British family. In each part, we'll be following a different extended British families as they prepare for and then go on a big family reunion. It's crucial that the four families featured in the series are representative of Britain's diverse demographic, which is why I've been working with the Gleaner to reach a Caribbean family.

The reunion will take the form of an all-expenses paid weekend in the UK, later on in the year - it will be a chance for the whole extended family to share their collective history and re-establish family bonds. The weekend will be packed full of family activities, with the opportunity to rediscover relationships and memories, see archive footage and photographs that may have lain unseen for decades, participate in genealogy workshops and meet distant family members.

Does this sound like something you might be interested in getting involved in? If you'd like to find out a bit more, please give me a call on the number below, or alternatively, drop me a line with your number and a convenient time to ring. I'd be happy to discuss the series in more detail with you, and answer any questions you may have.

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