Leeds Beckett University - City Campus,
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Northern Film School in the Spotlight at Harrogate Film Festival
The university sees huge value in film festivals for students in terms of experience and exposure and both students and staff are involved in a number of ways.
The 2021 festival has broken free from its traditional format of one short run of consecutive days. Instead, a number of mini festivals are taking place with the hope that some of the later events will be able to run face-to-face if Covid-19 guidelines continue to ease.
This year's festival kicks off virtually on Friday 23 April when more than 100 films will be available to view online, including work by Northern Film School students. An advert promoting the NFS will be shown before all films screened throughout the festival, and a number of Broadcast Media Technologies students have gained experience being involved in the production of an advert for the festival itself.
Film school staff are also featuring in another popular element of the festival, the now annual Yorkshire Film & TV Industry Summit. The theme of this year’s event, which is described by organisers as “innovative, exciting and collaborative”, focuses on skills and networking.
Director of the Northern Film School, Annabelle Pangborn is one of two staff members taking part in high profile panels during the industry day. She will be appearing at the "Connected Campus" discussion alongside Screen Yorkshire, True North Productions and the Head of TV Commissioning for BBC England. Leeds School of Arts Course Director, Hugo Smith is on a panel featuring ScreenSkills and Channel 4 discussing skills for the film industry. Students' work is also being screened on the day, showcasing their films to key industry players.
Another area where the Northern Film School is in the spotlight is the popular short film competition where current students and alumni have eight entries. The categories they feature in are varied, including drama, documentary, horror and romance. One alumnus, Aymeric Nicolet, has three films in three different genres in the running.
And it’s not just film students gaining valuable experience from the festival, there are opportunities for Journalism students who are interviewing filmmakers and workshop hosts, including LEGO Art Director, Tori Davis who is teaching the fundamentals of character design and build. Plus, Media, Communications and Culture students are getting experience by writing reviews of the films being screened.
After a year of unprecedented disconnection, the film festival’s motto could not be more apt – it’s “join in”. And whether that’s online or eventually, face-to-face, Covid-19 regulations permitting, that’s what we’re all being encouraged to do!
More information on the Northern Film School.