Bruntwood SciTech to show screenings of student film ‘Monolith’ in Leeds city centre

'Monolith' was originally created for Leeds International Festival 2020 which did not go ahead due to Covid-19 restrictions. Now the students will have the opportunity to see their work on the impressive Media Wall at Platform in Leeds.

Dr Alan Dunn, reader and lecturer in Fine Art at Leeds Beckett University, oversaw the creation of the film. He said: “‘Monolith’ is a fascinating glimpse at the future as seen through the eyes of 19 Fine Art students. They have risen to the challenge of creating moving image content for the 9m-high wall, working out the appropriate speeds and colours that work best.

The work was originally requested by the Leeds International Festival and it’s a great honour for the students to be able to see their collaborative work in the public realm again.”

BA Fine Art student Holly Rouse, who was part of the production team, said: “I really liked working on the ‘Monolith’ project as it was my first time creating something for a live brief. From the project, I managed to develop my animation and photography skills, and try new styles of making.”

The production team included 19 students, who had the opportunity to research and experiment with different themes to bring the film to life.

The screenings will include a custom ambient soundtrack composed by students Olli Tipling and Dani Ingham, who were members of the production team. ‘Monolith’ was inspired by Stanley Kubrick’s 1968 film, ‘2001: A Space Odyssey’ and offers insights into the future of technology, gender and social media.

“I looked at science and technology in relation to humans. Focusing on data and numbers seemed like a functional method to take when talking about a mass population,” student Holly Rouse said.

Screenings will be held at Platform in Leeds on Monday, 1st November and Monday, 8th November at 18:30. If you are interested in attending, please contact Dr Alan Dunn at a.dunn@leedsbeckett.ac.uk.