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9 Jul 2010 13:34:21
The University of Bedfordshire had a strong involvement this year in the annual showcase for student films.
The two-day event, which has been running since 2000 and features the work of students from both universities and film schools, took place at the British Film Institute (BFI) complex at the Southbank in London recently (23-24 June).
Eat Our Shorts 8.5 featured two afternoons of student films as well as the inaugural Talking Shop conference and was organised by the National Association for Higher Education in the Moving Image (NAHEMI).
A film by three undergraduates at Bedfordshire, Incognitus?, was used as publicity material for the event and was also shown on the second afternoon.
Kamil Chryscionka and Liliana Grzybowska, with help from Sarab Hadi, produced a documentary in Venice which explored masquerade balls which take place in the Italian city as part of its carnival each February.
This involved extensive research and interviewing for the project with a 10-day trip followed by a six-week editing process.
Liliana said: “It was great to go to the British Film Institute and a fantastic opportunity for the three of us. We got good reviews on the day from everyone there.”
Jim Hornsby, the Moving Image Course Leader at the University, said: “Their film stood up well alongside films from other major film schools from across the UK.”
Jim was himself involved in the event’s inaugural conference called Talking Shop which spanned the two days.
His talk, Adding Entrepreneurialism to the Curriculum, was about one aspect of a University of Bedfordshire initiative, Mediatrain, which is funded by the Centre for Excellence in Teaching and Learning (CETL).
With a strong focus on vocational awareness and employability, Mediatrain sees third year undergraduates making films, free of charge and as an assessment on their course, for voluntary and public sector organisations.
One such group, the Luton Accommodation and Move-on Project (LAMP) which is a Christian homeless charity based in the town, commissioned a project and has now distributed the finished film.
LAMP aims to provide advice, support and opportunities for young people to develop independent living skills. Its service is offered to young people aged 16-25 who are homeless, living in temporary accommodation or likely to become homeless within the Borough of Luton.
The CEO of LAMP, Astrid Bannister, said: “The group of five third year students were lovely to work with. They were punctual and polite, organised and very good at communicating with LAMP.
“The team was very committed and listened carefully to what our requirements were and delivered a very professional product.
“The students have created a very compelling film that we have already used in schools and which is now an integral part of all our information talks. I have already highly recommended Mediatrain to many other Luton organisations.”
This session on employability was chaired by Neil Peplow, Director of Film at Skillset, which is the industry body which supports skills and training for people and businesses to ensure the UK creative industries maintain their world-class position. The University is seeking to gain recognition of its media courses by Skillset in the coming year.
Jim said: “The whole conference discussed different aspects of our teaching practice to students and was very interesting.
“This was just one of the talks I’ve given about Mediatrain this year. This aspect of it has a reciprocal relationship and is very different to what the students are doing in their other assignments at the University.”
Latest news» 2010» July» Student movie showcase is a smash hit
