Into Film Clubs
Find out everything you need to know about starting an Into Film Club.
National Careers Week (1-6 March) is just around the corner and is always a particularly important one for us. First created in 2010 to help students make effective choices about their future careers, the period gives us a great opportunity to reflect on the vast range of pathways available in the film industry as well as spotlighting some of our favourite events and stories from across the UK.
In the first in a series of careers articles that will be released over the next week, we turn our attention to recent talks held at Brighton, Hove and Sussex Sixth form college (BHASVIC). One of these led to a unique filmmaking opportunity for a student who was the offered the chance to create a very personal film (with five other young filmmakers) about his sister and the condition she lives with, Tuberous Sclerosis. For us, the main message to take away from this story is that when you take a risk in making industry connections and are prepared to truly put yourself out there, you never know what may fall in your lap.
We all come from different backgrounds and aim to go down different routes within the industry, so with this generous opportunity, we are able to explore each area of production as in depth as possible.
The six young filmmakers - Emma, Lola, Rosie, Louis, Arlo and Kitty
A major part of Into Film's work includes linking schools with industry partners in their local area such as filmmakers, venues and cinemas. Our regional delivery team are always on the look out for chances to create these connections as it is important we alert our schools and film clubs to the amazing opportunities right on their doorstep.
In our recent talks at Brighton, Hove and Sussex Sixth form college, the first was run by filmmaker Asatuurs Keim for media students. He shared some great tips for creating portfolios for the first time as well as expressing his love of filmmaking and the sense of community it provides. Make sure to check out the website for Mighty Filmmakers, a community of independent filmmakers that Asatuurs leads.
It doesn't matter who you are or where you're from, we're all there on set to make something beautiful, and that is why film is magic.
Filmmaker, Asatuurs Keim
The second talk in the series was with Tristan Loraine, who runs the Fact Not Fiction Films production company and Tristan followed it up by kindly offering work experience to BHASVIC students on his next film, upon application. During the application process, one student, Arlo, shared his dream with Tristan of creating a short film about his sister Stevie who lives with the condition, Tuberous Sclerosis. Fuelled by his passion for documentary filmmaking, Tristan offered Arlo and five other students the opportunity to bring this vision to life and raise awareness of Tuberous Sclerosis. Arlo explained what he wanted to achieve with the project:
"In telling our family's story, I want to educate people about her condition and I want to create a voice for families affected by learning disability. No one but my family really knows the full extent of the experience we've had. I have a lot of feelings about Stevie that are really tough to talk about, and these feelings are not unique to me. In this film, I want to share my story and explore what it means to be a sibling of someone with special needs. This film is just as much my story as it is my sister's. It will include interviews with me and my parents, footage of our day-to-day lives, and archive footage from me and Stevie's childhood."
Meet the Team
The team of six filmmakers - Emma, Lola, Rosie, Louis, Arlo and Kitty - all study either media or film studies at BHASVIC and are currently in Year 12.
The condition they are hoping to raise awareness of is Tuberous Sclerosis. This is a rare genetic condition that causes mainly non-cancerous (benign) tumors to develop in various parts of the body. So far, the students have had a pre-production meeting with Into Film, Tristan and the UK's leading charity for this subject, the Tuberous Sclerosis Association.
As well as raising awareness, the team are excited to gain first hand experience on a film set, all made possible through the generosity of Tristan and Fact Not Fiction productions.
"Working on this project will offer us some really unique experience for all of us as individuals and broaden our knowledge on the film industry. We all come from different backgrounds and aim to go down different routes within the industry, so with this generous opportunity, we are able to explore each area of production as in depth as possible."
The students hope to begin production in the summer, but for now, keep up to date with the progress via Instagram: #TheStevieProject
