HAVE YOU GOT WHAT IT TAKES?

Northern Stars Young Filmmakers' Academy is looking for talented and promising individuals aged 15-18 years who are truly passionate about filmmaking. If you love film and think you might have the talent to work in the industry one day, then Northern Stars is a unique training opportunity that will give you the chance to meet and work with the very best professionals and prove you have got what it takes.

Tyneside Cinema, Yipp Films and Northern Lights Film Festival support the most talented and committed young filmmakers of the region by providing high quality filmmaking training with professional filmmakers through the academy.

About the Academy

We aim to give you practical experience so you know exactly what it’s like to work in all of the aspects of filmmaking from scriptwriting and casting to directing and editing, in a creative environment. The academy is focused around developing your skills through a series of film production projects, weekend workshops and an intensive training programme.

The 2008 / 2009 academy programme starts in February 2009 and includes a 5-day Gillian May Dickinson Residential Film Camp during the first week of the Easter school break, where you work intensively in groups to write, shoot and edit a short film with professionals.

Who can join?

Lee, aged 18, on location filming FlickrWall

Northern Stars is open to anyone who:

• Is aged 15-18 years
Has a genuine and proven interest in learning how to make film
• Is resident in Tyne and Wear, Northumberland, County Durham or Teesside

 

Selection is made through a competitive process which includes an interview and practical filmmaking task. Commitment to workshops and holiday activities is essential. It is likely that the majority of workshops will take place on Sundays in February and March, including 3 days in February half term, dates tbc

Fees

on location in Great Fryupdale during the Gillian Dickinson Residential Film Camp 2008

There is a one-off Membership Fee for Northern Stars of £175, which includes:

• 5 day Gillian May Dickinson Residential (travel, accommodation, meals and transport).
• All training workshops.
• Film screenings.

 

Fee can be paid in instalments and there are a limited number of bursaries available. Please contact us for further information.

Thanks to the North East regional Partnership Gifted and Talented Scheme, we are able to offer a limited number of bursaries

Sorry, the application deadline is now passed.

If you'd like to register your interest for next year's academy, please email holli.mcguire@tynesidecinema.co.uk

Last Year

What our last lot got up to...

Charlotte and the jib arm, filming Shoe Tree

The young people from last year’s academy made three short films on location during the residential film camp and three more films for the Portrait of a Nation production project. These will be screened at Northern Lights Film Festival 2008 also at the finale of Liverpool’s Capital of Culture celebrations in December 2008.

Where they are now?

The Academy has helped lots of young people from across the region access further and higher education courses across the country including:

• Film and TV Production at Bournemouth University
• Media Production at Leeds Metropolitan University
• Film Production at the University for Creative Arts
• Film Studies at Norwich University
• Media Production at Northumbria University
• Several have gone on to be runners on professional productions
• 1 received a George Loggie Bursary which they used to helped to purchase equipment
• Films have been screened and have won awards at a variety of film festivals Many continue to keep in touch and make films for fun and love

Testimonials

Charlotte, aged 18

Looking back to the day I sent off the application form to be apart of Northern Stars, I never realised then just how much it would play such a huge impact in my life in the next year and in the future. Throughout the year I have learnt so many skills about filmmaking, which have helped me a lot now that I am at university studying film and media production. The experience has honestly been the best. I’ve met some amazing people, who I know I’ll be friends with for a long time. I have had the opportunity to work with some really inspirational and talented people, who I know I would have never been able to have if I had never joined Northern Stars.

Shooting the shoe tree

Georgia, aged 17

Northern Stars was pretty much life changing. I know that sounds cliché but it really was. It gave me the opportunity to learn more about the industry, the people and the hard work that goes into making great films.

I met so many interesting people and made unforgettable memories. Everything from the trip to Yorkshire to the summer we spent in the edit suit. This, to me was the foundation to my career and thanks to northern stars I know where I want go in life and how hard it's going to be to get there. But I'm sure it'll be worth it.

Take the opportunity and make every minute of it because as I have found out it all ends too quickly.

Films

This year's academy have been busy making films to take to Liverpool as part of a high profile national project, Portrait of a Nation. The project has offered a unique opportunity for young people from 17 cities across the UK to explore where they come from, their local culture, community and identity, funded by the Heritage Lottery Fund. Based at the Tyneside Studios, the Northern Stars worked in 2 crews over a 6 month period and have made 3 distinctive films.

What they got up to...

Working in partnership with Tyne & Wear Museums, the young people were introduced to groups, experts and locations across the region for inspiration. After a process of discovery and development, each crew was assigned a mentor to help bring their ideas to fruition. Additional support and training was provided by a whole host of industry professionals, ranging from production and cinematography to animation and editing. The resulting films are wonderfully individual takes of young people on the North East.

Here is a flavor of their films:

	Home Over 800,000 people call Tyneside their home. This documentary explores what 'home' means to them, and how living in the North East region has helped to shape the people they are.
	Flickr Wall In a dark alleyway in the heart of Newcastle thousands of chalk drawings and graffiti cover the Flickr wall; constantly changing as new parts are added and old ones wash away. This experimental documentary explores the graffiti and the stories behind them.
	Shoetree Hidden within Armstrong Park a tree stands adorned with hundreds of shoes. Known locally as 'The Shoe Tree', for the past 25 years the people of Newcastle have thrown their shoes in to its branches. This documentary is a poetic look at how a community can spontaneously create art in a hidden part of its city.

To celebrate the marvelous work that has been created, we'll be screening the films as part of a special event at the opening night of Northern Lights Film Festival on 30th November, just before the crew head off to the festival in Liverpool that closes the Capital of Culture Year for Liverpool.