Cine-city Film Festival, Brighton UK

The FRN is delighted to be hosting a screening and talk at the Cinecity Film Festival in Brighton on Wednesday 15th November of:

‘The Acting Class’
Director: Deirdre O’Neill and Mike Wayne.
UK 2017. 77 mins.
Attenborough Centre for the Creative Arts

Exploring the difficulties people from working class backgrounds face when trying to get into the acting profession, The Acting Class follows actor Tom Stocks, who set up the Actor Awareness campaign to challenge the lack of opportunities for working-class actors after he was unable to afford fees for drama school. Among those who will featured in the documentary are actors Christopher Eccleston, Maxine Peake and Julie Hesmondhalgh who discuss how much things have changed and how they would not be able to follow their dreams if they were starting out now. The film poses the question why should acting or any of the arts be the preserve of the rich and what are the consequences when they are?

The screening will be followed by a Q&A with directors Mike Wayne and Deirdre O’Neill who teach film and television at Brunel University and will be chaired by Joanna Callaghan. The Acting Class is their third documentary.

Presented by the MA Masterclass Programme of the School of Media, Film and Music, University of Sussex and the Filmmaking Research Network.