The Filmmaking Research Network screening and talk
Cinecity Film Festival, Wednesday 15th November 2019
Attenborough Centre for the Creative Arts, Brighton
‘The Acting Class’
Dir: Deirdre O’Neill and Mike Wayne. UK 2017. 77 mins.
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, chaired by Joanna Callaghan.
Presented by the MA Masterclass Programme of the School of Media, Film and Music, University of Sussex and the Filmmaking Research Network.
www.attenboroughcentre.com/events/1465/the-acting-class
Freedom to Play: Pros & Cons of Filmmaking as Research
Sheffield Documentary Festival, June 2018
A panel of filmmakers and academics explore the growing trend of straddling filmmaking and academic lives and discuss the pros and cons of making films as research. Academia can free film-makers from conventional narratives and forms, allowing for experiments in creative storytelling. But does their work impact in academia as traditional ‘research’ and what influence have their films in the broadcast industry?”
www.sheffdocfest.com/sessions/6311
Filmmaking in the Academy 
A screening presented by the Filmmaking Research Network (FRN) – 60 minutes
The Elephant Theatre, Southbank University, MeCCSA Conference, January 2018
The following films were selected from the FRN register of films, a database of films produced within universities in the UK and Australia. A screening handout can be downloaded here.
Woman with an Editing Bench, 15’, 2016
Karen Pearlman, Macquarie University, Australia
Inspired by a true story, “Woman with an Editing Bench” pays homage to the creativity of Elizaveta Svilova – the unsung editor behind the 1929 documentary masterpiece “Man with a Movie Camera”. It uses her revolutionary editing techniques to reveal her thoughts and recuperate her legacy in the history of cinema.
Shock of the Muse, 9’, 2016
Inga Burrows, University of South Wales, UK
Finding her feet on day one as a naked life model, the young muse draws courage from her past training as a Girl Guide.
Muddskipping, 11’, 2016
Phoebe Hart and Joe Carter, Queensland University of Technology, Australia
Dance, music and film combine in the mangroves.
The Crossing, 14’, 2016/17
Shrepali Patel, Anglia Ruskin, UK
This emotionally heightened multi-screen installation investigates the exploitation of hope and the black market economy of human trafficking.
The Q, 7’, 2015
Leo Berkeley, Royal Melbourne Institute of Technology (RMIT), Australia
‘The Q’ is a short essay film about what we think about when we wait in lines.