‘Filmmakers in the Classroom’
Filmmakers in the Classroom is the next round within the Bradford Film Literacy programme, bringing professional filmmakers to work alongside young students and teachers in Bradford.
The first guest in the programme was Paul Sapin a director and producer from Brooklyn. Paul has worked on many award winning series and documenatires with the likes of the BBC, Channel 4, Sky and Al Jazeera English some you may have heard of Ross Kemp on Gangs and The Spice Trail.
For March our Filmmaker was Barney Goodland who is the manager of Magic Light Pictures. Barney has worked on a number of award-winning productions such as The Gruffalo, Room on the Broom and The Gruffolo’s Child. Barney Goodland Producer said: ‘’ The Film Literacy Scheme is a wonderful way to help young people learn. By using interactive film and animation workshops the programme encourages creative thinking and ideas, whilst at the same time developing key literacy skills.”
Bradford’s Film Literacy project aims to ensure that children learn to read and write in order to empower them to live their lives to the full as active citizens. In an age when children and young people receive much of their education, information and entertainment via moving images it is suggested that children and young people should similarly be enabled to be media literate too. Film literacy enables them to understand how the film and moving image texts that they consume make meaning, encourages them to watch films from a variety of sources and inspires them to create films of their own. In so doing they are empowered to be culturally literate – to be able to ‘read’ the films and moving image texts they see every day and ‘write’ their own for others to watch too. The film literacy strategy highlights the idea that, since children and young people receive much of their education, information and entertainment via moving images, they should be media and culturally literate too. David Wilson, director of Bradford City of Film, says film literacy helps children to ‘read’ the films and moving image texts they consume daily, and ‘write’ their own for others to watch.
Sarah Mumford, CapeUK Programme Director, said: “We’re excited to be supporting the project which will help raise attainment and ensure young people have access to the best possible arts and cultural experiences.
“The opportunity for both pupils and teachers to work directly with film makers is a fantastic way to inspire the next generation of actors, writers and directors, as well as encouraging more young people to enjoy watching films.”
Bradford wants to move film education on from being a series of disconnected experiences to becoming an integral part of every young person’s life – a systematic process in which confidence and articulacy grow by having the opportunity to see a wide range of films, to gain a critical understanding of film and to enjoy the creative activity of filmmaking.
The Film Literacy Programme continues to grow, and this latest phase is funded by Cape UK (the Arts Council’s ‘bridge organisation’ for Yorkshire and the Humber) and delivered by the Curriculum Innovation Centre, with support from the BFI and Literacy Shed. The current programme also incorporates Arts Award as a core element of the programme going out to 900 pupils across the Bradford District.
CapeUK is based in Yorkshire and the North West, and has led national and regional creative partnership programmes as well as playing a key role in advising Government on creativity and learning. They are the Arts Council’s ‘bridge organisation’ for Yorkshire and the Humber working with the arts and cultural sectors in the region to help children and young people have access to great arts experiences.
For more information please see
http://www.capeuk.org/about-us
