Screening of Berberian Sound Studio

Includes Q&A with Director Peter Strickland and Cinematographer Nic Knowland (BSC)

Date: Thursday 2 May
Time: 14.00 - 17.00
Venue: Coslett 117

"A sound engineer's work for an Italian horror studio becomes a terrifying case of life imitating art."

Director Peter Strickland and Cinematographer Nic Knowland (BSC) join us for a Blu-Ray / 5:1 surround sound screening of Berberian Sound Studio and a discussion about the film and its making.

The film is a rare and incredible example of cinematic potential and makes seriously inventive use of sound and image. It also features exquisite production design by Jennifer Kernke and graphic design/illustration by Julian House. The film references the Italian Giallo horror movement of the seventies.

"In the 1970s, a British sound technician is brought to Italy to work on the sound effects for a gruesome horror film. His nightmarish task slowly takes over his psyche, driving him to confront his own past. Berberian Sound Studio is many things: an anti-horror film, a stylistic tour de force, and a dream of cinema. As such, it offers a kind of pleasure that is rare in films, while recreating in a highly original way the pleasures of Italian horror cinema."

Awards & recognition:
Berberian Sound Studio has earned overwhelming critical acclaim worldwide. The film received 7 nominations at the British Independent Film Awards and won Best Film, Best Director, Best Actor (for Toby Jones), Best Technical Achievement for Sound design and Best Achievement in Production. The film has also just won Best Film and Best Cinematography in Argentina. Sight & Sound film magazine listed the film at number 5 on its list of best films of 2012. The film tied with A Royal Affair as Mark Kermode's best film of the year.

Making a living from what you love doing

With Georgi Banks-Davies, Independent Director

Date: 25 April 2013
Time: 16.00
Venue: Coslett 117

Georgi is a director of "ads, film, images and stories". With a showreel of short films, alternate and imaginative ads and web content and a feature film about to start, come and find out who Georgi is.

More information is available on Georgi's website.

Natural History, Conservation, Extreme Locations in Factual Programming

Get the insider's view on bringing the outdoors to our living rooms

Date: 24 April 2013

2.30pm Piers Warren

Piers is a wildlife film-maker and author with a particular interest in conservation. He will talk about the Natural History factual program industry, how it works and how to get a foot in the door. Piers will also talk about the role film and television can play in conservation issues.

Piers has walked the African plains with Maasai Warriors, tracked tigers in India on elephant-back, trekked across Tanzanian deserts on a camel and filmed cheetahs hunting in Kenya. He is well known throughout the wildlife film-making industry as the founder of Wildlife Film News and producer of wildlife-film.com, and as the principal of WILDEYE - The International School of Wildlife Film-making. He is one of the founders of the international organisation Filmmakers for Conservation.

3.40pm Phil Coates and Ryan Chapman

Phil is an accomplished remote location Director/Cameraman & professional expedition leader, Ryan finished his Film & TV degree here at Cambridge School of Art last year and has been working with Phil for some months as well as finishing his own documentary. Phil will talk about the specifics of his work, where the jobs come from and how you make a living in this field. He will also talk about how he films in the Antarctic, Himalayas or the United Arab Emirates.

Phil has an enviable record of working in extreme environments across seven continents, his location filming work includes Discovery International's Everest Beyond The Limit, BBC2's Blizzard Race To The Pole. In addition to his location directing and shooting work Phil has helped developed a number of documentaries and factual productions across a range of factual genres including science, natural history, the environment, adventure travel and factual entertainment.

Confidential Test Screening Of Secret Sharer

Includes Q&A with Producer/Director Peter Fudakowski

Date: 27 February 2013
Time: 18.00-20.30
Venue: Coslett 117

Peter Fudakowski, producer and director of new feature film Secret Sharer (in post-production), also produced Tsotsi, winner of the Academy Award for Best Foreign-Language Film 2006.

Peter's approach to the post-production involves making screen tests between each significant cut. As the film approaches its final cut, he would like to test the film with a group of young people and anyone with a passion for (and knowledge of) independent feature films.

Peter will lead the Q&A in order to gain insight to the audience's feelings, thoughts and critique of the film. These responses will inform Peter's next cut of the film, due to take place in early March. The film is due for completion in May 2013.

The screening offers audiences a chance to see the creative work on a film in progress and a rare opportunity to help a director make his film better through honest and open critique from an objective audience.

Rikki Beadle-Blair: Director /Writer

Date: 21 February 2013
Time: 14.00-17.00
Venue: Ruskin 141

A workshop on the rehearsal process and building a scene - particularly looking at working with non-professional actors.

Rikki is a creative tour de force working across theatre and film. He is a writer, director, composer, choreographer, designer, producer and performer. He has won several awards including the Sony Award (for Radio) and the Los Angeles Outfest Screenwriting and Outstanding Achievement awards.

His projects include several feature films and TV series, including Stonewall for the BBC, Metrosexuality for Channel 4, Noah's Arc for MTV LOGO in the USA as well as FIT, KickOff and Bashment for his own company Team Angelica.

Rikki founded Team Angelica to create opportunities for actors and creatives in every field of entertainment. He will also discuss how Team Angelica is challenging traditional and potentially outmoded industry practices within the creative arts.

Hans Petch: BBC Producer and Director, Factual Programs

Date: Tuesday 11 December
Time: 15.30 - 17.00
Venue: Coslett 117

All welcome.

Hans Petch is a producer/director with over 10 years of television production experience. His credits range from producing Imagine: Love, Loss and Anthony Minghella, to producing and series directing Jonathan Ross's Film 2000 - 2007. He has had a number of projects commissioned by the BBC, including An Audience with Charles Dickens, All Mod Cons and Walking the Meridian Line for ITV. He has directed and produced one-off retrospectives with Tom Cruise, Woody Allen and Harrison Ford. He has a proven track record of delivering network commissions and working with high profile talent. Hans has just completed his latest documentary project for BBC Four. He'll be sharing his experience of developing, pitching and creating this project during this session.

Screening of 'One Mile Away'

Date: Thursday 22 November
Time: 10.00am-12.30pm
Venue: Arts Picturehouse

Followed by a Q&A with the film's Director, Penny Woolcock.

"A riveting portrait of the complex, contentious reality of the streets, and the courage it takes to make a difference, it could well be this year's most important British film" - Time Out.

Larry Sider, Sound Designer

Date: Thursday 15 November
Time: 9.30 - 11.30am
Venue: Arts Picturehouse

Larry Sider is Director of the School of Sound and created soundtracks for the Quay Brothers' The Piano Tuner of Earthquakes and Dave McKean's Mirrormask. His presentation will explore how to think about creating a soundtrack, how soundtracks are composed of layers (atmospheres, dialogue etc). A film editor and sound designer, Larry's work is known for its emphasis on integrating creative sound production with a broad range of visual styles. He has worked in a variety of cinema and television genres, covering animation, fiction and documentary.

His extensive collaboration with award-winning animators the Brothers Quay includes films such as Street of Crocodiles and the live-action Institute Benjamenta and he has also worked with animators Simon Pummell (Secret Joy of Falling Angels; Butcher's Hook; Blinded by Light) and Ruth Lingford. Other credits include Patrick Keiller's surreal blend of fiction and documentary (London; Robinson in Space), Chris Austin's musical biography of jazz pianist Abdullah Ibrahim, The Brother With Perfect Timing, Ben Hopkins' feature Simon Magus and Mark Mundan's portrait of renegade commercials director Tony Kaye, The Outsider.

Kathy Lee, Film Editor

Date: Wednesday 14 November
Time: 10.30am - 12.00pm
Venue: Coslett 117

Followed by workshops (location tbc)

Kathy Lee studied drama in Australia and worked as an actress before moving to the UK. Her focus soon shifted to filmmaking, writing and directing short films, before realising her true interest lay in editing.

She graduated from the National Film and Television School in 2011, and since then has edited a number of documentaries and worked with artists on single and multi-screen installations.

In 2011, she edited Abuelas, an animated documentary nominated for the 'best short animation' BAFTA, and has since screened in 115 festivals and won 39 awards. She also edited "A Letter to Dad" which has won awards in Eastern Europe and has just been acquired by the BFI for their permanent collection. She is currently working on a documentary feature about a small island that suffered the worst environmental disaster in American history.