Hollywood hopefuls head to Hallam for Audience Academy

18th August 2015

Some of the most talented young film buffs from across the country have been invited to Sheffield Hallam University to take part in a week long residential, where they have been designing their very own film festival.

Run by Showroom Workstation and funded by the British Film Institute (BFI), The Audience Academy is part of the UK-wide Youth Film Academy programme which aims to ensure budding film makers, producers, directors and programmers can gain the essential skills needed to make it in the Industry. 30 students between the ages of 16-19 from across the UK took part in the Audience Academy last week, where they were required to design their own film festival to pitch to a panel of experts. One lucky group will also have the chance to host a preview of their film festival at Showroom Cinema in the Autumn, which will be open for the public to attend. Students got to learn about all aspects of the film industry from some top names in the sector, including speakers from Film Hub North, Sheffield Doc/Fest and Odeon Cinemas. Students also learnt about how the way we watch films has changed over the last 100 years from Sheffield Hallam University's principal lecturer in film, Martin Carter, who took the students on a walking tour of Sheffield's cinemas old and new. The Showroom also enlisted the help of recent Sheffield Hallam film studies graduates whom they have employed for the week as mentors. 18 year old Fae Frank from Bromley, London attended Audience Academy last week. She was part of a group who successfully pitched their idea for Pockit - a film festival showing films made exclusively on smart phones. She said: "Everybody thinks you need an expensive film camera in order to make films, but nowadays this really isn't the case. Anybody can be a filmmaker by just using a mobile phone and almost everyone has one which makes it so accessible. The idea of our festival is to open up people's imagination to show them that with this little piece of technology you can be a filmmaker too." She added: "I've really enjoyed this week as I've been able to get industry experience and meet other young people with similar interests and aspirations as myself. Coming to Sheffield has opened my eyes up to the rich film culture here and hearing about the opportunities students have at Doc/Fest has made me consider applying to Sheffield Hallam." Martin Carter, Principle Lecturer in Film at Sheffield Hallam University, said: "This has been a fantastic event for Sheffield Hallam to support and collaborate on. It has been an extremely intense and unique experience for the thirty 16-19 year olds who attended the course and brilliant insight into the industry for them. "I would like to thank our students who worked as mentors last week, they all deserve a lot of credit for all their hard work, having worked on the BFI Youth Academy programme will be an exceptional addition to their CVs." Meabh O'Donovan, Audience Academy manager, ran the event. She said: "It's been a really inspirational and exciting week for the young people who attended. They've had the opportunity to speak with people working in the industry allowing them to make valuable connections for their future careers. "The Sheffield Hallam graduate mentors have been invaluable as they have really inspired the youngsters, they also benefit as they get an opportunity to put their newly acquired knowledge directly into practice."