Producer’s Film School @ Sinema Old School5 min read

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Join leading figures of the UK film industry to explore the important role of a film producer in a special session right here at Sinema Old School next Monday, 7 April 2008 (details to attend below). Chaired by our very own Juan Foo, the session starts at 1pm and ends at 5:30pm and is split in two parts:

THE PRODUCER’S STORY (1pm – 3:30pm)

What is the role of the producer? How important are producers in the development of an industry and how do they contribute to a genuinely creative economy?  How does that role differ from shorts to feature? What are the qualities needed in a good producer? And how can the industry help to develop its producers?

Join Juan Foo, producer of Perth and Return to Pontianak, in this special session with Mark Cosgrove (Encounters Short Film Festival), Carrie Comerford (producer, Red Road) and Lynda Myles (producer, The Commitments, mentor of students on the International Producing Course at the Internationale Filmschule, köln gmbh, Head of Directing Course, National Film and Television School, UK) to find out more.

BUILDING AN INDUSTRY: THE ROLE OF THE UK FILM COUNCIL AND UK FILM SCHOOLS IN CREATING A SUSTAINABLE FILM INDUSTRY (3:30pm – 5:30pm)

In the last ten years, the work of the UK Film Council has been instrumental in consolidating the UK’s film industry, while film schools in the UK have endeavoured to prepare filmmakers who can respond to the needs of this industry and the opportunities that new technologies and working practices present.

How has the UK responded to the challenge of building and developing an industry? How can film councils and film schools work to create a sustainable industry? What funding systems have been developed that help filmmakers finance their films on a regional, national and international level? And what are the lessons that can be learnt from the UK’s experience?

With the use of the case studies of the films Red Road and The Wind That Shakes the Barley (both winners at Cannes), and through detailed discussion concerning the functioning of the UKFC, Juan Foo will explore these questions with Lenny Crooks, Head of the New Cinema Fund at the UK Film Council, and Lynda Myles, Head of the Directing course at the National Film and Television School (UK).

INFORMATION ON THE SPEAKERS

CARRIE COMERFORD was educated at Trinity College Dublin, University College Dublin and has received film training from Media Business School, Nipkow, Arista and North x Northwest. She has worked in the film industry for over fifteen years, with production companies in Dublin, Berlin and Glasgow. Her production credits include: Associate Producer for Vinny Murphy’s Accelerator; Co-Producer for David Blair’s Mystics; UK Production Executive for Susanne Bier’s After The Wedding and Lars von Trier’s Manderlay. In 2006 she produced Andrea Arnold’s Red Road, which won the Jury Prize in Cannes and has gone on to win numerous further awards.

MARK COSGROVE has worked in independent film exhibition for 15 years. He started as programmer for Plymouth Arts Centre, followed by Education Officer at Manchester Cornerhouse. He is currently Head of Exhibition at Watershed Media Centre and Artistic Director of Encounters Short Film Festival, the UK’s leading short film festival. Mark is acknowledged as a leading figure in the field of developing online moving image content and the nurturing of the creative industries sector.

LENNY CROOKS is Head of the New Cinema Fund at the UK Film Council, which supports 130 shorts and approximately 8-10 feature films each year, past titles including This Is England by Shane Meadows, Kevin Macdonald’s Touching the Void, Ken Loach’s The Wind that Shakes the Barley and Andrea Arnold’s Red Road. Prior to his appointment at the UKFC, Lenny was director of the Glasgow Film Office, managing a successful public/private investment fund supporting the city’s transformation into an internationally recognised creative hub. Films he has worked on include The Magdalene Sisters (Peter Mullan), Sweet Sixteen (Ken Loach), Morvern Callar (Lynne Ramsay), Young Adam and Hallam Foe.

JUAN FOO has been in the nascent Singapore film industry since the mid 90s. He has been involved in up to 7 films and produced movies such as Perth and Return to Pontianak. Juan also develops and packages filmmakers and their projects at Cannes, Locarno, AFM and Pusan. He believes in collaborating with international partners while nurturing the Singapore films. He has also provided the Singaporean voice for panels and has been a curator and judge for film competitions, as well as lectured on filmmaking at various institutions. He is currently developing business and motion picture content for production company Shooting Gallery Asia.

LYNDA MYLES has been active in filmmaking and curating for 30 years, as director of the Edinburgh International Film Festival (1973-1980), curating the Pacific Film Archive, University of California, Berkeley, as film consultant to Channel 4; as a producer for David Puttnam’s Enigma Films; Senior Vice -President at Columbia Pictures, and two years at the BBC as Commissioning Editor for Drama. She co-produced The Commitments in 1990, and went on to produce films for the BBC including The Snapper and The Van. In 1990, Lynda co-founded the East-West Producers’ Seminar, a training programme for young producers in Eastern Europe, of which she was co-executive director until 1994. She mentors students on the International Producing Course at the Internationale Filmschule in köln gmbh and is a board member of Ateliers du Cinéma Européen, a training and development centre for independent European film producers. Lynda joined the NFTS in 2004 as Head of the Directing course at the National Film and Television School.

REGISTRATION

Entry is FREE — and seats are limited, so hurry!

To register for THE PRODUCER’S STORY, please send an email to Ker Lay Hong quoting STORY in the subject line.

To register for BUILDING AN INDUSTRY, please send an email to Ker Lay Hong quoting INDUSTRY in the subject line.

The speakers will also be taking part in a symposium on the representation of Singapore and cities in the UK on Sunday, 6th April at LASALLE College of the Arts. For more details on CINEMACITIES: URBAN SPACES ON FILM IN THE UK AND SINGAPORE, please visit the website.