AldridgeUTC@MediaCityUK, a 14-18 college specialising in creative and digital media, held its first annual Film Festival, to celebrate its students' success.
The event was held on July 1, creating a gateway for Year 12 and 13 students to meet people within the local film and screen industry and showcase some of their fantastic work.
VIPs from across the film industry, including ‘Black Widow’ VFX artist Julie Nixon attended the festival. Students had the opportunity to talk about their work and get advice from industry specialists. Screening of the films was showcased and was referred to as “truly high quality” by Luke Walters, one of the presenters, who is an award-winning director from Cinescope Pictures.
Stand-out pieces featured were the ‘Clap Your Hands’ music video which was shot in a distinctive and extraordinary way, and the documentary ‘The Box’ which took a unique and interesting approach of being entirely interview-based about mental health.
‘Woodlands’ cinematography was described as 'gorgeous' and Tom Brindley-Carter rightly won an award for this. The film also won best fictional film.
Finlay Mulligan Wild won ‘Best Editing’ for this film, which has gone on to be purchased by Amazon Prime – another signifier of the quality of work being produced at the UTC.
Within the audience were some alumni students who joined the UTC in its opening year in 2015. These alumni students now work in a range of creative industries including the BBC, ITV, documentary production companies and graphic design agencies. The initial idea behind the college was that the students who went into the creative industry would be future role models for young people attending the college and ex-student Matt Tiplady, now working in social media, said that the college has 'now fulfilled its vision'.
Festival Director and Curriculum Leader for Film and TV, Lauren Entwistle, stated: “After working with young people from Salford for seven years, it makes me proud to bring a short film festival to the city which champions the work of student film-makers.”
The Aldridge Film Festival is just one of the amazing events taking place at the UTC. Students are regularly given live briefs as part of their studies with Graphics and Photography students currently creating art for the Manchester Fashion Movement and Film and TV students creating video content for Black History Month.
Recently, students were treated to a workshop with BT Sports and ITV and some students worked with Maxine Peake on her new short film with an all-female crew, while other students got the opportunity to work on the new Pepsi advert, part of which was filmed at the college.
At the Aldridge Junior Signature Art Prize in London, UTC students won in Film, Photography and Graphics categories. Riley Smith, the first Year 10 to be exhibited at the festival, didn’t just win but has also sold his work to an external buyer. You can now view work created by students at the UTC gallery on the second floor of The Quayside Shopping Centre.
UTC is a place of self-expression and creative freedom; you really feel that something special is happening here. It offers GCSEs in English, Maths and Science, option GCSEs of Photography, Graphics, Computer Science and Film Studies and Level 2 and 3 BTECs in TV and Film, Games Design and Digital Design.
With this breadth of academic and industry experience, students are really being given a competitive advantage needed for when they go into the workplace or further education.
Want to find out how you can get involved? Open Events run throughout the year where you can see the full range of professional-level work being produced by students at the UTC or you can call to arrange a tour.
Full details can be found on the website, utcmediacityuk.org.uk, which is where you can also apply to be a part of this remarkable place.
