NORTHERN IRELAND SCHOOL CHILDREN ACCEPTED ON TO EDUCATION CHARITY FILMCLUB TALENT DEVELOPMENT PROGRAMME!

Five young people  from Northern Ireland are set to experience their own cinematic close up after being accepted into education charity FILMCLUB’s Talent Development Programme, where they will learn skills in the areas of film reporting, programming or reviewing. 

 Nadia McCann (age 12) and Caitlin Power (age 13) from Monkstown Community School in Newtownabbey, Aoife Heverin (age 9) from Ballycastle Integrated Primary School in Ballycastle, Stephen McElhinney (age 14) from St Josephs Boys School, Derry City and Emily Braiden (age 10) from Carrs Glen Primary School, Belfast, who are members of the nationwide charity - which encourages young people to watch a diverse range of films in their school film clubs - applied for the programme in March to further develop their interest in film, and were selected from hundreds of applicants.

 The FILMCLUB Talent Development Programme enables pupils with an exceptional passion for film to more fully experience behind-the-scenes elements of the film industry whilst opening up opportunities and broadening horizons. The programme will run for a full school year from September and is split into three different areas (reporters, critics and film programmers) with participants specializing in one area, culminating in an accredited award fromAQA– the leading provider of GCSEs and A-Levels inEngland,WalesandNorthern Ireland. Members will be trained as junior reporters - where they will interview film professionals on the red-carpet or during webcasts for the charity (previous members have interviewed some of the most prestigious names in the film industry including Steven Spielberg, Daniel Radcliffe, Emily Blunt, George Clooney, Ralph Fiennes and Reese Witherspoon), as film critics - where they shall be sent along to preview screenings of new films and documentaries to review for the charity’s website, or as film programmers - in which members will learn the secrets of how to programme successful film seasons for their school film clubs. In addition members will receive access to career advice, work experience opportunities and mentoring from industry professionals.

 Throughout the year the participants will take part in a number of training activities and live assignments. The young people travelled to Londonto take part at the first training day held at The Barbican, where they took part in a masterclasses in film review writing, film programming and reporting with red-carpet experts Premiere Scene (www.premierescene.net). They also took part in a Q&A session with Phil Wood – founder of one of London’s finest independent cinemas, The Roxy, and with film publicist Margot Lohan from leading film PR agency Feref, to hear first hand accounts of what is it like to work in the film industry. 

Julie Walters, Actress and FILMCLUB Supporter says: "What an amazing opportunity FILMCLUB is giving these young people.   Learning new skills, putting those into practice and interacting close-up with professionals will raise their aspirations and help them believe in themselves, which could really enhance their lives."

 Jane Fletcher, FILMCLUB Schools Support Director says: “There are so many talented youngsters out there who never have the opportunity to fulfill their potential. This scheme – the only one of its type to offer AQA Unit Award accreditation and three different strands – is a real chance for some of them to learn key life skills and will give a wider range of young people the opportunity to start a career in the film industry.”

 FILMCLUB, who help schools set up and run film clubs for young people to watch, discuss and review a wide range of films from past and present, are inviting more schools to join the scheme and are looking for more schools in Northern Ireland to participate. Please visit: www.filmclub.org/register for further details and to register for a free online start-up session. 

Cinemagic Film & Television Festival and the Nerve Centre will act as the local FILMCLUB managers inNorthern Irelandto facilitate the roll-out of the programme to schools, as well as offer support, advice and training.  Schools who are already involved through the pilot scheme are using FILMCLUB to support the Northern Ireland Curriculum at Primary and Post Primary level and qualifications such as Moving Image Arts and Media Studies.

To register your interest in participating in FILMCLUB in Northern Ireland, email: [email protected] or [email protected]

For further information please contact Claire Shaw, Cinemagic Press Officer on 028 90 311 900

Notes to Editors:

 FILMCLUB

Education charity FILMCLUB has grown from a 25-school pilot in 2007 to reach 250,000 members across 7,000 schools in theUK. Created by educationalist Lindsay Mackie and filmmaker Beeban Kidron, FILMCLUB helps schools set up clubs providing young people access to a curated catalogue of films from across the world and from over 100 years of cinema, with education and social impact.  Free to all state schools, FILMCLUB transforms lives by providing weekly screenings, online reviewing, industry events and hands-on support to engage, challenge and open new avenues for informal learning. Teachers receive the support they need to introduce pupils to the world of film, creating a memorable experience with proven academic benefits.

FILMCLUB patrons include filmmaker Mike Leigh and actors Emma Thompson and Michael Sheen, with funding received from The BFI Lottery Transition Fund for Audience Development.  FILMCLUB operates with the support of various other film organisations, including: LOVEFiLM, theUK’s largest onlineDVDrental company, which provides access to their film catalogue.

InWales, FILMCLUB is funded the Welsh Government, with additional support from HSBC, and is supported by the BFI and LOVEFiLM. FILMCLUB is partnering with the Film Agency forWales, Literature Wales, Arts Council of Wales, It’s My Shout and the Film Education Network to develop a rich programme tailored to Welsh schools.

FILMCLUB inNorthern Irelandis a Northern Ireland Screen extended schools initiative funded by the Department of Culture, Arts and Leisure and the Office of the First Minister and Deputy First Minister and is managed by Cinemagic and the Nerve Centre.

FILMCLUB is a registered charity (Number: 1136558)

AQA Accreditation

AQAare the leading provider of GCSEs and A-Levels to schools and colleges inEngland,WalesandNorthern Ireland.AQAQualifications are also internationally recognised and are taught in 44 countries around the world.

TheAQAUnit Award Scheme is a flexible accreditation scheme that acts as a facility to reward and celebrate success in a non-professional sense - it helps in, raising self esteem, improving motivation, supports lifelong and personalised learning and promotes inclusion.