Media students from Harrow College have attended the BFI London Film Festival, Britain’s leading film event and one of the world’s best and most established film festivals.
The Film Festival (simply BFI London Film Festival) is an annual event held in London, running in the second half of October with cooperation from the British Film Institute. It screens more than 300 films, documentaries and shorts from approximately 50 countries.
As part of the festival, A-level & BTEC media students watched to an exclusive screening of a new film called A United Kingdom (not out on general release until November 2016). The film is a biographical romantic drama film directed by renowned UK film director Amma Asante.
After the film, the students were treated to a special question and answer session with Amma Asante herself. She discussed how she became a director and the career path she chose after leaving college.
A follow up trip saw BTEC Level 2 Media students also attend the festival. This time the students enjoyed an exclusive behind the scenes look at the new DreamWorks animation, Trolls which is released in late October 2016. They met the films two directors, Mike Mitchell & Walt Dohr, who answered questions about how the film was made which included sharing exclusive images of the artwork storyboards and showcasing exclusive clips from the film itself. They gave career advice to budding young film makers and the skills & attributes they will need to progress in the film industry.
One Harrow College student, Alex Buga, was lucky enough to win a Trolls poster signed by the directors and producers after he correctly answered a question about DreamWorks.
Commenting on this fantastic experience for the students, Sam Norton-Taylor, Arts and Media lecturer at Harrow College said:
“It was great that students could get a real insight into the film making process, and to hear from film makers who work for such a renowned company as DreamWorks. The students were really inspired by the trip, and are looking forward to starting the animation unit as part of their course”.
Click here for more information about Media & Film courses at Harrow College.