The Screen Team: Cambridge Film Festival’s Events and Training Project 2011
Cambridge Film Trust’s unique three year Screen Team training and events programme – a first for any film festival in the UK – aims to inspire young people to take part in volunteering activity and help them to build their skills and confidence, thus improving their chance of securing future employment, by offering structured training in the management and marketing of film events. The Screen Team is a Cambridge Film Trust initiative which has been funded by Legacy Trust UK, an independent charity set up to help build a lasting cultural and sporting legacy from the 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games.
The project was launched in summer 2010 with four events which took place as part of the celebrations for the Cambridge Film Festival’s thirtieth anniversary edition. Ten unemployed young people from Cambridgeshire were trained to contribute to the delivery of these events. Five of the participants in this pilot year have since gone on to secure paid work in the film and event industries.
The main aims of the Screen Team project in 2011 were to expand upon and improve the pilot year activity as the project grew to involve a greater number of participants who were drawn from across the region, as well as presenting events in new locations in the Eastern region.
"I was offered a full-time job yesterday so I wanted to thank you for the whole Screen Team experience, which I don’t doubt was useful in finding a job but was also enjoyable too. Hopefully I’ll be able to fit in participating in the Festival in the future too!” ~ Screen Team 2011 participant
"The best part about the Screen Team for me was being able to get fantastic, hands-on work experience at such large scale outdoor events. This, combined with the practical training, means that I’ve developed a really good understanding of arts event management. It was so satisfying being part of such a friendly team and helping set up these events in locations that at first seemed quite inhospitable for outdoor film screenings.” ~ Screen Team 2011 Participant
In Suffolk, we presented Films In The Forest on the 29th and 30th August 2011.
“Two nights of spectacular open-air screenings under the stars and amongst the trees, as we join forces with Theatre In The Forest to transform a beautiful woodland glade in Suffolk’s Rendlesham Forest into the perfect open-air cinema.”
The films were: ROBIN HOOD with a live musical accompaniment by acclaimed silent film composer Neil Brand; and CLOSE ENCOUNTERS OF THE THIRD KIND, which was chosen due to Rendlesham’s infamous UFO sighting.
In Hertfordshire, we presented White Water Cinema on the 9th and 10th of September 2011.
“Enjoy two evenings of cinematic thrills and spills under the stars and beside the rapids at the UK’s newest state-of-the-art white water centre – the host venue for the Canoe Slalom events at the London 2012 Olympic Games.”
At the request of the Lee Valley Regional Park Authority both films were appropriate for family audiences, and shared a suitably aquatic theme: FINDING NEMO and PIRATES OF THE CARIBBEAN.
You can download the Films on the Forest and White Water Cinema flyer here: OnLocation_Leaflet.
The Screen Team was also able to support the presentation two Movies on the Meadows screenings on Cambridge’s Grantchester Meadows for the August Bank Holiday Weekend, made possible due to the legacy of Screen Team 2010 activity, and with the support of Screen Team 2011 participants and project team.
We recruited 15 young people who were unemployed, not in training and not in education from across the Eastern region to take part in a structured training programme which enabled them to contribute to the delivery of these events.
We involved an additional three volunteers from Hertfordshire in the preparation and delivery of the White Water Cinema event – with the support of Zinc/Team East For Skills.
We delivered a bespoke volunteer training programme, and produced supporting documentation which will be utilized by the Film Trust over the course of the project and beyond.
We involved ten experts in nine mandatory training sessions. An additional five optional sessions also took place.
We supported all participants in work placement sessions at between three and six outdoor film events.
We also enabled five participants to benefit from an additional training course in film programming organised by the Independent Cinema Office, which is normally only open to those with at least three years experience in the film industry.
We offered relevant elements of the Screen Team training programme to the team of seasonal staff and voluntary interns who contributed to the delivery of the 31st Cambridge Film Festival, therefore improving the quality and value of their contribution to the Festival as well as developing their skills and knowledge.
We produced and distributed bespoke marketing materials for the Screen Team events, and for the Film Festival itself, on an unprecedented scale across the Eastern region.
We achieved a far greater profile for the Film Trust and its events in the regional media than ever before.
We raised the profile of the Film Trust and the Film Festival with new regional audiences. 70% of attendees at White Water Cinema had never even heard of the Cambridge Film Festival before and 95% of attendees at White Water Cinema and Films in the Forest had never attended a Cambridge Film Festival event before.
We received the prestigious London 2012 Inspire Mark for the training element of the project
The outcomes relating to the project’s short- and long-term value for its participants have been the most pleasing, and have far exceeded our expectations. Feedback from project participants in 2011 was even more positive than that received in 2010 – probably because we had taken on board the suggestions for improvements to the project which had come from the 2010 intake when planning the 2011 activity. All participants stated that the course had increased their confidence and skills, the likelihood that they will go on to volunteer in the future, and their understanding of managing an arts event. All participants also stated that they would recommend the Screen Team to a friend in the future.
The longer-term impact on participants has been equally impressive. Half of the 2010 Screen Team intake continue to work for the Cambridge Film Trust and/or the Arts Picturehouse cinema: two are permanent part-time employees of the Film Trust; two are permanent full-time employees of the Arts Picturehouse as well as undertaking project work for the Film Trust and its trading subsidiary Cambridge Film Projects; and one participant works on a freelance basis on individual Film Trust events. Six of the 2011 intake have already gone on to secure paid employment.
To mark the publication by Penguin Books of John Yorke's INTO THE WOODS - A Five Act Journey Into Story, we are offering one winner a once in a lifetime opportunity to attend a personal 2.5 day course with John Yorke (see below) and receive one-to-one workshop time. More...
The 33rd Cambridge Film Festival (presented by the Cambridge Film Trust) can now announce that we are adding new venues including The Jockey Club Rooms, Childerley Hall, and Newmarket Memorial Gardens, to our outdoor cinema programme this Summer. More...
If you'd prefer to view the Cambridge Film Festival programme in PDF format, you can download it here - or pick up a printed copy from the Arts Picturehouse or various retailers around the city.Download programme
