20 – 22 February
Glyndŵr University
The three day festival now in its 10thyear is a must for students who are interested in film, television and new media. However, all the screenings and events are open to the public. Featuring the best student work from Wales, the UK, and abroad, along with masterclasses, panel sessions and workshops with some of the industry’s most renowned and respected figures. The purpose of the festival is to celebrate the best work being created by the up-and-coming moving image talent from around the world, and to provide a vital link between higher education and the media sector.
The festival opens with the Welsh premiere of Vinyl by Welsh filmmaker Sara Sugarman (director of Very Annie Mary and Confessions of a Teenage Drama Queen). Loosely based on The Alarm’s record-biz hoax of recording a single under a fictitious band name – fronted by the much younger Welsh group The Wayriders – to expose the shallow and youth orientated side of the music business, the film was shot in Rhyl and has been described as School of Rock meets This is Spinal Tap. Prior to the screening the festival will play host to a special performance from The Alarm’s Mike Peters who provides both the inspiration and soundtrack for the film.
Other highlights of the festival include masterclasses from the Oscar winning VFX company The Mill; tomato (the London based design collective co-founded by Karl Hyde and Rick Smith from the group Underworld); renowned Producer and co-founder of Virgin Records Nik Powell; and Bertel Schmidt from DR (the Danish broadcaster) who will be talking about the secret of their success in producing hit shows such as The Killing.
There will also be sessions featuring up and coming directors from Wales; TV professionals offering insights into the industry; and the final of the Terror in 20 Seconds! competition where filmmakers have to submit an idea for an original horror short film and a 20 second clip that gives the audience a flavour of what to expect. All the entries will be shown during festival and 5 entrants with the best ideas will be asked to pitch their idea to a panel of horror experts who will choose one winner to receive £500 towards making their film.
The festival programme also features all of the shortlisted work from the prestigious ffresh Awards and ffresh Works, showcases featuring the best of the best in student work from around the world chosen by ffresh’s international partner festivals, 5 new short films commissioned by S4C, and 2 short films about Wrexham commissioned by the Co-operative Cymru Wales.
For more: www.ffresh.com
