We’ve shifted over to www.northernfilmnetwork.com so head there to find all the information a Northern Filmmaker could want, including news and opportunities on funding, training, calls for entries and filmmakers looking for cast and crew. Feel free to browse this blog as an archive of postings, but we will no longer be responding to comments here.

See you on the other side…

This week we have mostly been reeling from watching 800 short films in 5 days, wearing our programming hat and viewing the open submissions for the London Short Film Festival. And on our sole night off from the screening dungeon we went to the Curzon for a screening of Asif Kapadia‘s classic short The Sheep Thief (then snuck into the Werner Herzog Q&A in the next door screen).

Still dazed we were doubly pleased by the fantastic hospitality we got for the NFN event in Blackpool last night. It seemed Lucia Helenka’s polemic on independent filmmaking hit a chord and it was inspiring to meet so many people afterwards who are out there making stuff happen. Thanks to all who turned out, and we look forward to coming back in February with Filmonik.

‘Til next time

There is no modern romance.

Kate Taylor, Editor

With the filmmaking scene in the North West currently in robust health, now is the time to seize the day, meet some likeminded people and get shooting your next cinematic adventure. . . www.north ernfilmnetwork.com. . . These events are supported by Northwest Vision and Media, Awards for All and Salford Film Festival. Event partners are Blackburn College, Droog Media, Mitchell and Kenyon Cinema, and Toxteth TV.

Salford Film Festival, Sallywood Babylon

Wednesday 28th November 2008, 8pm-2am. Islington Mill, James Street, Salford, M3 5HW. £5 / £4 NFN members. Book online http://www.quaytickets.com/WhatsOn/ EventDetail.aspx?EventId=1147 or to get the pound discount call 0870 428 0785 and quote that you are a “Northern Film Network member”.

Every great film fest needs a legendary closing night party – welcome to Sallywood Babylon. Fresh from a whirlwind tour of Berlin and New York, The Ting Tings will perform a headline set. Described by the Metro as a “blindingly brilliant, spanking new electro duo” and currently blinking into the light following an A&R scrum, fans include Rick Rubin, Steve Lamacq and, err, Noel Gallagher. Meanwhile expansive post-rockers The Detour present live guitar soundscapes for a selection of vintage Salford films and between bands there’ll be a selection of short films from this year’s SFF. On the decks ’til 2am filmmaker Stev e Manford will be stepping out from behind the lens to get all the gaffers, sparks and first ADs grinding on the dancefloor. This is an event for filmmakers to scope for collaborators, watch some great bands and films and celebrate the end of the Salford Film Festival in style.

Liverpool: Paul Green, Talent Scout

Wednesday 12th December, 7pm. Toxteth TV, 37 – 45 Windsor Street, Toxteth, Liverpool, L8 1XE. Free

Paul Green is the Talent Scout for the National Film and Television School and the entire Skillset Screen Academy network. Having supported new talent executive producing for Screen West Midlands, Paul now trawls festivals and graduate shows, looking for filmmakers who would benefit from high-level training and support. Paul will talk about what he looks for in short films, how emerging filmmakers can show their talent in the best light and common mistakes that he sees in new work. To book send an e-mail to info[at]northernfilmnetwork.com with ‘Toxteth’ in the subject line.

Preston: BBC Film Network

Thursday 24th January, 7pm. Mitchell and Kenyon Cinema, Foster Building, University of Central Lancashire. Free.

BBC Film Network promotes new British filmmaking by screening short films and profiling the people who make them. Three new films are showcased in broadband quality every week, adding to a growing catalogue of over 400 shorts. Users are invited to offer feedback by commenting on and rating films. Senior Producer Claire Cook will screen a selection of top shorts from the site and discuss ways for new filmmaking talent to gain exposure. To book send an e-mail to info[at]northernfilmnetwork.com with ‘Preston’ in the subject line.

Blackpool: Filmonik

Wednesday 13th February, 7pm. West Coast Club Above, 5-7 Abingdon St, Blackpool, Lancashire, FY1 1DG. Free.

Since their launch in January 2005 as a small underground film night, Filmonik has become an invaluable platform for the Northwest’s independent filmmakers. With regular monthly screenings, Filmonik provides filmmakers of all levels and experience with the opportunity to bring their films to an audience outside of the selection-based world of film festivals. Working like an open-mic night for filmmakers, this Blackpool date, in association with Droog Media, will offer local filmmakers the chance to have their own films screened as well screening some of the best of previous Filmonik films. To book your film in for screening contact matt@filmonik.com.

Full guidelines, forms and more information can be found at Maya Vision or UK Film Council. You are very welcome to call for more details, but please read the guidelines first! Speak to Tamsin Ranger at Maya Vision International Ltd, 8 Kinghorn St, London EC1A 7HW tel: 0207 796 4842 or completion@mayavisionint.com

The aim of the project is to encourage a focus on considered shot composition, moving the emphasis of creating new work away from a growing reliance on post-production techniques. In order to achieve this, each film will be a single, locked-off shot, with a running time of between 2 and 3 minutes.

The finished works will be premiered as a new strand in Lumen’s internationally acclaimed Evolution festival, in Spring 2008. Each selected production will have free access to a Panasonic AG-HVX200E camera, tripod and a set of redhead studio lights (if required) for up to 2 days. No fees are available for artists, but expenses of up to £100 will be available for each project.

To submit a proposal, please send a project outline (350 words max) and your details on the submission form available here. Supporting information is not a requirement. Should you wish to submit further details about you or you work (CV etc), please send no more than 2 sides of A4. The deadline for submissions is 5 pm, Wednesday 12 December. For more information, info@lumen.org.uk 0113 2469850

Awards of £10,000 will be made in March to three artists, and submissions are invited from 25 September. Dancer and choreographer Wayne McGregor will chair a panel of judges made up of some of the leading figures in arts and culture, including Marc Boothe, independent producer and founder of B3 Media; John Maeda, Head of MIT’s Media Lab; artist Jane Prophet; journalist, author and historian Sukhdev Sandhu and Jules Wright, Director for the Wapping Project.

Encompassing a wide range of artistic practice, from film, documentary, video and music to dance, installation and drawing, the Jerwood Moving Image Awards welcome work from across many disciplines. The awards will celebrate and support artists in the early stages of their careers, and bring some of today’s most exciting talent in digital art to new audiences, via both the website and next year’s Jerwood Space exhibition. Entries must be submitted by 8am on 3 December 2007, and more information can be found at www.jerwoodmovingimage.org

It’s the Filmonik Set-Text event. The idea is that between now and the 26th November filmmakers will create films based on a short script/idea that we provide. The resulting films will be screened at the Salford Arts Theatre on 26th, at which we’ll be able to see how different filmmakers have interpreted the same text. It’s perfect for filmmakers who are currently short of a script of their own, or who simply fancy a challenge (and the opportunity of a guaranteed audience for their film). We have some fun texts for you to work from, so email us at: salfordfilm@filmonik.com ASAP if you’d like to receive copies.

Join Sarah Gavron (Director), Faye Ward (Producer) and Tannishtha Chatterjee (lead actress) for a discussion after the screening of their film BRICK LANE (15). Based on Monica Ali’s acclaimed novel, Gavron’s feature début focuses on one year in Nazneen’s life. Having arrived in London at 17 from Bangladesh for an arranged marriage, she’s endured years of coldness (both real and metaphorical), with an older, bombastic husband and raised two daughters. Nazneen still misses home and her sister, but she keeps her head down. Then in 2001, her life is upended once again when she begins to experience independence – and passionate-love with Karim, a handsome young man.

November’s screening at The Roxy is part of a tailored Film Networking Event for filmmakers and enthusiasts, featuring guest speaker Alan Saywell, the Cumbria Film Officer for North West Vision + Media, who will be talking about independent filmmaking and providing advice to the audience. We are also pleased to welcome Asitha Ameresekere who will be introducing his BAFTA-Winning short film Do Not Erase. This will be a great opportunity for local filmmakers to network and gain insiders advice from industry experts.

Tell No One (15) 125 mins – Guillaume Canet, France 2006. Showing at The Roxy cinema, Ulverston, Thurs 22nd November at 7:30pm – as part of Mid-season Film Networking Event. Entrance £3 for Film Club at the Roxy members, £5 non-members. Jindabyne (15) 123 mins – Ray Lawrence, Australia 2006. Showing at the Forum Twenty Eight, Barrow, Tues 20th November at 8:00pm. Entrance £2.50.

The feature film length documentary will be introduced by Joy Division and New Order legend Peter Hook, with a Q&A session afterwards. Written by author and original Joy Division fan/friend, Jon Savage, the doc is a factual account of actual events surrounding the band almost three decades ago. It includes interviews with all the surviving band members and an exclusive chat with Ian Curtis’s “mistress” Annik Honore, who speaks about Ian for the first time. The doc also has lots of archive footage of Manchester and Salford, plus extracts from many filmed concerts that have never been seen before.

Says Peter Hook: “Control is a cinematic version of events, it doesn’t provide all the answers. But the documentary is in our own words, the people who were there, talking about it. The Documentary did really well when it was premiered at the Toronto Film Festival -four sell out nights just by word of mouth – so it really is on the crest of a wave this Joy Division thing, it absolutely amazes me. When I saw it I was like `Wow this is pretty good this’, I was quite surprised. I thought I’d be Joy Divisioned out and yet if I’m interested in it. . .”