Screen Talk - online

Join Bradford UNESCO City of Film in conversation with a range of experts from film and TV talking about their careers and sharing some insider knowledge on the screen sector.

The Screen Talk series were conducted throughout 2019 as part of the 10th anniversary of Bradford becoming the world’s first UNESCO City of Film and were all filmed by students at the University of Bradford and will be available to watch over the coming weeks.

The Screen Talk series covers a wide range of roles from discussions with location managers who worked on shows such as Peaky Blinders, Gentleman Jack and Downton Abbey to the writer and creator of global TV hit Vikings, Michael Hirst and even an insight into the world of film finance with Anne Sheehan who supported films such as The King’s Speech and more recently the feature film Official Secrets starring Kiera Knighlty. The series also includes Bradford born actor, Enzo Cilenti who has played roles in productions such as Game of Thrones and Guardians of the Galaxy and also played the villain in the recent series of top TV drama, Luther.

Director of Bradford UNESCO City of Film and the host of Screen Talk, David Wilson said; ‘I am delighted that we are able to use the footage shot throughout last year to bring the experiences of experts to a whole new audience at a time when so many schools, colleges and universities are working online only. I think there is a lot of information in these discussions which will prove valuable for anyone who might want a future career in the film or TV industries or may just have a general interest in how films and TV productions are made.

Screen Talk session will be available every Friday at the link below

All of the participants also have a direct connection to Bradford in some way which further supports the city’s status as a UNESCO City of Film.

In addition to the work we do to support film and TV production in the Yorkshire region, we also work in UNESCO film cities across the world and this series enables us to share experience of UK production approaches with colleagues in Italy, Spain, Japan, China and many other areas. We had some brilliant feedback from the interactive live session we hosted last week highlighting Bradford’s rich film heritage. There is a positive drive from UNESCO designations across the world to try to ensure that culture and creativity are high on the agenda as we emerge from this pandemic.’

A new edition of Screen Talk will be available to watch on the Bradford UNESCO City of Film website each week starting with Location Managers on Friday 17th April 2020 at 11am.

SCREEN TALK SCHEDULE 2020

LOCATION MANAGERS – WHAT DO THEY DO?

11am (UK time) Friday 17 April 2020 – location Managers – what do they do?

Jamie Sumner

Jamie is a unit manager and location manager, who has worked on a range of different projects from low budget films to high end features and TV shows and is currently working on Emmerdale. Productions he has worked on include: Victoria (ITV), The ABC Murders (BBC), Peaky Blinders, Dad’s Army, ’71 and Testament of Youth, along with the upcoming Curfew (Sky) and Tolkien (Fox Searchlight).

Leon Seth

Leon is an experienced location scout and location manager based in Yorkshire. He has worked with organisations including the BBC, ITV, Warp Films, Heyday Films, HBO, Netflix, Kudos Productions, Tiger Aspect and Amazon and most recently location managed the forthcoming Downton Abbey feature film.

Jonathan Davis – Jonathan is a location manager who has worked as Selfish Giant, Ackley Bridge and DCI Banks and The Arbor.

FROM BRADFORD TO GAME OF THRONES, GUARDIANS OF THE GALAXY AND LUTHER

11am (UK time) Friday 24 April 2020 – Enzo Cilenti

Born in Bradford to Italian parents, Enzo Cilenti has worked as an actor, producer and director in TV, film and theatre in both the UK and the US for over 20 years. 

His television credits include The Cops, The Bill, Heartbeat, Trial and Retribution 2, Sweet Revenge, Where The Heart Is, Rescue Me, Spooks 2, Coming Up, Rome, No Angels, The Virgin Queen, N.C.I.S, Lie To Me, House M.D., Jonathan Strange & Mr Norrell, Wolf Hall, Game Of Thrones, Lady Chatterley’s Lover, Jekyll & Hyde, Hooten And The Lady, Grantchester, The Last Tycoon, Luther, Next of Kin and Les Misérables. His film credits include Wonderland, The Love Doctor, Dish, Fallen Dreams, Late Night Shopping, Deserter, 24 Hour Party People, Crust, Double Take, Baby Boom, Millions, Colour Me Kubrick, Rabbit Fever, Next, In The Loop, The Fourth Kind, Nine, The Rum Diary, Kick-Ass 2, Supercollider, Guardians Of The Galaxy, The Theory Of Everything, The Martian, The Wicked Within, High Rise, Infinity, The Man Who Knew, Bridget Jones’s Baby, Free Fire, The Man With The Iron Heart, HHHH, Anonymous and Juliet, Naked.

Bradford Award for Film and Television [BRAFTA]

There was a very special surprise at the end of this Screen Talk when Enzo was awarded with the Bradford Award for Film and Television (commonly referred to as the BRAFTA) for his contribution to film and TV, and yes, there were tears…….FROM BRADFORD TO ONE OF THE MOST DOWNLOADED TV DRAMAS OF ALL TIME, ACROSS THE THE WORLD

11am (UK time) Friday 1 May 2020 – Michael Hirst

Photo credit: Richard Cannon

Michael Hirst was born in Bradford, Yorkshire in 1952. He attended Bradford Grammar School, the London School of Economics, Nottingham University and Trinity College, Oxford. He has been a professional writer since 1980. Michael now lives near Oxford and he and his wife, Deb, a painter, have 9 children between them.

Film scripts include: Fools of Fortune, starring Julie Christie, produced by Working Title, 1990; The Ballad of the Sad Café, starring Vanessa Redgrave and produced by Merchant-Ivory, 1992; Meeting Venus, directed by Istvan Szabo, starring Glen Close, 1993 and Elizabeth, starring Cate Blanchett, produced by Working Title, 1996.

Television series include: The Tudors, for Showtime, 4 Seasons, 37 episodes, 2006-2009.Vikings, for MGM and History, 6 Seasons, 89 episodes, 2012-2018.

Michael Hirst was also awarded with the Bradford Award for Film and Television for his contribution over a remarkable career.

WOMEN IN FILM AND TELEVISION 

OSCAR WINNER REBECCA HARRIS TALKS ABOUT THE HIGHS AND LOWS OF HER WHIRLWIND CAREER IN FILM SO FAR

11am (UK time) Friday 8th May 2020 – Rebecca Harris.Rebecca graduated with a first class honours degree in Film Production and now works for Slick Films where she is a full time producer, most recently of short films. Her official short film producing debut The Silent Child won the Oscar? for Best Live Action Short at the 90th Academy Awards on March 4th 2018. Later in 2018 Rebecca was conferred with the title Honorary Doctor of Letters by The University of West London for her work raising awareness through the medium of film. Her next short film production, A Glimpse, has just been entered into festivals and she is Co-Producing a BFI backed short film with Island Pictures called Stand Still, currently in post-production. Rebecca is in the early stages of developing her first feature length film.

THE DARK ART OF FILM FINANCE 

11am (UK time) Friday 15th May 2020 – Anne Sheehan

Anne Sheehan acts as a finance and business affairs consultant for a number of media clients including Magnolia Mae Films. Between 2014 and 2018 she structured the finance and executive produced nine films for clients: Chef, The Tale of Tales, Miss You Already, Eye in the Sky, Brimstone, The Limehouse Golem, The Killing of a Sacred Deer, The White Crow and Official Secrets. 

 In 2013 she created a 15-year, ￡55m business plan for Locksmith Animation, which successfully launched in April 2014.

From 2009 to May 2013 she was Director of Film Finance for Prescience responsible for the finance and business affairs of 17 of their film investments, including The Guard and The King’s Speech.

Prior to joining Prescience in 2009, she acted for a number of Film Fund clients. From 1999 to 2003 she was Director of Finance and Business Affairs at Renaissance Films.

Having qualified as a UK chartered accountant, she began her film career with Warner Bros, and was subsequently a Financial Controller for Palace Pictures, BBC Films, PolyGram Film International and FilmFour.  

PRODUCING GP’S BEHIND CLOSED DOORS 

11am (UK time) Friday 22 May 2020 – Rebecca Parnell

Rebecca is a TV Producer who has worked across the industry on a variety of different shows and genres. She has travelled extensively working with high profile talent on the world famous BBC Top Gear, has gone undercover and secretly filmed for BBC Rogue Traders and most recently has been embedded in a local surgery, making a documentary about the NHS, on Channel 5’s GPs Behind Closed Doors. After close to a decade of working in TV production, Rebecca has an abundance of experience in understanding what it takes to make great television, how to navigate the industry and what to do if you’re considering pursuing TV as a career.