NEW FOR 2015
• Expanded Fiction, Documentary and Animation+ Day
• 2 new BFI Raw awards of £5000 and a year of Industry Mentoring
• Best International Short Award
www.bfi.org.uk/education-research/education/bfi-future-film
The hugely popular BFI Future Film Festival, which offers 15-25 year olds interested in pursuing a career in the film and creative industries a unique opportunity to obtain access to members of the industry and attend a wealth of talks, master classes and networking events, returns to BFI Southbank for it’s 8th year from 20-22 February 2015, with a packed line-up which also includes workshops, screenings and Q&As.
The 2015 festival marks the highest number of film submissions by young filmmakers since its inception, 1300 entries up from 400 in 2014. The festival is open to everyone aged 15-25, with ticket prices (from £10 per day), kept to a minimum so that everyone has a chance to attend. The festival will once more host the Future Film Awards, with categories for best short documentary, fiction and animation. The winners of each category will then compete for the chance to win one of two new BFI Raw awards where each winner will receive £5000 to fund the making of a film as well as a year of Industry mentoring from experts guided by The Screen Arts Institute and including director, Destiny Ekharaga (Gone Too Far), and Channel 4’s Industry Talent Specialist Priscilla Baffour. Plus, for the first time, 2015 sees the introduction of a Best International Short Film Award.
Highlights to look forward to across the weekend are set to include an in depth case study into the animation phenomenon that is Rastamouse, a Q&A with the cast of E4’s hit show, Glue, and screenings of new and exciting films each day including Whiplash (2014) and The Kingdom of Dreams and Madness (2014) – the recent documentary about the Japanese animation house, Studio Ghibli.
This year’s festival will welcome a variety of industry figures to discuss their careers and offer participants a valuable insight into the industry. For the first time, each day of the festival will begin with a special keynote speech, in partnership with Women in Film and TV, conducted by three brilliant guest speakers to inspire our audience and spark creative thinking for the remainder of the day. Previous guests at the festival have included director Gareth Edwards (director of Monsters and Godzilla), actor and director, Dexter Fletcher (Wild Bill, Sunshine on Leith) and the OSCAR winning visual effects supervisor Neil Corbould (Gravity) This year’s keynote speeches will be announced shortly.
A limited number of Delegate Tickets will also be available to buy for the first time and will give ticketholders access to the new Filmmaker Delegate Lounge where there will be exclusive film industry networking opportunities. In addition to this, Delegate ticket holders will be able to attend all screenings and events over the course of the weekend without having to sign up to them in advance.
As in previous years, the weekend will be divided into three themes. For the 2015 festival the existing animation day, taking place on Friday 20 February, will be expanded to take in video games and experimental digital filmmaking and has been renamed Animation+. Saturday 21 will focus on Fiction with Documentary being in the spotlight on Sunday 22.
Throughout the course of the festival, attendees will be privy to a wide range of organisations and opportunities to help develop their skills and careers within the film and creative industries. These will include the BFI Film Academy (who will also showcase examples of work completed by recent graduates) as well as a wealth of organisations from across the country.
Day 1, Friday 20 February – ANIMATION +
10:30 – 18:00, BFI Southbank, various venues
Kicking off the festival this year is our new look Animation+ day, which includes sessions covering animation for gaming, illustration and digital design, VFX, trailers and credits, digital experimenta and music videos. Workshops and masterclasses will encourage you to collaborate with illustrators and designers, musicians, scriptwriters, coders and software developers, and get hands-on with animation tech.
Highlights are set to include:
Future Film Animation Awards / Rastamouse Storytelling in Animation / Coming soon: Making Trailers / Minecraft Animation Workshop / Adventures in cross media storytelling / Networking sessions
Day 2, Saturday 21 February – FOCUS ON FICTION
10:30 – 18:00, BFI Southbank, various venues
Our ever-popular Fiction day is jam-packed with a huge range of sessions that cater for young filmmakers of all experience levels and ability. Insightful, practical sessions will explore different areas of fiction filmmaking including costume and production design, scriptwriting, method acting, and how to survive the film industry. There really is something for everyone!
Highlights are set to include:
Future Film Fiction Awards / E4’s Glue on set and on Stage / The Business of Acting / Designing dreams: Production Design Masterclass / The Sound of Science Fiction / How to survive in the Industry / Networking sessions
Day 3, Sunday 23 February – FOCUS ON DOCUMENTARY
10:30 – 16:30, BFI Southbank, various venues
We’re supporting young documentary filmmakers again this year with another great line up of events and screenings. We’ll explore exciting new forms of documentary with sessions covering hybrid docs, pitching to brands, archive remixing, and working with charities. And you can find out how to get involved in opportunities such as BFI Doc Next Media Labs, and be inspired at our documentary awards screening.
Highlights are set to include:
Future Film Documentary Awards / No Secrets: Finding Truth / Filmmaking for Good / Pitching to Brands / Getting the Most from your Contributors / Introduction to making Audio Docs / Splice: Editing Workshop / Networking sessions
