Channel 4 has launched a brand new scheme designed to identify and support new TV drama writers in the West and South West of England, devised in collaboration with Bristol UNESCO City of Film and its partners BFI NETWORK (delivered regionally in the South West by Watershed), UWE Bristol and The Bottle Yard Studios.

UNESCO’s Creative Cities Network includes 13 UK cities. Here, we share a recent Arts Professional article by Karen Merkel, Non-Executive Director at the UK National Commission for UNESCO, as she “shines a spotlight on a programme which demands international collaboration.”

Watershed has joined cinemas from across the UK to present a special preview of Olga, a new film about a young female Ukrainian gymnast forced to train in exile, with a portion of the proceeds going to two charities that are supporting the Ukrainian relief effort.

Submissions are now open for Depict ’22 – Watershed’s ultra-short film competition part of Encounters Film Festival committed to uncovering emerging filmmaking talent since 1998.  The Bristol City of Film-based competition is calling for creatives from around the world to submit their shorts in 90 seconds or under to be considered for this year’s shortlist and Awards.  

Today, Netflix launches ten short documentaries backed by its inaugural Documentary Talent Fund. Bristol-based filmmakers Ngaio Anyia and Aodh Breathnach were one of the ten teams from across the UK who successfully pitched to receive £40,000 to create their own short, answering the brief: “Britain’s Not Boring And Here’s a Story”. We caught up with them to find out more.

Work is underway on the expansion of Bristol’s Bottle Yard Studios into a neighbouring South Bristol industrial site, which is undergoing a £12m redevelopment backed by West of England Combined Authority investment that will add three new stages to the Studios’ portfolio.

It’s been a busy start to 2022 for Bristol’s Aardman Animations. Not only have details of the next Wallace & Gromit feature been confirmed, but the award-winning studio has also revealed a first look and cast details for its hotly anticipated Chicken Run sequel, ‘Dawn of the Nugget’. All this on the back of a major new Aardman/Netflix skills partnership to support emerging and diverse animation talent in the South West.

Whilst COP26 took place in Glasgow last month, Bristol’s award-winning wildlife conservation charity Wildscreen delivered a hybrid event communicating climate science and sustainability for a diverse worldwide audience reaching beyond the natural history industry. Event & Communications Manager Gabriella Carr explains the significance of the day, which covered everything from green finance, to climate crisis and conservation storytelling and ensuring productions themselves don’t create a negative impact on the planet.

As filming wraps on upcoming Bristol-made feature The Fence, the original short film has just topped a staggering 4.3 million views on YouTube. We caught up with Bristolian writer/director William Stone who told us about making the feature and why he wanted to tell a Bristol story that will resonate with audiences.

Cinema Rediscovered, ‘the UK’s leading festival dedicated to classic cinema’ (Sight & Sound) returns to Bristol UNESCO City of Film this week – and after a fallow year in 2020, the 2021 programme is packed with more treats than ever for cinephiles to enjoy, including a number of events exploring Bristol’s filmmaking links.

BFI NETWORK South West have teamed up again with Bristol Screen Producers’ for Creative Producers Lab, a three month-long remotely taught training scheme for new and aspiring film producers. Ahead of the scheme’s application deadline (that’s 30th July folks!), we meet the Bristol-based producers who will be tutoring, nurturing and supporting the selected cohort.

We speak to Bristol-based co-director James Reed and executive producer Ellen Windemuth, CEO of Off the Fence, about the making of My Octopus Teacher, an Oscar-winning hit that won the hearts of viewers around the world.