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.

Bristol-based film competition DepicT! is back, throwing down the gauntlet to filmmakers worldwide to tell their story on film in just a minute and a half. With just one month to go until the entry deadline, we caught up with RY Francis, winner of the last year’s DepicT! British Special Mention Award, to find out more about his work.

Members from Bristol’s film community gathered yesterday in remembrance of Bristolian motion-picture pioneer William Friese-Greene, on the 100th anniversary of his death on 5 May 1921. Also to mark the centenary, a new online discussion as part of Film 2021 with Friese-Greene expert Peter Domankiewicz, is now available to watch on the Bristol Ideas website.

Film 2021, a new year-long programme of activity celebrating the many aspects of Bristol’s film and moving image credentials, is launched today by Bristol Ideas and Bristol City of Film.

The Thing That Ate The Birds, the latest short film from Bristol-based writing-directing duo Sophie Mair and Dan Gitsham, will make its North American Premiere at leading international festival SXSW in Austin, Texas on Wednesday 17 March at 01:00AM CT (06:00AM GMT), as part of the ‘Midnight Shorts’ competition programme.

Chris Daniels, Director of Slapstick Festival, Bristol’s annual celebration of silent comedy which has been delighting audiences for more than 15 years, fills us in on the festival’s toughest year yet, as Slapstick Live Online 2021 (1-7 March) triumphantly gears up for launch…

UWE Film alumni Pierre Nyongira’s award-winning short Dinah is now available to watch on BBC Arts.