Latest News

Featured Events - December and beyond

We will continue to update this article as news of other events reaches us.

All levels improvisation weekend in Birmingham, imprology, West Midlands - in this improvisation for all levels workshop, you will re-claim the sense of play and spontaneity you had as a child, using shared impulse to play games and build daring collaborative pieces of improvisational theatre. - http://www.artsjobs.org.uk/?RDCT=bc55045a4d9525dbb661

5 week stand up comedy course - Birmingham 2012 - CURRENTLY BOOKING FOR THE NEXT 5 WEEK COURSE STARTING JANUARY 2012, BIRMINGHAM Plus ONE DAY WORKSHOP IN GUILDFORD, SURREY 5 week course please contact for course dates. *Contact now to reserve your place. - http://www.artsjobs.org.uk/?RDCT=ec562bf86d9236fd8625

Crowdfunding for Emerging Writers, Nottingham Writers' Studio - Nottingham Writers' Bursaries Nottingham Writers' Studio plans to provide six bursaries next year for emerging writers in the Nottingham area. The bursaries are aimed at talented young writers (18-35) and writers from BME backgrounds. - http://www.artsjobs.org.uk/?RDCT=b4cc2b5849c52755fdda

Wolverhampton, Light House & Europe Fri 2 Dec, 2pm - showcases 3 projects in which Light House has been involved with 14 countries across Europe. There will also be a report on the creative industries in Wolverhampton, short films made by beneficiaries of the Leonardo da Vinci exchange with media companies in Germany and Ireland, and introductions by Councillor Roger Lawrence, Leader of Wolverhampton City Council. Admission free.

Triple award winning film, produced by our member Pip Piper, "The Insatiable Moon" was released on DVD in the UK on October 3rd 2011 and will be showing, due to popular demand on 15th December 8.10pm at  the Midland Arts Centre (0121 446 3232).

Identity Drama School Annual Showcase - Birmingham. A powerful collection of hard-hitting, yet often humorous monologues, duologues and original plays drawing inspiration from a wide portfolio of contemporary playwrights, performed by Identity Drama School actors at The Drum Theatre in Birmingham. See what the leading Black Drama School in Europe has to offer, with 3 nights of exceptional performances! Tickets are £6.00 per show, or there is a bumper 3 ticket offer of £15.00 for all 3 nights. The Drum Box Office: 0121 333 2444 -http://www.artsjobs.org.uk/?RDCT=b84291fbbdaaf42a76c2

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Campaign to 'Save BBC Birmingham' gaining momentum

In the wake of the recent cuts announced in the region by the BBC, a multi-agency campaign on behalf of taxpayers to 'Save BBC Birmingham' is gaining momentum. Join the campaign at www.savebbcbirmingham.co.uk. All political parties in Birmingham City Council are urging the BBC not to turn its back on the region - http://www.birminghammail.net/news/birmingham-news/2011/11/25/birmingham-city-council-says-bbc-should-back-the-city-97319-29838259/. And, Equity have set up a 'postcard campaign' to help people back the campaign - http://www.equity.org.uk/branches/central-england-general-branch/news/fight-for-our-bbc-postcard-campaign/.

The future of film and creative industries in the region will be the subject of Creative Networks on January 26th at TIC in Millennium Point, including guests from Creative England. Our member John West is among those pushing for the reopening of the ATV Studios for TV and small productions, as a first step to renewal, among other things. You can help preserve what's already here and being lost at the BBC here:  http://www.savebbcbirmingham.co.uk/forum/discussion/8/what-you-can-do-to-help-save-bbc-birmingham#Item_1

Also check out: http://www.equity.org.uk/branches/central-england-general-branch/news/television-drama-studio-campaign/

Here is a letter from the regional Writer's Guild:

"Dear All,

A reminder that you have until 21st December to respond to the BBC consultation 'Delivering Quality First' and their proposal on p18:

Factual programming for BBC television and Radio 4 would be moved out of Birmingham and consolidated largely to Bristol and Cardiff, though television production investment with independent producers in the Midlands would increase. Substantial network television drama (e.g., Doctors, Land Girls) and radio drama (The Archers) would continue in Birmingham alongside the BBC’s local and regional services

You can access the full document by clicking on this link:

http://www.bbc.co.uk/bbctrust/assets/files/pdf/review_report_research/dqf/dqf.pdf 

The final 3 pages of the 55 page document allow for your response. You can also do this by writing to:

BBC Trust

180 Great Portland Street

London W1W 5QZ

Or by e-mail to dqf.consultation@bbc.co.uk

If you want to do a detailed response to the whole consultation, you can go to:

http://www.bbc.co.uk/bbctrust/consult/delivering_quality_first.shtml

and negotiate through the links.

We would also encourage you to sign the petition, which you can access via the petition tab at:

http://www.savebbcbirmingham.co.uk/

And write to your MP. There is a template letter you can use from:

http://www.equity.org.uk/branches/coventry-leicester-variety-branch/save-bbc-birmingham-campaign/

If this seems rather a lot, I would prioritise directly responding to the BBC Trust consultation, even if just by email.

Yours,

Writers' Guild West Midlands Branch Committee"

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Leadership & Mangement grant

From Striding Out:

Leadership and Management Grant

• Developing an effective personal leadership and management style (e.g. strategic thinking; effective communication)
• Creating a joint enterprise culture with the workforce (e.g. working culture; relationships; managing conflict)
• Planning and developing an effective organisation and teams (e.g. recruitment/selection; team building; conveying vision; objective setting)
• Leading and managing high employee performance (e.g. employee motivation; delivering value; learning & development). 
• Training which impacts directly on the performance of the whole organisation and its capacity to grow (e.g Financial Planning, Business Startegy)

The Leadership and Management Grant can fund 50% of training or coaching support (up to £2000) if you are a business owner with 2 or more employees and have a vision for high growth over the next three years.

If you would like to discuss our training and coaching services and how they may suit your need , please contact us (http://www.stridingout.co.uk/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=111:contact-us&catid=1&Itemid=100149).

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Programme by Forum Board members on Red Button till 9th October

Qawwal Maestro and Bollywood Singer, Rahat Fateh Ali Khan takes a journey back through his life as he chats to BBC Asian Network's Sonia Deol. This red button programme includes exclusive rare footage of Rahat performing with his uncle, the late great Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan and culminates with a rousing performance of his award winning Bollywood hit, ‘Tere Mast Mast Do Nain’, recorded during his recent tour.

BBC Asian Network’s ‘In Conversation’ event was filmed at the BBC Radio Theatre in London where Rahat revealed intimate memories of his time growing up with Nusrat alongside their extended family in Faisalabad, Pakistan and his emotional first experiences of Qawwali music. 

See a clip at http://bbc.in/oYLdhK

Rahat tells the story of his transition from Qawwali to Bollywood music and how his future projects include going back to his roots with a double album of Qawwali music featuring the poetry of Mirza Ghalib and Allama Muhammad Iqbal.

Nusrat announced Rahat as his successor and first presented him to the world at a concert in Birmingham in the 80s. Watch exclusively as Rahat follows suit and introduces his son, Shah Zaman, during his UK tour at Symphony Hall, Birmingham.

Encouraged by Sonia and the audience, Rahat sings live during the ‘In Conversation’ event and there’s also footage of performances from his tour including hits ‘Afreen’, ‘Allah Ho’, ‘Mann Ki Lagan’, ‘Dil Toh Bachcha Hai Ji’ and ‘Mukh Tera Sohneya Sharab Nalon Changa Ae’ which was his first ever UK solo performance in 1985.

Mark Strippel, Head of Music and Live Events, BBC Asian Network, said: "We are proud to present Rahat's first-ever appearance on BBC TV and profile his amazing journey from growing up in Faisalabad through to Bollywood stardom. He's a very special Artist for our audience and the programme features some incredibly rare footage from his early performances with Nusrat."

Rahat Fateh Ali Khan is an award winning musician and singer. He primarily sings Qawwali; devotional Sufi music. He became popular in India and around the world through his Bollywood songs. His debut was with the hit song, 'Mann Ki Lagan' from the film Paap in 2004 and he's had a string of successful songs since then including the award winning 'Sajda' (My Name is Khan, 2010), Dil To Bachcha Hai Ji (Ishqiya, 2010) and Tere Mast Mast Do Nain (Dabangg, 2011). Rahat has also worked on Hollywood soundtracks such as Dead Man Walking and The Four Feathers and collaborated with Canadian musician, Michael Brook. He regularly tops The Official Asian Download Chart and is currently top of the chart with 'Teri Meri', a duet with Shreya Ghoshal from the Salman Khan and Kareena Kapoor film 'Bodyguard'.

This is the first Red Button programme from BBC Asian Network in Hindi-Urdu and is subtitled. The special programme is produced by Endboard Productions - Producer/Director team and brothers, Sunandan and Yugesh Walia.

See photos from Rahat Fateh Ali Khan In Conversation on the BBC Asian Network website.

Rahat Fateh Ali Khan is available on BBC Red Button as per the following schedule.

HOW TO WATCH

Monday 3rd October: 
Freeview: from 06.00 - 19.45
Sky/Freesat: all day
Virgin: all day

Tuesday 4th October:
Freeview: from midnight - 19.45 and then from 22.00
Sky/Freesat: all day
Virgin: from midnight - 19.55 and then from 22.20

Wednesday 5th October:
Freeview: from midnight - 21.45 and then from 23.00
Sky/Freesat: all day
Virgin: all day

Thursday 6th October:
Freeview: all day
Sky/Freesat: all day
Virgin: all day

Friday 7th October:
Freeview: from 13.10 - 20.20
Sky/Freesat: all day
Virgin: all day

Saturday 8th October:
Freeview: from 21.50 - 00.20
Sky/Freesat: all day
Virgin: all day

Sunday 9th October:
Freeview: from 13.10 - 18.30
Sky/Freesat: from 09.45 - 18.30
Virgin: from 09.45 - 18.30 

Read the rest of “Programme by Forum Board members on Red Button till 9th October”

Producers' Forum Weekly Newsletter, 29th September

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Facilities and Spaces in beautiful surrounds at The Old Print Works, Moseley, Birmingham

The spaces available include 30+ business units for skilled professionals creating fine crafted goods, open access workshop and performance spaces, a central cafe hub, a massive gallery hall for exhibitions and community events, as well as our Skills Shed for after school training, apprenticeships and practical hands-on learning sessions for young people. Local older volunteers are encouraged to exchange their skills with others. This innovative development is taking place at the old factory of a successful printing company, which stands amongst stunning historical buildings in the area. A major focus of The Old Print Works is preserving and celebrating its history whilst demonstrating that old buildings can be rehabilitated through intermediate technologies for low-carbon and sustainable use.

506 Moseley Road, B12 9AL Birmingham, United Kingdom

07429153744

http://www.oldprintworks.org 

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METAL ON FILM, 1-4 September in the Black Country

A veritable feast of heavy metal film featuring
documentaries, latenight horror and of course Spinal
Tap. Plus a good selection of cult TV, including a
return visit for Loughborough legend Chris Needham,
More Bad News, and if metal isn’t your bag a matinee
of Cathy Come Home followed by a discussion between
producer Tony Garnett and historian Chris Upton.

A good chunk of the screening programme takes place
at the Light House in Wolverhampton, where you can
buy a £25 pass to cover the whole thing. The marvellous
Vintage Mobile Cinema will also be visiting locations
around the region (look out for it in a new BBC series,
launching on 5 Sept), and you can find a couple of
exclusives at The Public in West Brom including Jeanie
Finlay’s acclaimed record shop doc Sound It Out.

There are also knees-ups aplenty, from the Heavy Heads
music quiz on Thursday to a one-off at New Art Gallery
Walsall on Friday, climaxing with a special courtyard show
at the Light House on Saturday 3rd. This will celebrate the
25th birthday of camcorder classic Heavy Metal Parking
Lot, with a barbeque and live entertainment from Stinky
Wizzleteat and Selfless.

> http://www.7inch.org.uk/event/metal-on-film-weekender
> http://light-house.co.uk/visit/home-of-metal-metal-on-film

Of course all of this is part of the Home of Metal celebrations,
with numerous other exhibitions and events continuing into
September:
> http://www.homeofmetal.com

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BAFTA winning animator comes to Birmingham

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News from FLIP International Animation Festival, 27-29 October

FLIP International Animation Festival returns to Light House Media
Centre in Wolverhampton on Thursday 27 to Saturday 29 October 2011.
Light House will play host to the annual celebration of all things
animation; in education, in industry and in everyday life. FLIP would
like to invite animators from all around the world to submit films of
up to 15 minutes in length.

For this year’s festival there is an open door policy on accepting
animations from young people, and regional, national and international
participants. There will be awards for Best in Festival, Best UK Film,
Best International Film, Best Stop Motion and Best Newcomer (under
18). The closing date for submissions will be 31 August 2011.
Submission guidelines and forms can be downloaded from
www.flipfestival.co.uk

FLIP is an eclectic mix of all things animation. Based in the heart of
the Midlands the festival provides a wide range of experiences from
educational workshops for young people to experimental animation for
grown ups; from industry led panels to feature film screenings and
from international showcases and retrospectives of short films to
spotlights on animation studios.

The FLIP 2011 team is excited to take up the reigns from former
Festival Coordinator Peter McLuskie, who moved onto pastures new
earlier this year. Light House has been faced with funding challenges
due to the changing landscape of the Screen Agencies and the UK Film
Council. However, the team is proud to have successfully sourced funds
to continue with the further growth of FLIP’s regional, national and
international reputation in its 8th year.
The FLIP Team overseen by Kelly Jeffs, Deputy CEO for Light House,
consists of; Renata Walton (Festival Coordinator), Drew Roper
(Industry Curator), Kathryn Kliszat (Education Coordinator) and Steph
Jennings (Digital Marketing Assistant).

For more information on FLIP Animation Festival and 2011 submissions
visit www.flipfestival.co.uk
If you would like to participate in this year’s FLIP International
Animation Festival please contact us by email: flip@light-house.co.uk
or tel: 01902 716055.
FLIP is part funded by Screen WM and Wolverhampton City Council.

We hope to see you at this year's FLIP!
The FLIP team

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'Expanding Adaptations' article

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