Month: March 2020

Students selected for film legend’s mentoring scheme

Source: University of Sunderland 

Six students who underwent a vigorous selection process have now been chosen to work with Lord Puttnam on his unique mentoring scheme over an intensive three-month period.

The ‘Puttnam Scholars’ programme will involve the students taking part in a series of interactive seminars in the course of which Lord Puttnam will set them a film project to be completed by June.

Last year’s scholars made a 13-minute documentary highlighting the plight of asylum seekers and refugees. ‘In Limbo’ shone a light on the struggle faced by refugees and those seeking asylum in the region, as well as the dedicated work of the workers and volunteers trying to help them, it was screened across the North East as well as in festivals and competitions.

This year’s group – James MacNeil, Katie Stubbs, João Chambel, Luke Adam Smith, Millie Bourke and Abdullatif Mahjoub – met with the Labour Peer at the House of Lords, to discuss and launch the programme.

All students are at various stages of their university journey from first year to post graduate study.

Lord Puttnam, the first Chancellor of the University of Sunderland (1997-2007), and an Oscar-winning producer of films including Chariots of Fire, The Mission, The Killing Fields and Midnight Express, said: “Having thoroughly enjoyed working with the first two cohorts of scholars, this year’s group promises to be every bit as committed and dynamic as their predecessors. The truth is that I learn as much from their energy and insights as I’m ever able to offer in return. I can’t wait to get thoroughly stuck into their film project.”

Pro Vice-Chancellor Graeme Thompson, added: “This is once again a great opportunity for our students to be selected for the Puttnam Scholars programme.

“Lord Puttnam is a tremendous supporter of our university and we are delighted he has chosen to continue this unique programme with us. It’s been a tremendous success which has helped shaped our previous scholars’ studies and career choices.”

What the students say

Katie Stubbs, from South Tyneside, is studying Screen Performance and hopes to gain a better insight into the film industry as well as produce a high-quality professional film which she can showcase and use for future job applications.

She added: “I applied to become a Puttnam Scholar as this opportunity does not come around often. To be mentored by someone of such great success will greatly benefit me in the future. The first session was very interesting and I learnt a great deal from Lord Puttnam, discussing identity within the film industry.”

James MacNeil, from the Isle of Lewis, Stornoway in Scotland, is in the final year of the Media Production course.

He explained what he hoped to get out of the programme. “I hope to gain an insight into the creative process of filmmaking with guidance from a highly regarded producer as well as collaborating with talented individuals also dedicated to the field.

“I applied for the programme to further my career and to prove to myself I can make it in this industry that I am so passionate about. The first session last Friday opened my eyes to some of the history of filmmaking: including prominent figures, particularly Charlie Chaplin's, importance to the growth of cinema and film.”

João Chambel, from Portugal, is studying Film Production, he said: “I hope to get behind the scenes knowledge from an experienced name in Hollywood. The first session went fine, especially the "Oscar Flex" moment and David's words on Charlie Chaplin.”

Abdullatif Mahjoub, from Syria, studying Digital Film Production, said: “I hope to move to a higher level in the film industry and expand my knowledge in terms of theories, craftsmanship, and implementation.

“This programme is a golden opportunity to be under the care and supervision of Lord Puttnam, who has global experience in making films and is passing on his experiences to us.

 “It is great that we will make a film and it will not be limited to theoretical matters, and we can apply what we will learn.”

He added: “The first session was full of cinema history that we should always remember because it is the first seeds in the field of films. Also, it confirms to me that most films are based on the character, opinion, and the history of the filmmaker. The filmmaker reflects what is inside it, whether it is negative or positive on the screen, in order to allow everyone to share these reflections.”

Luke Adam Smith, from Sunderland, who recently completed his Masters Degree in Media Production (TV and Film), says he hopes the programme will help iron out any weak points he may have and produce a film to be proud of. Adding: “Learning from David Puttnam is a brilliant opportunity and experience.

“The session on Friday went amazingly well, we discussed Identity in film and all aspects of that, Putnam gave us all a chance to speak our mind and ask questions while referring to film examples he had used within the presentation. 

Millie Bourke, from Darlington, studying Digital Film Production, said: “From this experience I hope to learn something new and become more professional at filmmaking as a craft. I want to come away from this having the confidence to carry on making creative products that say something. I applied to become a scholar because I knew this experience would help me establish myself better and help me gain more knowledge on my future career.

“The first session we had with Lord Puttnam was already very informative and exciting, he has a lot he is willing to share with us and isn’t afraid to tell us what’s what.”

On Thursday 5th March, Lord Puttnam contributed to an important debate in the House of Lords on the BBC and public service broadcasting:

Source: Hansard

My Lords, I too thank the noble Lord, Lord Young, for making possible this incredibly timely debate—albeit the Roger Bannister version, as I view it. In the short time available, I hope to remind your Lordships that the current project to undermine public service broadcasting is not new. It is simply the most recent iteration of a decades-long campaign of salami-slicing and intimidation by, I am sad to say, successive Conservative Governments, many of whom have sought to take the wind out of the BBC’s sails and erode the trust it enjoys among the public. It is the now-familiar Putin playbook: promote fear and distrust, and allow the consequences to multiply.​

As the noble Lord, Lord McNally, has already suggested, there is something rather ironic in the determination shown by Conservative leaders to dismantle an institution of which the party itself should be rightly proud. Perhaps the Prime Minister has forgotten that it was under the leadership of his hero, Winston Churchill, that a Conservative Government passed the Television Act 1954—legislation that protected the position of the BBC while, at the same time, introducing a brilliantly conceived system of regulated competition through a new Independent Television Authority. This system established a nationwide ecology—there is that word again—of public service broadcasting that allowed all aspects of the media to thrive. Crucially, while there was competition for audiences, the BBC/ITV duopoly did not compete for revenue.

The one-nation vision that lay at the heart of policy-making 60 years ago would appear to have evaporated and turned into something rather more sinister. There is no lack of vision in this Government’s policy towards the BBC. The vision is there; it was laid out with paint- by-numbers clarity by the Prime Minister’s principal adviser, Dominic Cummings, in 2004. Writing that year, he called for a campaign to undermine the corporation’s credibility, suggesting that:

“The BBC is a determined propagandist with a coherent ideology.”

To combat this, he argued for the creation of a British version of Fox News. He believed this could be achieved through a

“campaign to end the licence fee”.

Here was a vision that represented a massive departure from Conservatism, certainly as most Members of this House would understand it. Its genesis was that of Trumpian populism, an ideology that treats contempt for institutions as a form of political weaponry and is a long way from the wisdom of Edmund Burke, who once said:

“Rage and frenzy will pull down more in half an hour than prudence, deliberation, and foresight can build up in a hundred years.”

For the past few months I have spent a great deal of my life in the Committee Corridor, chairing a Select Committee looking at the impact of digital technology on democracy. One thing has already emerged with quite frightening clarity: confusion over where to seek verifiable fact. However, thanks largely to the vision of the noble Lord, Lord Birt, who I am delighted is in his place, and as recently confirmed by Ofcom, the BBC has emerged as the digital gold standard in the provision of trusted information in an era of fake news. Surely, as we stand on the brink of a global pandemic, that gold standard of trust is more crucial than it has ever been.

This can no longer be about the wilful vengeance of politicians; it is about the very real possibility of saving lives. To paraphrase the noble Lord, Lord Hennessy, speaking in this House just two months ago, trust is the scarcest and most precious political metal we have. Sad to say, I am far from reassured by the Secretary of State’s well-trailed retreat from earlier briefings. I can only repeat my belief that we are watching a well-rehearsed process of intimidation and destabilisation. Hopefully, when she comes to respond to the debate the Minister will unequivocally assure me that I am wrong, because ​we cannot allow an unremitting vendetta to rob us of the most valuable asset that democracy has at its disposal.