Summer 2013 Film Making Opportunities for Young People in Cobh

First Cut! Youth Film Project is launching a new and exciting film-making training course *Towards Confident Film Making*, with support from the Local Authority Arts Office of Cork County Council and the HSE Cork Arts and Health Programme.

The two week training course is designed for young people, ideally between the ages of 15 and 18, who are passionate about film-making and want to develop their skills and confidence in the areas of writing, story-telling, directing and acting.

“I am delighted that we are able to offer these opportunities to young people. Our goal is to encourage and support creative young people, to develop their skills in a space where they can have fun and get the
opportunity to get involved in all aspects of film making. With funding and support from HSE and Cork County Council, we can give young people opportunities they would otherwise not get”, says Mary McGrath, First Cut! coordinator.

Led by film director, Jane Lee, the first week will consist of drama games and film exercises to break the ice, unleash creativity and build up skills in acting, directing and crafting a story. Lee and fellow artist, Andrew
Monaghan, will also help participants to identify and overcome any blocks in expression or confidence that they might have. In the second week students will start to put these skills to use in exploring themes, writing and creating some short films.

“We want to develop a model for working with young people who are interested in film-making where story telling is focused on in a way that develops their confidence in themselves, their experiences and their own ability. In acting young people can develop real-life, believable characters, so that when they are acting they are acting truthfully and with confidence. We want to give opportunities to young film-makers to become more confident in creating and crafting their own stories”, explains Lee.

Towards Confident Film-Making will be held for 4 consecutive days each week from Tuesday 23 July at the Youth Café, Midleton Hill, Cobh. If you are selected, there will be *no charge* for the training but applicants must make their own travel arrangements and bring a packed lunch each day.

*Application Criteria*: Ideally those applying will be

– aged between 15 -18 years old.

– will be living in the Cork area; we are particularly looking for applications from the East Cork area where we plan for Towards Confident Film Making to take place.

– must be available to attend from Tuesday 23rd – Friday 26th July and Monday 29th July – Thursday 1st August inclusive;must be keen to explore and develop your skills through writing, acting and/or directing, preferably with some experience in film-making .

*E mail now!  *firstcutfilm@gmail.com , briefly outlining why you feel this course is for you; any experience you have; what aspects in particular you are interested in.

The deadline for applications is Friday May 31st 5pm.