With a Guest Interview for all students and staff
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Anthony Minghella launches Screen Academy With a Guest Interview for all students and staff |
Last week saw the official launch of the Screen Academy - a new collaboration between the The Media School and the Arts Institute, Bournemouth.
It is a radical new initiative, funded by Skillset, looking to make a central difference to training and careers in the British film industry.
The launch took place over three days featuring a series of guest lectures from industry professionals, culminating in an evening with multi award-winning film director, Anthony Minghella.
Anthony, the son of Italian immigrants, grew up on the Isle of Wight, which is perhaps how the dominant theme of the outsider in his films began to materialize: from the woman haunted by her dead lover in 'Truly, Madly, Deeply' to the scarred and tragic character in 'The English Patient', to the charming psychopath in 'The Talented Mr. Ripley' - finishing to date with high-class city girl Nicole Kidman, stranded in the country in 'Cold Mountain.'
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The Screen Academy is looking to make a central difference to training and careers in the British film industry |
During the interview led by David Hanson, Director of the Screen Academy, Minghella told both those in the crammed lecture theatre, and those watching by a live video link, that 'The Talented Mr, Ripley' was the most personal film he has ever made.
"It's the idea of being on the outside of a world you're not privileged to be in. My life is very Ripley. I've never hit anyone over the head with an oar, but I had a lot of empathy with the character. It was that feeling of never quite being on the mainland."
Perhaps this same yearning for solid ground was what helped to sail Anthony across the sea from his tiny island home, all the way to the University of Hull, where he studied drama. Covering all his options and also applying for English, history, history of art, politics and economics, Anthony described himself to me as a "scattershot applicant."
"I wasn't as careful or as well prepared as I think students are now, so I can't really say if I'd of had more of an understanding of what I was applying for, I would have applied to Bournemouth. I went to Yorkshire because it was a long way away. Not because one place was better or worse, but I think part of the university experience is to escape from the clutches of your own family and everything you know."
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The multi Oscar winning Director discussed his support of nurturing British talent in a special Guest Lecture to launch the Screen Academy |
Despite his initial indecision however, Minghella must have been a model student as straight after graduation he began to lecture at Hull, often teaching students much older than himself. In 2001 Bournemouth University presented Anthony with an honorary doctorate.
Professor Stuart Bartholomew, Principal of the Arts Institute, says Minghella is a close associate of the school.
"It is a great advantage because Anthony only lives down the road. He visits on quite a regular basis within the limitations of the time available to a very successful film director, but he's a great friend to filmmaking in these places."
His latest project, 'Breaking and Entering' comes from a concept he developed after his office was broken into 18 times while under construction. It features many of Minghella's favourite actors, such as Jude Law and Juliet Stevenson, but is still a stretch from the silver screen. Anthony says he has a busy year ahead of him and probably won't be returning to Bournemouth for a while, but as part of the new Screen Academy, Bournemouth is braced for a further influx of other film professionals.
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"Young people are going to change film. They are responsible for the changes that take place in movies" |
After a frantic few hours of non-stop questions from a whole host of quizzers, including the BBC, an exhausted Anthony's only regret was not to have spent more time with the students. "Young people are going to change film. They are responsible for the changes that take places in movies, so it's very interesting to know what they care about and what they think about."
And for the young people who care and think about film, the Screen Academy will be the place to be. Stephen Jukes, Head of The Media School described the collaboration by using an analogy from the film industry.
"There's been an awful lot of material lying on the cutting room floor between the two institutions for too long now, and now's the time to pick it up and stitch it together for the benefit of the students and the British film industry."
Anthony Minghella also described the partnership as "a good passport to get into the film industry," as "these kite-marked centres will enable students to understand exactly what they're getting into. Any form of endorsement or clarification about what a course comprises of is going to be valuable."
Story by Crystal Wilde
BA (Hons) Multi-Media Journalism - 2nd Year Student