FILMCLUB is an after-school film club in England which is free to all state primary and secondary schools in the nation. The organisation was founded in September 2006, and after a successful pilot in 2007,^[1] the initial UK roll out began in April 2008. FILMCLUB then officially launched in June 2009.

FILMCLUB gives children from participating schools access to thousands of films and organises school visits by professionals from within the film industry. Pupils are encouraged to watch a diverse range of films including blockbusters, classics, black and white movies and foreign language titles, and to review the films they watch on the organisation's website (www.filmclub.org). The clubs are generally run by teachers or a similar education professional, but may also be led by older pupils, often from a school's 6th Form.

Contents 1 Founders 2 Close Encounters 3 Participating professionals 4 Board members 4.1 Sir Michael Bichard, KCB 4.2 Beeban Kidron 4.3 Lindsay Mackie 4.4 Michael Harris 4.5 John Woodward 4.6 Peter Taylor 4.7 Eric Fellner 4.8 Alan Parker 5 Partners 6 Funding 7 Other involvement 8 References 9 External links

[edit] Founders

Beeban Kidron
Beeban Kidron began directing films in the late 1980s and after studying at the National Film and Television School, went on to win a BAFTA for the television movie Oranges Are Not the Only Fruit. She has since directed seven feature films including Thanks for Everything, Julie Newmar (1995) and Bridget Jones: The Edge of Reason (2004).

Lindsay Mackie
Lindsay Mackie is Chair of the Readers and Writers Committee and founder of the national book club programme Reading For Pleasure which has been established in secondary schools. Mackie has also been a journalist for The Guardian, specialising in race and home affairs, a film critic with The Herald and arts feature writer with The Scotsman.

[edit] Close Encounters

FILMCLUB's Close Encounters scheme (named after the 1977 science fiction film Close Encounters of the Third Kind) brings pupils into contact with professionals from film, and related industries such as film journalism. Directors, actors, producers, screen-writers, casting directors and constume/set designers have participated in events which typically involve question and answer sessions and workshops. The Close Encounters scheme has also arranged for pupils to visit working film sets.

[edit] Participating professionals

Name	Profession	Filmography	Date
Kevin Macdonald	Director, Producer & Writer	The Last King of Scotland, State of Play	February 2007
Beeban Kidron	Director	Bridget Jones: The Edge of Reason, Hippie Hippie Shake	February 2007
Thandie Newton	Actress	Mission: Impossible II, Crash, Run Fatboy Run	February 2007
Rosamund Pike	Actress	Die Another Day, Pride & Prejudice	March 2007
Ben Hoyle	Arts Correspondent		June 2008
Mike Stringer and Mike Hardwick	Special FX	Lord of the Rings: Return of the King, Sweeney Todd	June 2008
Emma Thompson	Actress	Sense and Sensibility, Love Actually, Nanny McPhee	June 2008
Jason Isaacs	Actor	The Patriot, Harry Potter	June 2008
Sir Alan Parker	Director	Bugsy Malone, Mississippi Burning	June 2008
Gurinder Chadha	Director	Bend It Like Beckham, Bride & Prejudice	June 2008
Tom Sutcliffe	Journalist and Film critic		November 2008
Lord Puttnam	Film Producer	Starlight, Midnight Express, Bugsy Malone	November 2008
Laura Bailey	Model and Actress	The Mirror Has Two Faces	November 2008
Alex Jennings	Actor	The Queen, Bridget Jones: The Edge of Reason	December 2008
Robyn Slovo	Film Producer	The Statement, Catch a Fire, Gimme Shelter	December 2008
Nigel Andrews	Journalist and Film critic		December 2008
Lesley Manville	Actress	Secrets and Lies, Vera Drake	December 2008
Mark Burton	Screenwriter	Chicken Run, Madagascar, Wallace and Gromit: The Curse of the Were-Rabbit	January 2009
Sim Evan Jones	Editor	Shrek, The Chronicles of Narnia	January 2009
Oliver Parker	Director	The Importance of Being Earnest, St Trinian’s	January 2009
Simon McBurney	Actor	The Last King of Scotland, The Golden Compass, Body of Lies	February 2009
Gady Dellal	Actor and Director	K2, On a Clear Day	March 2009
Nancy Thompson	Costume Designer	Mission Impossible, Sweeny Todd, Valkyrie	March 2009
Frank Cottrel Boyce	Writer	Brookside, Coronation Street	March 2009
Priscilla John	Casting Director	About a Boy, Mamma Mia!, Brideshead Revisited	March 2009
Imelda Staunton	Actress	Sense and Sensibility, Vera Drake, Nanny McPhee	March 2009
Eric Fellner	Producer	Thunderbirds, Nanny McPhee, State of Play	April 2009
Fiona Weir	Casting Director	Harry Potter Film Series, The Golden Compass, The Boat That Rocked	May 2009
Nik Powell	Producer	Fever Pitch, Ladies in Lavender	June 2009
Lee Hall	Screenwriter	Billy Elliott, Hippie Hippie Shake	June 2009
Michael Sheen	Actor	The Damned United, The Queen	June 2009
Nancy Thompson	Costume Designer	Eyes Wide Shut, Sweeney Todd	July 2009

[edit] Board members

[edit] Sir Michael Bichard, KCB

Throughout his career of over 30 years, Sir Michael Bichard has worked in local and central Government. He has worked in the Departments of Education and Employment, and was then appointed to be Rector of the University of the Arts London (formerly The London Institute). He currently holds the post of Director of Institute for Government and serves as FILMCLUB Chair.

[edit] Beeban Kidron

A co-founder and deputy chair of FILMCLUB, Beeban Kidrons's directorial work has attracted many awards including The Prix Italia, BAFTAs, a Golden Hugo, Critics choice at Crietiel, The Lillian Gish award and RTS awards. Her work includes Cinderella, Thanks for Everything Julie Newmar, Love at First Sight and Oranges are Not the Only Fruit.

[edit] Lindsay Mackie

Lindsay Mackie is a former journalist and is heavily involved in literacy programmes for UK schools. She is a specialist in setting up extra curricular programmes in schools. She is known for setting up the Diana, Princess of Wales Memorial Award for Young People in 2000 schools within four years. Also, she spearheaded 300 reading clubs with Education Extra and is a co-founder of FILMCLUB.

[edit] Michael Harris

Proprietor of his own management recruitment company for twenty-five years, Michael is now the non-executive director of several media companies. He is also the treasurer at FILMCLUB, BAFTA and Comic Relief.

[edit] John Woodward

John Woodward has led film and television organisations such as the UK Film Council, British Film Institute and Producers' Alliance for Cinema and Television (PACT). He also co-founded Skillset, is a Fellow of the Royal Television Society was appointed Chief Executive Officer of the UK Film Council in 1999.

[edit] Peter Taylor

Peter Taylor has twenty-five years experience in the UK film industry. After roles with Warner Bros. Pictures and Columbia Pictures, Peter is now the Managing Director of Sony Pictures UK.

[edit] Eric Fellner

Eric Fellner is co-chairman of Britain largest independent production company, Working Title Films. With over 60 film titles to his track record, he has produced or executive produced three consecutive nominees for the Academy Award for Best Picture.

[edit] Alan Parker

Alan Parker is founder and chairman of Brunswick Group LLP. The leading international corporate and financial communications firm has over 50 partners across the globe. Brunswick is ranked 1st position in league tables for merger and acquisitions communications advisors in the UK, EU and US. Alan acts as a senior consultant on many of the firm’s retained accounts and takes an active role in special project work.

[edit] Partners

• LOVEFiLM: a British DVD rental company which provides online DVD rentals, console game rental and film downloads.
• UK Film Council: a non-departmental public body set up to develop and promote the film industry in the UK.
• Filmbank Distribution: a joint venture company owned by Warner Bros. Entertainment and Sony Pictures Releasing which represents many of the leading Hollywood and independent film studios in the area of film usage outside the cinema and home.

[edit] Funding

FILMCLUB is funded in England by the Department for Children, Schools and Families, through the UK Film Council. In Northern Ireland, FILMCLUB is funded by the Department of Culture, Arts and Leisure and Northern Ireland Screen; by the Film Agency for Wales and Skillset Screen Academy in Wales; and in Scotland by Scottish Screen and local authorities. This funding allows FILMCLUB to be provided free to state schools.

[edit] Other involvement

FILMCLUB plays a vital role in the leadership group of the UK Film Council's 21st Century Literacy Programme. ^{[2][3][4][4][5]}

[edit] References

[edit] External links

• Filmclub.org
• Department for Children, Schools and Families
• LOVEFiLM
• UK Film Council
• Every Child Matters