Cineclub are thrilled to announce that we have become a National Learning Partner of  The Children’s University.

The Children’s University – or CU – aims to promote social mobility by providing high quality out-of-school-hours activities to children aged 7 to 14 and engaging the wider communities as learning partners in this process. An important principle of the Children’s University is that participation is voluntary and it is intentionally something other than school – with a different feel, different activities and often a different location, peer group and staff. At the heart of its work is the ambition to raise aspirations, boost achievement and foster a love of learning, so that young people can make the most of their abilities and interests, regardless of the background into which they were born.  For more information about the CU visit their new website here.

Our partnership with CU will enable students with CU Passports to learning to gain stamps for taking part in Cineclub activities after school and during the holidays.Cineclub really believes in the idea of rewarding young people for being active seekers of new learning opportunities and are excited to be able to award stamps to our participants.  If your school runs a CU and you want to know more about working with us please contact tamla@cinelcub.org.uk.

Cineclub is delighted to announce a new partnership with BFFS – the national organisation for the development and support of the film society and community cinema movement in the UK. The partnership will provide new opportunities for community exhibitors to develop skills, increase their presence in their community by linking up with local schools and youth groups, and attract new audiences.

Established in 1946, BFFS has successfully weathered the considerable changes in the cinema landscape over seven decades and today stands for the right of all communities to determine their own access to film culture.

Through the partnership with Cineclub BFFS is able to provide additional services and resources that will benefit its members and the community cinema sector in general, including access to a selection of diverse and quality award-winning short films made by Cineclub clients.

The partnership will enable Cineclub to introduce existing Cineclub members to opportunities with BFFS and the community cinema sector, as well as opening up new film making possibilities for BFFS members, creating links with local communities.

To find out more about BFFS and its work and how to locate your nearest film society or community cinema go to www.bffs.org.uk/.

And if you’re interested in starting your own film society or cinema check out www.bffs.org.uk/resources/advice.html.

Cineclub is very pleased to announce the short list for this year’s People’s Vote. It was a tough competition, and lots of schools were able to register their votes for the Schools’ Winner this year.

The shortlistees are:

For those of you who are new to Cineclub, the Jury Prize category has been designed to change each year to guide your young filmmakers into a different area or genre of filmmaking. The films are judges by a panel of film industry professionals and the winner is announced at the Cineclub Annual Awards in July.

The theme for this year’s Jury Prize is …. Drum roll please…. Adaptation.

We’ve chosen the theme to coincide with the birth of Charles Dickens, although you can choose any book to adapt. There are a few rules to help guide you, which can be found in the helpful resource pack that we’ve been working hard to provide for you.

All membership schools that haven’t attended a People’s Vote event this February should receive a DVD,with lots of information and inspirational clips to show your group. You can also download the handy resource pack which you can find on the teacher resource page. If you have any questions about the rules for this years theme, or if you haven’t received your DVD please email tamla@cineclub.org.uk.

This year Cineclub will be joining forces with the Industry Trust, to enable you to take part in the ScreenThing Champions competition. This year any scho0l can take part. All you have to do is make a 60 second advert, which tells your audience why copyright is so important, and how it affects the film industry. The winner of the competition will win a coveted Silver Star award at the Annual Awards ceremony in July. You can see previous winners on the ScreenThing Champions website here.

To help you make your film, we’ve got teacher and student resource packs that you can download from our teacher resource page. When you’ve made your film, submit it in the usual way, using a submission form by Friday 1st June.

The Adobe Youth Voices Aspire Awards is an electrifying online media festival that will honor young people worldwide who have creatively communicated their vision for change in their communities and their lives through video, photography, graphic arts, and audio. Submissions are now open and Adobe offering a variety of prizes to the organizations and youth who participate. If your film is one of the winners, your school could win Adobe software, Dell laptops, and Samsung camcorders, cash donations to a charity of your choice, and flip cameras. For more information about the awards and how you can submit your film, visit http://www.youthvoices.adobe.com/awards/.

Cineclub has been awarded QISS Emerged Kitemark from Canterbury Christchurch College in recognition of our commitment to providing schools with high quality extended services activities in film.

Company Manager Eleanor Tomsett says “Cineclub has always been committed to providing high quality film education programmes to schools, much of which happens outside of school hours. Being awarded QISS Emerged demonstrates our commitment to quality and the importance of providing out of school hours learning activities to young pupils. Cineclub now follows Bigfoot as the second arts education company to be award the prestigious kitemark.”

the RSA is running a short film competition where we are encouraging people to make a visual interpretation of one of our lectures. The winner will receive £2,000 and have their film shown on our YouTube site alongside the work of Andrew Parks. Please see the website for further details: http://www.thersa.org/events/film-competition or click here to see the leaflet.

Our dear friends at the British Film Institute present We The Peoples Film Festival this Saturday, 19th November.

We the Peoples Film Festival challenges young people to get involved in big issues, like human rights and peace-keeping. As well as shorts and features we’ll have debates with filmmakers and decision makers, including a live link up to young creatives in Soweto. There’s a chance to win a £500 bursary and mentoring to make a documentary for next year’s festival. And there are awards for the best films screened during the day.

For more information visit bfi.org.uk/futurefilm

This friday marks 11.11.11 – a very special day, and you have the chance to participate in the largest collaborative storytelling event in human history with the Eleven11 Project!

On this auspicious day, anyone in the world who has access to any recording device will be asked to capture their lives through film, photography, music, sound and text. It’s quintessentially “a day in the life of the world” told by the people of earth.

Once you have your footage, you submit it to the Project team, who over the next year will curate it into a book series, world music collection and a documentary film, which will be screened around the world on the 21st September 2012 – International Day of Peace. Better yet, all profits raised will go to charities aligned with the United Nations Millennium Development Goals.

Don’t miss your chance to be part of this fantastic project, this friday!! Click here to upload your footage, but remember it must be created on friday 11.11.11.