Future Screens NI host: Policy Roundtable Chaired by the DUP 30th April 2021

On Friday 30th of April Future Screens NI hosted a Policy Roundtable Chaired by the DUP.

Future Screens NI and the Creative Industries Policy and Evidence Centre at Ulster University hosted our second Creative Industry Panel Round Table on Friday 30th of April. The event was a direct engagement with the DUP who hold the Minister for the Economy and Chair the Communities Committee. Future Screens NI provided a platform for industry to engage directly with politicians on matters of mutual interest.

The event focused upon key policy, finance and practice challenges and opportunities within the creative industries and the potential for collaboration and change. The current implications of Covid-19 and the road to economic recovery were also explored. The event was chaired by Paula Bradley MLA and featured Professor Paul Moore, Director of Future Screens NI; Professor Greg Maguire, CEO of HUMAIN and Lucy Baxter, Founder of Mental Abuse Matters.

The round table featured:  

Paula Bradley MLA – North Belfast

Paula was first elected to the Assembly in 2011 to represent the North Belfast constituency. Following the restoration of the power sharing Executive and Assembly in January 2020, Paula was appointed Chair of the Committee for Communities, and is party spokesperson for Communities.  Paula has previously served on the Committee for Health, and was the party spokesperson on Health. Prior to being elected to the Assembly, Paula was a Councillor on Newtownabbey Borough Council, and served as Mayor.  She has also worked within the DUP policy unit as a communications officer and was a social worker. Her priority areas include health, tackling poverty and housing.

Carla Lockhart MP – Upper Bann

Elected to Westminster in 2019, Carla was previously an MLA for Upper Bann from 2016-2019. Prior to her election to the Assembly, Carla was a Councillor on Craigavon Borough Council (2007-2014) serving as the last Mayor of the Borough (2013-14), and Armagh, Banbridge and Craigavon Borough Council (2014-2016), following the Review of Public Administration.  Carla has a strong interest in the prevention of online harm and cyber bullying, and has spoken regularly on the need to legislated in this area.  Her additional priorities include farming, education, mental health, supporting the elderly and mental health.

George Dorrian – Policy Officer

George is a policy officer for the DUP, and leads on a number of areas including the economy, housing and tourism. He has a strong interest in entrepreneurship and building skills, especially within the digital and creative industry sectors. George is also a member of Belfast City Council, representing the Titanic DEA, and was Group Leader until February 2021.  He is a member of the City Growth and Regeneration Committee, and the Strategic Policy and Resources Committee.

Sharon Skillen – Policy Officer

Sharon is a policy officer for the DUP, and leads on areas including young people, anti-poverty strategy and online harm policies. She has a strong interest in providing young people with the opportunities to develop their skills and employment opportunities. Sharon is also a member of Lisburn and Castlereagh City Council, representing the Castlereagh East DEA, and is a member of the Environmental Services and Leisure and Community Development Committees.

Professor Paul Moore is the Director of Future Screens NI and a Co-Director of Ulster’s Creative Industries Institute (CII). He was awarded a personal chair in 2009 becoming Professor of Creative Technologies at the Magee campus, and was awarded a National Teaching Fellowship in 2014. His research is focused on both the creative industries and the ways in which theory and practice can be brought together in research, training and education. Most recently he has been involved in various arts data research projects with national bodies such as NESTA in the UK. He has published widely in a range of journals/books and his practice has been exhibited in a number of commissioned gallery exhibitions in London, Coventry, Belfast, Derry, Lough Neagh, and the National Gallery of Namibia. He was the Ofcom Content Board member for Northern Ireland from 2007 to 2013. From 1995 to 2004 he was also a board member of the Northern Ireland Film and Television Commission and chaired the education committee which developed the seminal Wider Literacy policy document.  In his spare time he is a freelance broadcaster with BBC Radio Ulster and has written and presented a range of documentaries for BBC national radio. 

Professor Paul Moore provided an update regarding the investment of £22.5 million into the local creative industries by Future Screens NI and partners which has stimulated more than 3,000 live projects across the region creating 234 high level jobs and generating 50 viable new products at the mid point of the project with more innovations to come forward to market in the coming months.

 https://www.futurescreens.org/team

Professor Greg Maguire- CEO and Founder of HUMAIN. Greg has been instrumental in the launch and development of numerous globally successful animations including Walt Disney Feature Animation, Industrial Light & Magic, Lucasfilm Animation and Digital Domain. His film credits include Academy Award-nominated Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban, Academy Award-winning Happy Feet and Avatar. He was R&D Supervisor at Lucasfilm Animation and a Creature Supervisor at Industrial Light & Magic. As Professor of Animation at Ulster University, he founded the 3D computer animation program at Ulster University and led its research cluster, Future and Virtual Worlds. He sits on the board of directors of Northern Ireland Screen, is a member of the Visual Effects Society and MIT alumnus.

HUMAIN are a leading company in the region working globally to provide technology which facilitates gaming and visual effects.  HUMAIN’s unique product has penetrated the global market working with significant partners including Microsoft and HBO.

Professor Greg Maguire provided an update of the growth of HUMAIN during the ongoing crisis and showcased new technology developed by HUMAIN.

https://humain-studios.com/

Lucy Baxter, Founder of Mental Abuse Matters. Mental Abuse Matters is a Charitable Incorporated Organisation created to raise awareness about mental abuse including emotional, psychological and verbal abuse. The Mental Abuse Matters Campaign involves animated film and a pioneering VR project as part of outreach and intervention. In collaboration with partners, Future Screens NI, Queen's University Belfast and Darkley Films, Mental Abuse Matters is developing a unique training and therapeutic tool for health and social care. Mental Abuse Matters have are building a strong presence across communities and social media in order to effect change in mental abuse legislation and in industry, the legal system and relationship education with regard to mental abuse. The overall intention of Mental Abuse matters is to build a recognition of the detrimental impact of mental abuse which has permeated our society as a whole.

Lucy Baxter provided an overview of her project to date and showcased her innovative training environment which is aimed at addressing Mental Abuse.

https://www.mentalabusematters.com/

Future Tuesdays Presents VR Content Creator Christopher Lane Tues 15th of June 2021

Future Screens NI were delighted to welcome ground-breaking VR content creator, Christopher Lane to present at Future.

Christopher Lane is a pioneering theatre director and the Creative Director of Relative Motion, a VR storytelling studio run by theatre-makers. 

Having worked extensively in new musicals, classics and opera, Christopher moved into narrative VR in 2017.  With support from Arts Council England and Heritage Lottery, he created two new VR productions: Shakespeare VR (recently acknowledge by UKRI as an outstanding and influential immersive experience from the last 20 years) and a new CG drama, Reorientation, in collaboration with Breaking Fourth Ltd. His work with Relative Motion includes Tosca VR (a commission/collaboration with The Space), Edward II VR (ACE and The Barn Theatre, Cirencester) and three new VR experiences with Sheffield’s Music in The Round. Presently, Relative Motion are being funded by the British Council to develop a new narrative VR experience with The Freedom Theatre in Palestine. 

In working at the intersection of theatre and VR for the last five years, Christopher has acted as a consultant in immersive storytelling for theatre organisations including the Royal Opera House, Chichester Festival Theatre and the Stratford Festival of Canada. He was part of the RSC/Magic Leap Cohort in 2019 and is presently developing a workshop series in narrative VR for an MA performance programme at the Stockholm University of the Arts.

Chris shared his insights on creating narrative VR and discussed how theatre practices and paradigms can help shape the future of VR storytelling.

Find out about Chris and Relative Motion here: www.relativemotion.co.uk. 

Future Tuesdays presents Gone with Carol Moore on Tues 1st of June 2021

Future Tuesdays Presents Gone (2020). Gone is a moving depiction of a woman with dementia (Carol Moore) and her carer son (Darren Franklin) over the course of two days. Directed by Paula McFetridge the insightful script presents a heartfelt and wrenching representation of the effects of dementia on familial love, bonds and responsibilities. With outstanding performances by Moore and Franklin the film was shot during the first lockdown with the director McFetridge receiving the Award of Excellence Special Mention by The Best Shorts Competition. 

Writer -Julie Dutkiewicz 

Actors - Darren Franklin and Carol Moore

Director - Paula McFetridge

Camera/Sound - Ross McClean 

Editor - Stuart Sloan

The launch was hosted by Eddie Lynch, Commissioner for Older People for Northern Ireland and feature actress Carol Moore. The video features discussion led by the creative team Carol Moore, Julie Dutkiewicz and Paula McFetridge

Eddie Lynch is the Commissioner for Older People for Northern Ireland and started his appointment in June 2016. He was re-appointed for a second, four-year term in June 2020. Prior to his appointment, Eddie was the Chief Executive Officer of Age Sector Platform. In this role, he was responsible for managing the organisation's staff and supporting the organisation's board, committees and wider membership in its policy development and campaigns work. Eddie joined Age Sector Platform in February 2008 having previously worked at the Consumer Council for five years, where he was Head of Consumer Affairs. Previous to that, Eddie worked as an e-Business Consultant and as an I.T. trainer for a number of years.

For more information visit https://www.copni.org/

Carol Moore was co-founder/co-Artistic Director of Charabanc Theatre Company 1983 –’95, their adoption of research and oral interviewing, taking people’s life-experiences and transforming those into theatrical experiences, then delivering it back in non-traditional theatre venues was ground-breaking in reaching new audiences. Charabanc Theatre Co brought Northern Ireland to the attention of international academics and gained both a national/international reputation. Carol’s acting career includes work with many leading Northern Irish companies including Charabanc, the Lyric, Tinderbox, Brassneck and Kabosh as well as international touring to North America, the former Soviet Union, Germany, South Africa and Rwanda. 

Gone was funded by the Future Screens NI Rewriting the Narrative Call in response to Covid-19.

Filmmaker Lucy Baxter launches a Future Screens NI funded virtual reality film to shine light on impact of mental abuse and coercive control

(Left to Right): A Virtual Reality film has been launched to raise awareness of coercive control. Maire McGrath, Mental Abuse Matters, Professor Paul Moore, Future Screens NI, and Lucy Baxter, Mental Abuse Matters and film creator.

A filmmaker has launched a Virtual Reality (VR) film to raise awareness of the impact of mental abuse and coercive control on victims. 

Lucy Baxter, director of domestic abuse charity Mental Abuse Matters and a Film Practice lecturer at Queen’s University Belfast is using Mental Abuse Matters as her PhD subject.

The VR film shows the hard-hitting and traumatic impact of mental abuse on the victim, through an immersive film experience. The project was funded by Future Screens NI and is now being developed into a wider business idea through a Tech Start funded customer discovery process with Qubis.

The pioneering VR film, which depicts a woman who is being mentally abused by her partner, will be used for training those who come into contact with abuse victims, to enable greater understanding of the victim’s experience. 

It is hoped that the film will help raise greater awareness of the impact of mental abuse and coercive control and can be used by those working in health and social care and the criminal justice systems. 

Director of Mental Abuse Matters, Lucy Baxter said:

“Mental abuse and coercive control are lesser known but very real forms of domestic abuse. The abuse can gradually wear down a person’s sense of independence and they may become accustomed to an atmosphere of dread and trepidation, always living in fear that they might unintentionally aggravate an abusive partner. It happens to people of all genders and backgrounds.

“The difficulty with mental abuse is that no one outside the relationship can see the damage that it is causing, because there are no physical signs like bruises or broken bones. The trauma for victims however is very real and terrifying. 

“My aim is to encourage greater understanding and empathy for victims of mental abuse. Using Virtual Reality software, we can create an experience for the user that will allow them to place themselves in the shoes of the victim and get a sense of what they are feeling. This will give those who support abuse victims, first-hand knowledge of what it feels like to be in their position.”

Professor Paul Moore from Future Screens NI said: 

“Coercive control and mental abuse are not often discussed or understood by many people in society. Only in recent years have we become more aware of coercive control as a form of domestic abuse, and it is still hard for many to fully understand the impact on victims because they cannot see physical signs of its impact. 

“Future Screens NI is thrilled to be able to fund innovative projects like the Mental Abuse Matters Virtual Reality film because it shows how film-making can be used in the most innovative ways to educate people about the impact of issues that are challenging to articulate beyond direct experience.  

“The ‘walking on eggshells’ analogy is said all too often, but this immersive film by Lucy allows us that first-hand experience of what that feels like to be a victim. We hope that by funding this important project, it becomes an important training tool in educating professionals about the very real and long-lasting damage that mental abuse causes.”

The Puttnam Scholars Competition 2021 is Now Open Opportunity closes Friday 11th of June at 12 noon

Future Screens NI, Northern Ireland Screen, and Screen Ireland have teamed up with Atticus Education to offer four Northern Ireland residents the opportunity to attend 6 two hour online master classes with Lord David Puttnam (Producer of MIDNIGHT EXPRESS,CHARIOTS OF FIRE, LOCAL HERO, THE KILLING FIELDS, THE MISSION etc.). 

The master classes will be fully interactive and a full engagement by each participant is an essential feature of the programme.  Having attended the entire programme each individual will receive a scholarship from Atticus Education with the support of Accenture Ireland to the value of €1.5k.

Those participating in the master classes will enhance their understanding of the creative process, and the cultural context within which the screen industries operate. The masterclasses will be delivered digitally and will cover the following themes:

·      The power of identity

·      The evolution of creativity

·      Fact or Fiction

·      Builders and Brokers

·      Music and Meaning

·      Interpreting the Future

To be eligible to apply candidates MUST fulfil the following criteria:

·      Be a writer, director, or producer resident in Northern Ireland that has either:

made their first feature (fiction or documentary) or television drama with funding from a broadcaster, distributor, financier, or screen agency in the past three years.

Or

is about to make their first feature (fiction or documentary) or television drama and has that feature (fiction or documentary) or television drama project in active funded development with a broadcaster, distributor, financier, or screen agency.

 Candidates that fit the above criteria should send an email to Nuala Toman n.toman@ulster.ac.uk containing:

·      Evidence of how they fulfil the eligibility criteria.

·      Confirmation of their availability to attend the masterclasses at the above dates and times.

·      Details of how specifically attending each of the above listed masterclasses will advance their project and their career.

If you do not meet the eligibility criteria please do not apply.

Applications from graduates of post-graduate screen industry affiliated courses or from people from backgrounds that are currently under-represented in the screen sectors, who fulfil the above criteria, are particularly welcome.

Applicant information is available here. Please download and complete in word.  Online applications are not supported.  Please email completed applications to n.toman@ulster.ac.uk by 12 noon on Friday 11th of June.