Four SSAW students to attend Cannes Film Festival 08

Four SSAW students will be attending the prestigious Cannes Film Festival this year. The four up-and-coming filmmakers were selected from a pitching workshop held in April and are: Nicolas Booth (MA Film IFSW), Vesa Kuosmanen (MA Film IFSW), Leigh- Anne Regan (MA Film Producing and Business Management, University of Glamorgan) and Paul Allen (MA Film IFSW).

The students will be mentored by members of the SSAW Industry Panel both before and during the festival. Their professional mentors are Alan Trow – Cinematographer; Catherine Linstrum – Writer; Richard Staniforth - Producer, Green Bay Media (based in Cardiff); and David Marlow (distributor and now producer of Silver Light Productions).

The students will attend as part of the Wales in Cannes delegation, co-ordinated by Creative Business Wales.

“This is a wonderful opportunity for our students to get the additional training they need to understand the essential elements of the film value chain – from concept and creation of a film through to marketing, pitching, deal-making and promotion,” said Emma Flatley, Project Manager of the SSAW.

Jamie Bolton (MA Film) was one of the SSAW students who attended last year's festival. He said "I learnt a great deal about the way in which the industry works from witnessing it firsthand. I also got a huge amount of great advice from industry professionals, as well as attending some excellent lectures from an eclectic mix of industry insiders. Overall I think that the experience made me a lot more savvy about the way things work, but also gave me a clear focus on the way in which I want to progress in the industry and the best way to do it."