FILMMAKERS RECEIVE HTV TRAINING AWARDS

TWO filmmakers given awards as part of HTV's training policy to invest in and develop talent in the region have used the funds to increase their skills.
Through Bristol-based independent production company, Picture This Moving Image, the ITV station have supported further training for disabled people within the industry and for projects which promote the works of disabled people.
Liz Crow was given ‘The Picture This Production Award 2000’ following an interview with a panel from the South West Media Development Agency and HTV who recognised Crow’s reputation and the creative potential of her work. The second recipient of a training award was Angel Garden, who was supported in her attendance of an introductory course for DVCPRO.
Crow’s digital animated film ‘Frida Kahlo's Corset’ is a journey of self-image and transformation made by the Mexican painter and disabled woman Frida Kahlo. By painting and bringing colour to the medical corsets she wore, Kahlo is seen re-casting herself and making a journey of disability pride.
The film’s complex imagery meant that Crow needed to incorporate digital technology into the production process. Crow was familiar with computers but its application to film was a completely new area for her and the one to one training she received as part of the HTV training award gave her crucial support for the specific demands of the work and helped to develop her creative and professional skills in general.
The film is now being distributed to various festivals and was shown on HTV West as part of the Bristol short film festival Brief Encounters. It has also been shown at the British Federation of Film Societies screening session the Deaf Film Festival and is due to be screened at the Stratford Picture House as part of a disability film festival next month.
HTV West supported the second training award recipient, Angel Garden, who as she can only walk short distances finds it difficult to get training and work, on an introduction to DVCPRO course. Garden has since gone onto complete a residency with the Watershed Media Centre in Bristol and is now applying for larger scale awards and grants to find further training and work.
In addition to these awards HTV West will be providing Black Pyramid Films with financial support for the next three years to enable young people involved in the Inner City Vision Project through the outreach or summer schools to join workshops to gain skills in their specific areas of interest.
Using the expertise and knowledge of those already employed within the industry, the workshops aim to inspire young filmmakers, particularly those from the Black community to consider careers in the media. HTV have worked with Black Pyramid Films for many years in relation to both training initiatives and programme making. (CD)