Oska Bright On The Road
Oska Bright On the Road began with a trip to Penzance in November 2007 and continues until the end of 2008.
June Hall and Stephen Firshman from Oska Bright Committee at The Cutt Arts Centre in Halesworth, Suffolk
We are the Oska Bright steering committee and we want to tell you about taking our film festival across the UK and abroad. Last year the festival happened over two days at the Old Market in Brighton and was an outstanding success. You can click on the following links to read a review of Oska Bright 2007 or an up to date list of the tour
Last year over 1000 people saw our films. We are all very excited about Oska Bright On The Road which promises to reach a much bigger audience as it travels to 21 venues. And it’s not just the UK that sees the potential and artistic value of Oska Bright. Matthew Hellett, film-maker and chair of Carousel’s board of directors, has just returned from the 'Picture This' film festival in Calgary, Canada, where two films picked up awards. In May, two more Oska Brights are being screened at the Sprout Film Festival at the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York.
Carousel is discussing a link-up with Normal Fest in Prague and actively seeking other international partners to work with, sharing its experience and understanding of making films with learning disabled artists.
Oska Bright’s programme includes narrative drama, animation, documentary and musical films. Some are rooted in the lives of their makers, others are pure imagination or fantasy. From the gothic and haunting The Raven’s Tale by The Shystershadows, to the quirky animation of Why I Hate Art by Glasgow’s Project Ability (both award winners at the 2007 festival), Oska Bright on the Road presents a real alternative to the mainstream for an audience of passionate film-fans.
For a full list of tour dates and masterclasses take a look at the website at www.oskabright.co.uk You can also read about the next Festival, which takes place in 2009, and how to enter a film.
Oska Bright On The Road – Prague, Czech Republic, November 2008
By Matthew Hellett
Matthew Hellett as his alter ego, Mrs Sparkle, together with 2 Czech film makers.
On Tuesday the 11th November we arrived in Prague and were taken to our Hostel. We unpacked our things and went to lunch.
That evening we went to the Aero Cinema for the Opening Night of The Normal Festival. They had a launch party for The Normal Festival and Oska Bright were special guests.
I talked to the audience about Oska Bright and what we do. Then I got asked by Marketa and Lenka about my film, 'Sparkle' – so I told them about my film and showed it.
There were a lot of people in the audience. People seemed to really like the Oska Bright films. I gave out lots of flyers and key rings so that everyone could know about Oska Bright.
On Wednesday we were part of a workshop – it was led by people from Brno University. The workshop was about 'Identity.' We made a film about monsters and aliens and I was a Fairy Godmother who turned them into angels! There were different phases of Matthew becoming Mrs Sparkle. We showed this film on Thursday the 13th November in the evening, as part of the Closing Ceremony.
Oska Bright are now hoping to have a partnership with The Normal Festival and Inventura. We hope that this continues the good work that we have started together.
We are also hoping that lots of people will be entering their films into Oska Bright from Czech Republic.
I found the people from The Normal Festival welcoming, warm and friendly and I would like to thank them for their hospitality.
Oska Bright On The Road – Cineworld in Hull, October 2008
by June Hall and Chris Love
Chris Love and June Hall standing outside Hull Cineworld after presenting Oska Bright screenings in the cinema.
We left Brighton for Hull, driving up the M1 to our Premier Inn Hotel.
The next day we got up early and went to Cineworld to get ready to show the films. The cinema was really nice and the people there were friendly and very helpful. We met Sharon Rudkin who had done all the organising in Hull. She was very friendly. Hull Truck Theatre Company lent us a light for our sign language interpreter. It was very kind of them.
Well over a hundred people came to see the films. They filled in questionnaires and told us on the film what they thought of the films. They thought the films were brilliant and lots of people said that they wanted to make their own films. We can't wait to see how many films come from Hull, and the people who came all the way from Briddlington.
The next day we ran the Master Class at the Artlink Centre in Hull. 18 people took part. They said that it was really useful and they hoped to make films for Oska Bright 2009.
It was great being in Hull. Thank you to Sharon, Sarah, Artlink and Cineworld. We will be back in 2010!
Oska Bright On The Road - Salisbury Arts Centre, October 2008
By June Hall
Stephen Firshman and June Hall editing with Luke Powell.
Mark, Simon and Luke picked me up from my house in the van. After that we went to Redhill to get Stephen. Then we drove to Salisbury to Salisbury Arts Centre. Stephen ran the Master Class for 20 people, and I did some filming around the building for our “On The Road” film. We made some signs for the film and coloured them in.
In the evening we went to a restaurant and had some really nice food.
The next day we showed the Oska Bright films to lots of people. 185 people came to see the show and I was filming people and asking them what they thought of the films. Lots of people said they had had a really great time and they wanted to make some films of their own for Oska Bright 2009.
Salisbury Arts Centre was a really good place to show Oska Bright films and people said thank you to us and hoped we would come back in 2010. It was great to work with Link Up Arts in Salisbury.
Oska Bright On The Road – Torbay, September 2008
By Chris Love
Stephen Firshman, Oska committee member giving an interview on South Devon College Radio.
We left Brighton and drove to Torbay, picking up Stephen from Redhill on the way. It was a long way to drive, but we enjoyed it.
On Tuesday the 23rd of September, we drove to South Devon College to get ready to screen our films there, as part of the 2008 English Rivera International Comedy Film Festival.
The screenings were really enjoyable – everyone enjoyed seeing the Oska Bright films. I introduced each screening of films with Stephen and we showed everyone our Lottery Award. 300 people came to see the films and that made us feel good.
The next day we ran the Master Class for 15 people with a learning disability and 5 support staff. It went very well. Some people were already making films, and others wanted to have a go at film making. We think that we will get about 10 new films from Torbay entered into Oska Bright 2009 –which is very exciting!
We hope to go back to Torbay in 2010 with Oska Bright On The Road.
Oska Bright On The Road – The Watershed, Bristol, September 2008
By June Hall and Matthew Hellett
Oska Bright On the Road audience at the Watershed, Bristol.
We arrived in Bristol on Tuesday the 9th September to run our Master Class at a place called the Arnolfini. An extremely enthusiastic and lively bunch of 19 artists from Firebird Theatre and Artists First were in the workshop.
Our Master Class went very well – lots of keen people asked questions and we almost ran out of time! We have high hopes of them making a film for Oska Bright 2009 and we have our fingers crossed.
On Wednesday the 10th of September we showed the Oska Bright films at The Watershed cinema. The technical staff were brilliant and we had 2 cinema screens showing our films. We sold lots of T-shirts and key rings.
The Watershed staff were really warm and welcoming. We are going to talk to them about coming back in 2010 to be part of their short film festival.
We had a warm and happy feeling about being in Bristol.
Our sincere thanks to Firebird Theatre and Artists First for working so hard with us to make this event such a success. We look forward to working with them again soon.
Oska Bright On The Road – DadaFest, Liverpool, September 2008
By Matthew Hellett
Matthew Hellett and Richard West stand outside the entrance to DadaFest 2008.
We travelled to Liverpool after we finished our exciting screening with Prism Arts in Carlisle.
On the first day we ran the Master Class at a place called The A Foundation. 25 people came along to the workshop and it went very well – even though it was a small room and we had to stand on chairs to be seen! It was a bit overwhelming, but everyone said that they really enjoyed themselves and learned a lot. We can’t wait to see if these people will make films for us!
The next day we went to show Oska Bright films at a place called the Contemporary Urban Centre where we had 60 people come and see the films. It was great to see Sheryl there from Picture This International Film Festival in Canada – we are working with them as partners now, and it was great to catch up.
Afterwards we drove home and I was pleased when we arrived back.
Oska Bright On The Road – Tullie House Museum and Art Gallery, Carlisle, September 2008
By Matthew Hellett
Matthew Hellett and Richard West with the mayor of Carlisle.
We arrived in Carlisle to meet Peter Telford from Prism Arts. He took us out for a nice meal. We talked about Oska Bright and winning the National Lottery Award 2008 for Best Arts Project. Peter told us all about Prism Arts and their fantastic work across Cumbria.
The next day was our master class. We drove to Tullie House Museum and Art Gallery where it was held. 16 people came along to learn about making short films. All of the people were very excited. We think they will make some great films!
The day after that we showed our films at Tullie House. The Mayor of Carlisle opened the event with refreshments, and we got interviewed by Radio Cumbria. 116 people came to see the films and it was great talking to them and getting a lot of positive feedback.
People left with lots of ideas about making films, and we hope to see lots of films from Cumbria in Oska Bright 2009.
Winning our National Lottery Award for Best Arts Project 2008 at the BBC Television Studios, London
By Matthew Hellett
Mark Richardson and Matthew Hellett with the National Lottery award at the BBC in London.
We were shortlisted for the Best Arts Project 2008 by the National Lottery Awards, along with two other fantastic arts projects.
We went along to the BBC Studios on Saturday the 30th August. We had champagne and we met lots of celebrities. We didn't know who they all were – so we had to keep asking them.
We sat in the audience for the programme. We were feeling nervous and excited. It all seemed a bit like a dream.
When they announced that we had won I just couldn't believe it, it made me feel like all our hard work is being recognised and at last taken seriously.
I got the Jenni Faulkner and made my speech on live TV. I accepted our Award on behalf of all learning disabled film makers in the UK who have helped Oska Bright come so far.
Aberystwyth Arts Centre, June 2008
By Matthew Hellett
Oska Bright crew outside Aberystwyth Arts Centre. From left to right: Mark Richardson, Stephen Firshman, Matthew Hellett, Simon Wilkinson.
We arrived at Aberystwyth in sunshine. The screenings were at Aberystwyth Arts Centre at the University.
We did 2 screenings in the afternoon.
Lots of people booked tickets, but didn’t turn up because their transport let them down. The small audience that was there really enjoyed it.
We think that this is a good example of how useful our Mobile Cinema will be in getting films to people who have such problems with transport.
The Master Class went very well for the 10 people who came along. They were a keen bunch, and we think they will go on to make some films for Oska Bright.
It was great working with Disability Arts Wales – Sara Beer was friendly, helpful and passionate about putting on Oska Bright films in Wales. Thank you, Sara, for all your hard work. We look forward to seeing you in September at DadaFest in Liverpool.
Cardiff Millenium Centre, June 2008
By Matthew Hellett and Stephen Firshman
Oska Bright Committee members Stephen Firshman and Matthew Hellett standing outside Wales Millenium Centre wearing Oska Bright T-shirts.
We did our screenings at the Millennium Centre in Cardiff. We had a good audience of just over 130 people.
We interviewed and talked to audiences for our film about Oska Bright On The Road in Wales. We asked them:
- 1. Did they enjoy the films that they’d seen?
- 2. What was their favourite film?
- 3. Did seeing the films make you want to make your own film?
We asked people to vote for us for a National Lottery Award. Lots of people said that they would vote. Lots of people bought our T-shirts. We had a good time.
The next day we ran the Oska Bright Master Class, showing people how to make their own films. We made a film called Horrace The Hippo. Nine people took part in our workshop and said that they would make their own films. It went very well.
Glasgow Film Theatre, May 2008
By Andy Kee and Matthew Hellett
Andy Kee and Matthew Hellett standing outside Glasgow Film Theatre
We showed the Oska Bright films at the Glasgow Film Theatre – a very old cinema built in the 1930’s. People came to see the Oska Bright screenings over 2 days. They were very enthusiastic and we sold lots of Oska Bright T-shirts and key rings.
On our last day we ran a Master Class at Project Ability. 12 people took part in the workshop. We showed them how to make a short film for Oska Bright. The film they made was about “Dr Jones”. Quite a few people at the Master Class said that they wanted to enter their films into Oska Bright 2009.
This was a very successful beginning for Oska Bright in Scotland.
Inverness at Eden Court Cinema and Theatre, May 2008
By Andy Kee and Matthew Hellett
Andy and Matthew sitting on the ground under a film still from The Royal Bite at Eden Court Cinema in Inverness
After our work at Glasgow had ended, we drove up to Inverness.
We were based at Eden Court Cinema and Theatre in the centre of Inverness by the river. This new venue was superb. There was a great size cinema and the staff were really helpful. This helped put us at our ease to deliver great screenings. 110 people from across the Highlands came to see the films. We sold lots of T-shirts and key rings here too. The audience feedback was very enthusiastic – they said that they were excited to have this chance to be involved with Oska Bright.
The next day we ran the Oska Bright Master Class at Eden Court in the old part of the building called “The Bishop’s Palace”. We had a nice size group of very enthusiastic people with loads of ideas. The film that they made was called “Gerald the Giraffe”. We think that these guys will definitely make more films for Oska Bright 2009 – it seems like they have got lots of ideas!
This was a lovely opportunity to take Oska Bright to Inverness. It was great to meet Scottish film makers face to face.
Lancaster Screening at Beaumont College, May 2008
By June Hall and Stephen Firshman
Oska Bright Masterclass participants with June Hall and Stephen Firshman
The drive to Lancaster took a long time, when we got there we went to our hotel and met Jenny from Beaumont College for dinner.
The next day we showed our films to over 260 people at Beaumont College and then showed them again in the evening to lots of visitors from organisations in Lancaster.
June worked with Luke from Junk TV to make a film of what people thought of the films and Stephen worked on introducing the films.
The next day we ran the Oska Bright master-class with 14 people, the local newspaper came and took our photo. Everyone was very excited about the workshop and lots of them were talking about making films for Oska Bright 2009, one person wanted to make a film like 'Taggart'.
Stephen met a girl called Emma who he really liked.
Beaumont College said that they were going to make lots of films for Oska Bright 2009 and asked us to go back in 2010 to do more work with them at a cinema in Lancaster.
Wolverhampton Disability Film Festival, April 2008
By Matthew Hellett and Richard West
Richard West and Matthew Hellett
We left Brighton at 8am to drive to Wolverhampton stopping at Oxford Services for a coffee and a bite to eat on the way. When we arrived in Wolverhampton we arrived at a very nice arts centre called Newhampton Arts Centre; Matthew gave a brief interview on Wolverhampton Community Radio about 'Oska Bright - On the Road' and then we ran the master class with 15 people. After the master class Simon went to pick up Richard from the train station whilst Matthew and Mark gave an interview to Wolverhampton Community Radio. On the radio we talked about Oska Bright 'On the Road' and about how great Brighton is. In the evening we ate a gorgeous dinner at a Jamaican restaurant. The next day we showed the Oska Bright films at a place called The Light-House. Altogether 120 people came to see the films during the day. We enjoyed taking Oska Bright to Wolverhampton and we may go back in 2010.
Belfast Film Festival, April 2008
By Richard West
Oska Bright Masterclass participants pose in The Black Box
Andy Kee and I arrived at London Gatwick airport by train where we met Simon and Mark. Then we flew to Belfast City Airport. In Belfast we got a taxi to our flats which were brand new and very nice and better than a hotel. We had a look around and then took a Chinese Take away back home . The next day we took a taxi to The Black Box, a cinema. We set up the film screenings and then waited for the audience to arrive. On the first day 150 people came to see two of the Oska Bright screenings, then afterwards Andy ran the master class with 15 people whilst I rode my bike around Belfast. In the master class there were three film makers who asked very good questions about editing. The next day we took a taxi back to The Black Box and showed screenings three and four. Richard presented the films with Andy to another 150 people. We did a question and answer session at the end of the screenings. It felt very important for Oska Bright 'On the Road' to be part of the Belfast Film Festival because now they know how to partner with people with learning disabilities.
Borderlines Film Festival with DASh, Hereford April 2008
By Stephen Firshman
When the mini bus arrived at my house to take me to the Borderlines Film Festival I was still in bed and feeling very sleepy. We were taking Oska Bright 'On The Road' to be part of the festival at The Courtyard in Hereford. It took five hours to get to Hereford and when we arrived we got everything ready for the Oska Bright master class. 20 people came to the workshop which went very well. After the workshop we went to the hotel which had nice big rooms. In the evening we went into town to a pub where we ate food and drank beer. The next day we went to the cafe in Sainsbury's to eat breakfast, I had bacon and eggs and sausages. We went back to The Courtyard to set up the film screenings and then the audience arrived; the first screening was sold out so when I introduced the screenings I spoke to 127 people. Luke and Chris were making a small film about the day, everyone who talked to them said that they thought the festival was very good and that watching the films made them want to make their own films for Oska Bright 2009. In total 315 people saw the festival in Hereford which felt excellent.
Halesworth, Suffolk February 2008
By June Hall and Stephen Firshman
June Hall and Stephen Firshman from Oska Bright Committee at The Cutt Arts Centre in Halesworth, Suffolk
We hired a taxi for us to drive to Halesworth in East Anglia, this is the only OSKA BRIGHT 'On The Road' screening in the East of England.
We had a nice meal and a pint in a pub and then went back to our beautiful hotel.
The next day we went to 'The Cut' which is a theatre. We showed our films and Stephen and I did jobs like giving out leaflets, selling T-shirts and keyrings, introducing screenings and talking to people.
There was dancing in between the film screenings because Oska Bright was part of a bigger festival called 'Travelling Light'. We thought that was really good. Over 300 people came to see the films and they said they want us to come back in 2010.
At the end of he day we went to a very nice Italian restaurant with a local artist called Sophie.
The next day we went back to 'The Cut'and ran the Oska Bright master class. We made a film about a dog who wanted to go to the moon; everyone had a good time and learnt alot about film making. Three people who came to the workshop said that they were going to make films for Oska Bright 2009.
London, February 2008
By Andy Kee and Richard West
On Saturday 16th February Richard, Andy, Matthew and Stephen went to the British Film Institute Cinema on the South Bank in London to show three Oska Bright film screenings as part of the London Disability Film Festival.
Andy and Matthew presented the films to about fifty people; the audience all enjoyed the films.
We were able to meet someone from Skillset who are going to be sponsoring some of Oska Bright 2009.
It was great to be able to show our films in one of the most important cinemas in England.
Dublin December 2007
By Andy Kee and Stephen Firshman
Photograph of the Oska Bright team
We had a warm welcome after a bumpy flight and stayed in a hotel in Temple Bar.
On 3rd December we went to Filmbase to prepare for the festival. The first thing we did was run the master class with 16 students from Trinity College. They had lots of questions and lots of ideas for new films. The group made a film about Max the dog.
In the evening we launched Oska Bright in Ireland. We showed films and had a question and answer session about Oska Bright. People asked interesting questions and we talked for a long time. Afterwards people could talk to us as we had wine and snacks.
On 4th December it was Stephen’s Birthday. The students who were helping us to run the Festival gave Stephen a present and sang Happy Birthday. Afterwards we introduced the films to over 150 people who said it was good to have such a range of films shown together.
Afterwards we had a meal with people from Arts and Disability Ireland. We talked about future of Oska Bright in Ireland and coming back to develop the Oska Bright and film making opportunities for people with learning disabilities.
In the evening we went to a pub called The Porterhouse where we drank Guinness and cider to celebrate.
Penzance November 2007
By June Hall and Stephen Firshman
June and I went to in Cornwall with Mark and Simon to start Oska Bright ‘On the Road’.
It took a long time to get there but after a nice meal and a sleep in a comfy bed we were ready for work the next day.
Not very many people came to the film screenings on Tuesday which was a shame, but on Wednesday lots of people came to the master class. People said that the master class was very interesting and made them want to make films for Oska Bright 2009. We made a film together about a Hippo. BBC Spotlight came to the workshop and interviewed us for the TV.
This was the first time we had shown films in Cornwall and we hope to show more there in the future.
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Crippen (daveluptontoons[at]aol.com) said on 2008-02-02 19:22:
Hi guys, had a look at your web site. Youve managed that rare thing of being both accessible and interesting. Other site users could do worse than follow your example! Best of luck at this years film festival. Warm regards, Crippen
Paul Darke (bt55wxm[at]yahoo.co.uk) said on 2008-04-28 14:28:
oska Bright in Wolverhampton were excellent: it was a pleasure to have them and those who did the Masterclass thought it brilliant. Equally, Richard discussed on the radio how wonderful Brighton is whilst i pointed out how horrible it was; hopefully, you will be able to listen to the interview on www.outside-centre.info fairly soon.
Thanks Richard and all from Oska Bright who delivered an excellent film festival on the road as part of the Wolverhampton Disability Arts Festival - see my blog on DAO. Hope to see you in 2010. Paul Darke
last updated: 2008-01-11 11:05:53
tags : learning disabilities film festival