words: HELEN LOCK
NOW in its 10th year, the annual Ffresh Festival: The Student Moving Image Festival Of Wales, arrives in Newport for 2012. Featuring a selection of the best student work from Wales, the UK and abroad; along with masterclasses, panel sessions and workshops with some of the industry’s most renowned and respected figures, this year’s lineup is looking particularly exciting.
Ffresh celebrates the best up-and-coming talent and moving image work from around the world, and also provides a vital link between higher education and the media sector. Organised by The Festivals Company, Ffresh 2012 will take place at the Newport Film School from Mon 6-Fri 10 Feb.
Among the festival’s highlights, director Mike Leigh will deliver a masterclass on Mon 6 Feb; imparting some of his knowledge, stories and expertise from a distinguished career. American film-maker Jonathan Caouette will also preside over a unique masterclass and retrospective on Wed 8. Caouette’s Walk Away Renee will also be shown as the festival’s opening night film on the same evening. Asif Kapadia, who directed the hit 2010 film Senna and spent a year at the Newport Film School, will similarly be discussing the progression and development of his career on Thurs 9.
The Ffresh festival programme also includes all the shortlisted work for the Ffresh Awards, into which students from around Wales and the UK have submitted their work. The winners are to be announced during the Ffresh Awards Show on the final night of the festival. Ffresh also works together with 14 partner festivals around the world who annually select work to feature as part of the festival programme. As well as showing the work of the finalists, panel sessions are to be held about Roath Lock (the BBC drama village), FX companies in Wales, and Festivals Vs The Internet, which examines which is the best platform for students to gain exposure for their work.
The Ffresh programme also includes the Newport Stories exhibition which includes a selection of photographs, stories and visual poems from the Newport Stories project plus five new short films adapted from the stories by students from the Newport Film School.
Ffresh at the Newport Film School, Mon 6-Fri 10 Feb. Tickets are available to buy from the festival website. Info: www.ffresh.com