Random Acts North filmmaker Aaron Dunleavy talks about the experience of making his chilling, challenging short Strays, which was broadcast on Channel 4 earlier this year in series 4 of Random Acts. The film has screened around the world, with official selections at prestigious BAFTA and Oscar® qualifying festivals. How did you come up with the… Read More »
For your viewing pleasure we present an exclusive behind-the-scenes vlog from filmmaker, choreographer and dance artist Jack Thomson, whose short film Business is Brutal has just been published on Channel 4‘s Random Acts online platforms. Click below to watch – you can also click here to find out more about Jack.
Random Acts North filmmaker Jack Gill has made us this exclusive vlog with a sneak preview of his short film A Life Hereafter: A writer and director with a passion for narrative cinema and original storytelling, Jack’s films take risks in form, content and cinematic ambition. As well as his work with Random Acts… Read More »
Random Acts filmmaker Eleanor Edwards talks about the experience of devising and making her short film Illuminated. How did you come up with the idea for your film – and what inspired you to make it? Honestly I was lying in bed one morning and it sort of just came to me. But an idea that… Read More »
The new Channel 4 TV series of Random Acts features the work of two of our Random Acts Network Centre North alumni. The new series airs from Monday 21 August at midnight and is curated and hosted by actor and artist Zawe Ashton. Episode 1 on Monday 21 August includes the premiere of Illuminated (above) by interactive… Read More »
Random Acts North filmmaker Bella Spencer has written a blog on the experience of making her short film Staccato. Bella is a neuroscience student at King’s College London with a secret love for filmmaking. She is fascinated by the intersection between science and art, and the results that arise when the two subjects combine. My… Read More »
Our Admin Assistant Becky Orwin presents the latest update on our Random Acts North film production: It’s a very exciting time here in the Random Acts North HQ! We’re now a good way into our third year of the project, with our Year 3 Filmmakers busily developing their ideas before going into production. We’ve commissioned 25 artist filmmakers… Read More »
For the past two years, young artists from the North East and across the country have been hard at work creating bold, daring and challenging short films with help from Random Acts. Now you can see their eclectic mixture of work at Playback, a new exhibition heading to Tyneside Cinema this summer. Playback brings together over… Read More »
Random Acts North filmmaker Charlotte Landrum has just written a blog for Channel 4’s ‘Am I Normal’ about her experiences with anxiety and suggestions for some methods that have helped her cope with it in the past. Charlotte’s blog also has an exclusive preview of her Random Acts film ‘Cat Sitter Wanted’, which explores her personal… Read More »
After receiving a number of high-quality applications, we are delighted to announce that we have now commissioned 24 films for year 3 of the Random Acts North programme. We can’t wait to share details of these artist filmmakers with you in the coming months! Since our applications closed back in Spring 2017 the team have… Read More »
What does it take to make a Random Acts short? How do you work with another director to develop an initial idea into a finished film? In our latest vlog Year 2 Random Acts filmmaker Elsa Hunter-Weston talks about her experience of making the short film ‘Adam.exe’ with fellow young filmmaker Lucie Rigby: Watch… Read More »
Channel 4 have now published a selection of Year 2 Random Acts films from the North including Mani Kambo’s Towards a Summoning, Will Crerar’s Adrift, Yandass Ndlovu’s Run Boy Run, Beth Rose Harrison’s Wild and James Edwin Lane’s Heron Man. Watch the films below, or browse our Year 2 Artists here. Channel 4 will be releasing a… Read More »
We’re pleased to announce that the very first Random Acts North Year 2 film has just gone live on Channel 4’s YouTube channel! What is the value of human life? And what if you could bid for it? Lucie Rigby & Elsa Hunter-Weston’s brilliant short film adam.exe examines how the value of human life has been… Read More »
Peter Groom is an actor, dancer and choreographer working mainly with dance and theatre. He directed the short film Herd as part of Year 2 of Random Acts North and in the blog below he talks about the experience of being commissioned and creating his film. “I was very excited to be commissioned for Random Acts and for… Read More »
Applications to Random Acts North have now closed. Thank you to all those who have applied: if you have already sent us your application we will be in touch in the coming weeks. Please email [email protected] if you have any queries. Random Acts North – Frequently Asked Questions Can I apply if I live/study outside the… Read More »
We’re delighted that 23 films directed by young artists as part of Random Acts North are being showcased at Playback Festival in association with Random Acts, hosted by the ICA in London. The festival runs from Thursday 9 – Sunday 12 March and features 145 short films by young artist filmmakers made as part of the Random Acts… Read More »
Filmmaker and artist Ben Phillips is one of 24 young artists currently making films as part of year 2 of Random Acts North. In his vlog below Ben talks about the making of his short film ‘Night Bus’, which blends live action with animation created from over 1000 hand-drawn images.
Akeim is one of 24 young artists currently making films as part of year 2 of Random Acts North, and wrote the blog below after attending our most recent residential talent development weekend at Tyneside Cinema in Newcastle. My name is Akeim Toussaint Buck, I am a Jamaican born citizen of Leeds, UK. I… Read More »
When Standing in a Queue by Thomas Payton-Greene Filmmaker Thomas Payton-Greene creates both documentary films and artist moving image work that explores the absurdity of life and human existence. His stylish visuals and super-dry sense of humour are deployed to brilliant effect in When Standing in a Queue, a semi-autobiographical tale of a man whose acid-sharp inner… Read More »
Join us at one of our FREE workshops in Hull, Liverpool, Sheffield and Leeds to find out how you can make a film that could end up on Channel 4. Workshops are open to anyone aged 16-24 living or studying in the North of England, whether you’re an experienced filmmaker or have an ambition to make your first… Read More »
Performance artist Jamal Gerald makes his moving image debut with Let’s Walk, a short film made for Random Acts Network Centre North which explores how two different people – one male and black, and one female and white – have different experiences of privilege. Jamal Gerald is a performance artist based in Leeds. His work is conversational, socially… Read More »
The Brink by Alex Ayre In this conceptual dance film that combines choreographed performance and archive footage, director Alex Ayre takes award-winning dancer Connor Scott to some of the venues and places that shaped him as a person and a performer. Alex Ayre is an award-winning documentary filmmaker working for Northern Stars Production, based at… Read More »
Noise by Sarah Winslett Sarah Winslett is an artist and filmmaker living in the North East of England. Her stylish and dynamic film Noise explores feelings of anxiety, frustration, anger, suffocation and, ultimately, exposure and vulnerability in relation to the overwhelming noise created by the constant presence of technology in our lives. You can browse Sarah’s work… Read More »
TechNO by Sandfield Park School Film Club Let’s start a revolution! Let’s get rid of teachers and replace them with technology! A witty and sharply observed sci-fi film, TechNO explores the near future where everything from home economics to sport are delivered by a substitute teacher like none you’ve ever seen. This short film was… Read More »
Today we’re featuring director and choreographer Josh Hawkins, whose dreamscape dance film ‘The Blackest Day’ explores fragmented memories of broken soldiers. Taking inspiration from the Kendal Pals – soldiers from Cumberland and Westmorland who fought in the Battle of the Somme in World War I – ‘The Blackest Day’ struggles through distant memories to re-connect to… Read More »
It’s Not The Sunset by Denice Chung Today we’re featuring the work of visual artist Denice Chung, whose Random Acts short film It’s Not The Sunset captures a contemplative and revealing moment in a young woman’s life through a striking union of spoken word poetry and intimate, evocative images. Denice is an artist and writer working predominantly… Read More »
Lip Service by Cathy Garner Our featured artist today is Cathy Garner, whose short film Lip Service is a rumination on the tension between intimacy and alienation. It’s about being too much in your head when you’re meant to be in another’s. Cathy Garner is an accidental solipsist with a penchant for bad puns. She… Read More »
Zero Space by Paul Trickett Today’s featured artist is animator Paul Trickett, whose film for Random Acts North was inspired by how architects in Mayan culture used space. Paul’s unsettling short film re-imagines zero space – the transitional place between the interior and exterior – as a house between the conscious and unconscious mind. Paul… Read More »
Yandass Ndlovu is a 20-year-old actor, director/choreographer, spoken word artist and creative activist in training. She is one of 24 young artists currently making films as part of year 2 of Random Acts North, and attended our most recent residential talent development weekend at Tyneside Cinema in Newcastle. Yandass is from Manchester but spent most… Read More »
Doors of Perception by Raven Maguire Combining fire-dancing, poetry, visual effects and a hint of sci-fi, spoken word artist Raven Maguire creates a symbolic celebration of a woman throwing off the shackles of fear that cage her mind. Follow Raven on Twitter @itsmeraven, or on Instagram at @ravenradha
In A State of [Movement against Resistance] by Matthew Pickering In his Random Acts short film In A State Of…, fine artist Matthew Pickering explores the anxieties induced by hospital environments through a combination of sculpture, performance and sound design. Matthew is a fine artist and filmmaker based in Newcastle upon Tyne. He recently graduated… Read More »
Lunar’s F**ked Up Notion of a Dream by Lunar Rising A girl in a body bag. Angry farmers. Something strange in a box. Welcome to the weird world of Lunar Rising, a fashion photographer from Manchester who here recreates a powerful anxiety dream she had in her teens through a unique mixture of photography, live… Read More »
The Door to Door Poet by Matt Miller Matt Miller’s film debut features performance poet Rowan McCabe as he goes door to door in Newcastle looking to create new work based on the inhabitants’ experiences. A film about fear, boundaries and connection, The Door-To-Door Poet celebrates the place art can have in people’s daily lives.… Read More »
Twenty-three visionary short films made by talented young artists from the North of England as part of the first year of Random Acts are now being showcased in one place for the first time by Channel Four. The films form the centrepiece of Channel Four’s celebration of films commissioned by Random Acts Network Centre North, and… Read More »
Away From Now by Jack Fisher Using innovative 360 degree camera technology, Jack Fisher’s short film Away From Now creates an unsettling immersive experience that allows the viewer to navigate their way through an everyday landscape of emptiness.
Our latest blog post is by dance and theatre artist Lizzie J Klotz, whose short film To Suit, a quirky exploration of human mating rituals, was created by working in collaboration with dancers Alys North (above) and Charlie Dearnley and veteran natural history cameraman Paul Williams. You can watch Lizzie’s film below, and read more about her work… Read More »
Ahead of this weekend’s Residential at Tyneside Cinema for young Random Acts North filmmakers, we spoke to Richard Fenwick about his background, his role as an Artist Mentor and why young artists should apply to be part of Random Acts. A multi award-winning writer and director, Richard’s work is chiefly characterised by bold, imaginative storytelling,… Read More »
In the second of our interviews with Random Acts filmmakers we spoke to Josh Hawkins ahead of his short film The Blackest Day airing on Channel 4 on Thursday, 24 November 2016 at midnight. A dreamscape dance film exploring fragmented memories of broken soldiers, The Blackest Day takes inspiration from the Kendal Pals who fought… Read More »
Thinking of applying to Random Acts? Join our team in Manchester this January to find out how you can be commissioned to make a film that could end up on Channel 4.
We caught up with Nathan Glendinning ahead of his Random Acts film The Boneyard, screening on Channel 4 on Thursday 17 November 2016 at midnight. In The Boneyard Nathan creates a eulogy for the industrial past of his home town of South Shields, combining audio from research trips with newly shot sequences that explore the… Read More »
We are visiting Leeds University for an information session on Thursday 28th January at 1pm; a great opportunity for students to find out about us and ask any questions they might have about the application process and turning their ideas into short films.
We are visiting Liverpool John Moore’s University for an information session on Wednesday 3rd February at 1pm; a great opportunity for students to find out about us and ask any questions they might have about the application process and turning their ideas into short films.
We’re excited about our upcoming workshops including a Writer’s Workshop at New Writing North, and further Random Acts Workshops at Hull Truck Theatre, HOME Manchester, Signal Film and Media in Barrow-in-Furness, Leading Link in Bedlington, Northumberland, and Manchester Film Festival! Be sure to keep an eye out for these and more exciting things to come!
Join us at Jack Drum Arts 5-7pm on Wednesday 2 March to find out how you can apply to make a short film as part of the Random Acts North training programme with the opportunity to have your film broadcast on Channel 4. During the workshop you will learn techniques to help you generate your… Read More »
Join us at Theatre Delicatessen 5-7pm on Tuesday 26 January to find out how you can apply to make a short film as part of the Random Acts North training programme with the opportunity to have your film broadcast on Channel 4. During the workshop you will learn techniques to help you generate your… Read More »
Join us at The Dukes 5-7pm on Thursday 21 January to find out how you can apply to make a short film as part of the Random Acts North training programme with the opportunity to have your film broadcast on Channel 4. During the workshop you will learn techniques to help you generate your own short… Read More »
Join us at The Lawrence Batley Theatre 7-9pm on Monday 11 January to find out how you can apply to make a short film as part of the Random Acts North training programme with the opportunity to have your film broadcast on Channel 4. During the workshop you will learn techniques to help you… Read More »
We will officially be launching year two of the programme at the brilliant Aesthetica Short Film Festival on Friday 6 November in York. We’ll be running a drop-in information session from 3:30-5pm at York St John University alongside ASFF’s masterclass series which welcomes speakers from major film organisations including creative agency White Lodge, the Association of… Read More »