BAFTA-winning filmmaker directs 10 short films written by English students

University News Last updated 22 April 2015

Birmingham School of Acting's (BSA) class of 2015 have recently featured in 10 short films, directed by BAFTA-winning director and friend of the School, Michael Baig-Clifford.

The 10 short films each feature two to three students from the final year BA Acting degree course, as a showreel for each student upon graduating.

All the films have been based on entirely new screenplays, written by creative writing students from Birmingham City University's School of English.

You can watch a playlist of all 10 films here:

Writer of The Last Time, and BA English student, Rebekah Hill said:

I wanted to show a force of passion and intimacy in a solely emotional way through their reactions to each, touch and movement.

A passion so strong between two people that in the end one of them had to say goodbye. Originally they were meant to be in an intense heated struggle as they move up the stairs on their hands and knees together.

So in some ways I would have done it differently, if I were to make it myself, but then as a writer you have to be willing to accept the negotiations and ideas of others to make your work the best it can be, but just hope that you work with people that have a similar vision.

For the first meeting all the writers and actors sat in a huge circle with their scripts that they were to perform, and each jumped up to get into the middle to perform their piece.

The enthusiasm was incredible! Lively and boisterous so slightly intimidating, but then Perry and Ashia jumped into the middle and read through mine. My heart stopped, everyone was silent. Then the twist in the plot happens where Perry gets caught out and there is an uproar of 'ooooo' and banging feet on the floor.

I wasn't so scared anymore after that they seemed to like it and their reaction made me laugh, it was brilliant. My experience with the BSA students was fantastic, they are hardworking and enthusiastic.

Cast

Just Friends by Hassan Hussain (Lucy Glassbrook, Jarrard Richards, Eamon Turley)
The Last Time by Rebekah Hill (Perry Jaques, Ashia Llorente)
The Wrong Life by Nilofer Khan (James Edge, Amy Fallon, Roseanna Stanton)
You're Not Here by Emily Gates (Joshua Ford, Katherine Swan)
Waiting Room by Sabila Sajed (Rebecca Carrie, Dom Hartly-Harris, Alex Ranahan)
The Old Escape by Enya Landman (Alan Booth, Eleanor Buchanan, Alex Ranahan)
Strange Love by Scarlett Kefford (Marcel Clifton, Gabrielle Killick, Gina George)
Speak by Verity Cary (Roseanna Baggott, Matthew Socci)
Soul Music by Kris Taylor (Zachary Paul Lawrence, Alexia McIntosh, Jacob Wright)
Park Shocks by Razia Begum (Eva McGillivray, Jamie Seal, Jacob Wright)

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