North East Screen, in partnership with the North East Universities Screen Network (NEUSN), is proud to announce the launch of Connected Campus@NEUSN programme – an ambitious programme designed to bridge the gap between academic study and real-world experience in the screen industries.

This launch with the five North East universities: Durham University, Newcastle University, Northumbria University, University of Sunderland and Teesside University –  follows swiftly off the back of Connected Campus@NSoA partnership established between North East Screen and The Northern School of Art.

Connected Campus@NEUSN consists of two high profile events in this academic year. The first, Frame your Future, devised by all partners and led by North East Screen’s Education Partnerships Manager, Catriona McAvoy, was held on Wednesday 5^th November in Durham. This gave students from all five universities exclusive access to industry experts, practical workshops, career understanding and networking opportunities.

The practical elements of the event saw students learn about digital content from a local content creator working with big brands and creating short-form engaging vertical content; about scripted productions with a presentation and task from two regional location managers and a presentation about pitching unscripted ideas for factual TV programmes.

Gayle Woodruffe, Operations Director at North East Screen:

We’re committed to nurturing a thriving, inclusive, and sustainable screen industry in the region. This collaboration with the North East Universities Screen Network is a powerful step forward to ensuring we have multiple pathways into the industry.

By directly connecting students with leading industry professionals, North East Screen are  not only equipping them with the knowledge and confidence they need to succeed, but also fostering a talent pipeline that will ensure people can have a career in the screen industries and stay in the North East.

Connected Campus is part of the BFI Skills Cluster partnership work of Screen Alliance North, made poss a unique partnership between the northern screen agencies (Liverpool Film Office, North East Screen, Screen Manchester, Screen Yorkshire) driving inclusive growth, skills development, and sustainable screen production across the North of England. The aims of the programme are to equip students with the skills, confidence, and networks needed to thrive in film, television, and digital production.

Neil Percival, Chair of the North East Universities Screen Network and Co-Director of Cultural Partnerships at Northumbria University:

This partnership is real, tangible evidence of what we can achieve when universities work together with the sector to support the creative industries and build a robust skills pipeline for the future. The collaboration mirrors the work we’re doing through the Universities of the North East of England (UNEE), where these same five institutions recently established a creative industries group.

By pooling our resources and expertise, we’re able to provide opportunities for our students that no single institution could offer alone. We’re competing as a region, not as individual universities, to make the North East a destination where talented young people actively want to come and study film. With production in the region growing significantly over the past two years, there’s never been a better time to be training for a career in the screen industries here in the North East.

NEUSN is a network set up to generate collaboration between staff and students from the five North East Universities in subject areas related to screen-based media, production and industries, in order to maximise the potential benefits of joint research, teaching, employability activities, skills development and income generation, in support of regional and national screen sector partnership, resilience and growth. The network holds joint research development events for academic colleagues as well as careers focused events for students from all five institutions.

This project has been part-funded by Screen Alliance North with the support of BFI, awarding National Lottery funding.

To find out more about the Connected Campus opportunities available for education establishments in the North East, visit www.northeastscreen.org/education-partnerships

The new talent initiative from BBC Writers is pairing fresh voices with production companies based in the region to develop ambitious short films, continuing its commitment to champion regional voices. Among the seven compelling stories, Doppleganger from North East writer Alison Carr and North East production company, Candle & Bell, stands out.

Doppleganger explores identity and the unsettling experience of meeting one’s double. Written by Alison Carr, Doppleganger brings Carr’s originality to the screen in this brilliant short.

Gateshead-based Candle & Bell, a female-led indie known for nurturing northern talent and producing award-winning content, led a full North East crew and cast to shoot Doppleganger entirely in the North East earlier this year.

Development Director, Lisa Laws:

Doppleganger is exactly the kind of bold, character-driven storytelling we love to see coming through broadcast led writers initiatives. Its the kind of creative risk-taking we’re championing here in the North East – full credit to Alison Carr and Candle & Bell for creating this superb short made entirely with talent from the North East.

“Production in our region is up 131% in the last year. As our screen sector continues to grow, stories like this show audiences what our next generation of home grown writing and production talent can deliver. We’re proud to support the storytellers who are taking their first steps into broadcast and putting the North East on the map.

Long Story Short is the result of a brand-new talent initiative from BBC Writers, created to shine a light on the next generation of UK screen writing talent. Spanning all four nations of the UK, Long Story Short pairs fresh writing and directing voices with local production companies to develop authored, ambitious short films destined for BBC iPlayer and BBC Three. The result is a slate of seven remarkable short films, each one a testament to the energy, imagination and craft of the teams behind them. Long Story Short champions homegrown storytelling, amplifying voices from every corner of the country, and providing a platform for fresh perspectives that reflect the richness and diversity of the UK today.

The seven writers are alumni of BBC Writers talent-development work. Each film is produced by an independent production company which has been supported by the BBC’s Small Indie Fund.

This project was made possible thanks to the support of colleagues across BBC Drama Commissioning, BBC Three, BBC iPlayer, BBC Scotland, BBC Northern Ireland and BBC Wales, alongside screen agency partners Creative Wales, North East Screen, Northern Ireland Screen and Screen Scotland.