Sir Michael Parkinson offers support!

Exciting news! Broadcaster, journalist and BFI fellow Sir Michael Parkinson has offered his support for the festival- stating that he is "looking forward to seeing it take shape"!

Parkinson (or "Parky" as he is often known) has had an incredible career in the broadcasting industry - starting out in television in the 1960s, presenting in particular Granada's late night film review programme Cinema, before moving on to present his famous Parkinson series where had the opportunity to interview the likes of Orson Welles, Woody Allen and Clint Eastwood. Such a career has clearly given him insight not only into the lives and experiences of such people but also into the world of film itself and as a result, we are delighted to have his support!

UCAS on board!

UCAS (Universities and Colleges Admissions Service- www.ucas.com), the company responsible for managing applications for higher education in the UK is now on board as an educational partner! They are the world's leading shared admissions service for higher education and consequently their support and involvement will be extremely valuable!

Hello all! This is Amy- the new “official blogger” for the Cheltenham Film Festival here- things are really stepping up with regards to the festival now and so I’ve volunteered to help out with keeping everyone updated!

First off, last week Martin and Adam met with Target (the festival’s marketing agents) as well as 11-55 (our commercial branding agents). A variety of matters were discussed regarding the festival’s advertising campaign, along with business-to-business fundraising, distribution progress, and various graphics concepts. The ball is definitely rolling!!

I’m very excited to say that progress is also being made with regards to the educational aspect of the festival. Gloucestershire College hope to come on board as educational partners and so Adam and Martin met with Andy Ginn from Gloucestershire College to discuss the possibility of delivering workshops where students can produce work that will later be showcased within the Shorts Cinema Screen! This would be a very exciting opportunity for students to get involved and have their work screened to a large audience!

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