Film Festival success for students who led community creative initiative

Creative Arts students from NCC’s Ardleigh Green Campus were recruited to lead a youth-driven initiative which culminated in a highly successful one-day film festival.

The project, called Havering Enabling Young Creatives (EYC), was devised to open up more creative opportunities and to encourage more creative engagement from young people in the area.

The students partnered with local community organisations, including Havering Changing, Queen’s Theatre, MyPlace Youth Centre, Romford Film Festival, Havering Youth Council and Havering Council’s Arts Department, to collaborate on how best to generate more involvement from teenagers in the arts.

Working from July through to November 2024, the group – guided by Yidong Sun, who is a student at the University of the Arts London (UAL) – put together the film festival which took place at MyPlace in Harold Hill, and featured two established filmmakers and producers who screened their work and participated in Q&A sessions and interviews. The festival also showcased the talent and innovative work of the college students and other young people.

The Youth Board members who worked so hard on the initiative were Ardleigh Green students Ethan Abbot, who is studying Level 3 Creative Media Production, Liam Skinner, also a Level 3 Creative Media Production student, Sean Kerry, who is studying Level 3 Music Performance and Production and former Graphics and Photography student Alex Brooks.

The students said the main aim of the festival was to highlight local artists and to give them a space to show their work and connect with other filmmakers.

They said: “We want people to leave the festival more informed on how the industry works and to be inspired to create something new.”

Yidong Sun said he was impressed with the students and the professional way they had worked together with the community groups: “I am immensely proud of Havering EYC’s board members from New City College, who have actively led the festival initiative and successfully delivered it in Havering.

“The inaugural Havering EYC Film Festival showcased the power of collaboration and created a meaningful social impact in partnership with local arts and cultural organisations, focusing on four key areas: Creative Confidence, Creative Participation, Creative Involvement, and Creative Career Development.”

Chris Butler, Senior Curriculum Manager for the Creative Industries at Ardleigh Green Campus, said: “The students have worked hard and have produced a very successful event that has created new opportunities for young people and others in the community. They also had the chance to learn and develop themselves and to network with professionals in the creative industry.”

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