advisory committee
Julian Henriques
Dr Julian Henriques is a Reader in the Department of Media and Communications. He is a filmmaker and convenor of the MA Scriptwriting programme and the Music as Communication and Creative Practice BA and MA courses. Before Goldsmiths, Julian ran the film and television department at CARIMAC at the University of the West Indies, Kingston, Jamaica. His credits as a writer and director include the 1998 feature film
Babymother, a reggae musical and improvised short drama We the Ragamuffin. Julian researches street cultures, music and technologies and is interested in the uses of sound as a critical and creative tool. In addition, he is also exploring in how some of the mathematics concepts of topology can be used in the understanding social and cultural change. Julian’s professional practice has recently turned to sound sculpture, with Knots
& Donuts installed Tate Modern, in 2011, and at Khoj, New Delhi, in 2013. His publications include the jointly authored Changing the Subject: Psychology, Social Regulation and Subjectivity (1984) and he was a founding editor of the Ideology & Consciousness journal. Sonic Bodies: Reggae Sound Systems Performance Techniques and Ways of Knowing was published in 2011.
Babymother, a reggae musical and improvised short drama We the Ragamuffin. Julian researches street cultures, music and technologies and is interested in the uses of sound as a critical and creative tool. In addition, he is also exploring in how some of the mathematics concepts of topology can be used in the understanding social and cultural change. Julian’s professional practice has recently turned to sound sculpture, with Knots
& Donuts installed Tate Modern, in 2011, and at Khoj, New Delhi, in 2013. His publications include the jointly authored Changing the Subject: Psychology, Social Regulation and Subjectivity (1984) and he was a founding editor of the Ideology & Consciousness journal. Sonic Bodies: Reggae Sound Systems Performance Techniques and Ways of Knowing was published in 2011.
Yudhishthir Raj Isar
Yudhishthir Raj Isar is an analyst, advisor and public speaker who straddles different worlds of cultural theory, experience and practice. He is Professor of Cultural Policy Studies at The American University of Paris (Jean Monnet Professor, 2003-2008), Eminent Research Visitor with the Institute for Culture and Society at the University of Western Sydney, Australia (2011-2013) and a visiting professor at universities elsewhere. With Helmut Anheier, he was the founding co-editor of the Cultures and Globalization Series (SAGE), whose five volumes were published between 2007 and 2012. He has been a trustee of various cultural organizations in Europe and a consultant to the European Commission, the World Bank, the Organization of American States, the European Cultural Foundation and UNESCO. From 2004 to 2008, he was President of the European arts and culture advocacy platform Culture Action Europe. Earlier, at UNESCO, as an international broker of ideas for almost three decades, notably as Executive Secretary of the World Commission on Culture and Development, Director of Cultural Policies and of the International Fund for the Promotion of Culture. In 1986-87, he was the first Executive Director of the Aga Khan Program for Islamic Architecture at Harvard University and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT). He was educated at St. Stephen’s College, Delhi, the Sorbonne and the Ecole des Hautes Etudes en Sciences Sociales, Paris.
DAvid Somerset
David Somerset is the Adult and Communities Programmer at BFI. After completing a first degree I made films and created lens-based media art for live theatre and music performance. After an MA Film and Video in 1990 I continued making independent films. An emerging interest in writing for film led to working in adult education (including Birkbeck University and City Lit Institute). Permanent employment with the Museum of London and Docklands in 2003 followed after I was appointed curator of its public programme. Based at its West India Quay site and re-defining its institutional interface with the wider community led me to devise wide ranging events including performance, music, cinema of course as well as lectures and public debate and permanent gallery installation. Moving to the BFI Southbank in 2007, I have continued the aim of realising a community led programme of culture and learning, working closely with the audiences from all backgrounds. Ongoing collaboration with the African Caribbean community has resulted in an innovative strand of contextualised screenings entitled African Odysseys, that is ongoing. Other programming spans London based Chinese and South Asian audiences (recent Shyam Benegal w/e of films and on-stage discussion), programmers around Mental Health and Refugees as well as a major ongoing seniors project. Current projects include devising and presenting a season of films from the extraordinary and little recognised author and screen-writer, Jean-Claude Carrière; contextualisation of the films of Chilean director, Patricio Guzmán; a programme of film premieres from the ground-breaking project, New Caribbean Cinema, in celebration of 50 years of Independence for the West Indies and a mini season of films from radical South Asian film maker, Anand Patwardhan.
Ceri Dingle
My background post art school was in arts and education. I set up and ran an
anti-censorship art space prior to setting up the charity WORLDwrite over twenty
years ago and our Citizen TV channel WORLDbytes five years ago. I have been
developing and managing voluntary projects for over 25 years now and using film
and video evolved from global exchange programmes I was running as one way of
reporting back in the UK from Ghana, Uganda, the Amazon, Hiroshima and beyond
before the web existed. Over time film and programme making became our
predominant means of communicating fresh ideas and advancing new knowledge. Utilising video as a constant learning vehicle both technically-practically and politically was for us, an obvious way forward. I have always worked with lots of people locally and globally and find the fruit of a collective brain in programme making so much more rewarding than reinventing the wheel or battling on in isolation. Beyond the remit and whim of mainstream commissioning we have found a way of making programmes which involve a lot of people, up skill individuals and get a different message across. Funding is always an issue particularly for equipment upgrades, centre maintenance and paying anyone, but beyond that Citizen TV has no limits. I have directed nine feature documentaries and produced over 360 Citizen TV programmes with volunteers. I have additionally lectured across the UK, established accredited historical tours (Brick Lane & the London Docks) for visitors to London and am regularly invited to comment in the media on the need for open borders. Having said all that we don’t really do the ‘I’ thing at WORLDwrite, it’s not about ego or having a badge or getting ‘credits’ it really is about collective endeavour and engagement with issues people are passionate about.
anti-censorship art space prior to setting up the charity WORLDwrite over twenty
years ago and our Citizen TV channel WORLDbytes five years ago. I have been
developing and managing voluntary projects for over 25 years now and using film
and video evolved from global exchange programmes I was running as one way of
reporting back in the UK from Ghana, Uganda, the Amazon, Hiroshima and beyond
before the web existed. Over time film and programme making became our
predominant means of communicating fresh ideas and advancing new knowledge. Utilising video as a constant learning vehicle both technically-practically and politically was for us, an obvious way forward. I have always worked with lots of people locally and globally and find the fruit of a collective brain in programme making so much more rewarding than reinventing the wheel or battling on in isolation. Beyond the remit and whim of mainstream commissioning we have found a way of making programmes which involve a lot of people, up skill individuals and get a different message across. Funding is always an issue particularly for equipment upgrades, centre maintenance and paying anyone, but beyond that Citizen TV has no limits. I have directed nine feature documentaries and produced over 360 Citizen TV programmes with volunteers. I have additionally lectured across the UK, established accredited historical tours (Brick Lane & the London Docks) for visitors to London and am regularly invited to comment in the media on the need for open borders. Having said all that we don’t really do the ‘I’ thing at WORLDwrite, it’s not about ego or having a badge or getting ‘credits’ it really is about collective endeavour and engagement with issues people are passionate about.
GAreth jones
An independent filmmaker and international consultant, Gareth
Jones made a name as an innovator both in style and substance, though he has
also created commercial television films and series in the UK, Italy and Germany. His feature film DESIRE (2009) enjoyed a UK theatrical release and is now on DVD. Last summer he shot the second film in his desire-themed trilogy DELIGHT (2013). Author of two published novels and of film criticism, he was recently awarded a PhD by the University of Cambridge’s Modern Languages Faculty for his work on Holocaust Film based on Freudian trauma theory. With his partner Fiona Howe he founded and runs Scenario’s pan-European training programme BABYLON with funds from several European nations. From his work on festival juries from FIPA to Amiens to Tangiers, he is known as an advocate of world cinema and international co-production.
Jones made a name as an innovator both in style and substance, though he has
also created commercial television films and series in the UK, Italy and Germany. His feature film DESIRE (2009) enjoyed a UK theatrical release and is now on DVD. Last summer he shot the second film in his desire-themed trilogy DELIGHT (2013). Author of two published novels and of film criticism, he was recently awarded a PhD by the University of Cambridge’s Modern Languages Faculty for his work on Holocaust Film based on Freudian trauma theory. With his partner Fiona Howe he founded and runs Scenario’s pan-European training programme BABYLON with funds from several European nations. From his work on festival juries from FIPA to Amiens to Tangiers, he is known as an advocate of world cinema and international co-production.
ryan shand
Dr Ryan Shand is Research Assistant on the A.H.R.C. funded project ‘Children and
Amateur Media in Scotland’ based at the University of Glasgow. He has
contributed chapters to the anthologies Movies on Home Ground: Explorations in
Amateur Cinema (Cambridge Scholars, 2009), The City and the Moving Image: Urban
Projections (Palgrave, 2010), and his article‘Theorizing Amateur Cinema:
Limitations and Possibilities’ was published in The Moving Image. Ryan is also
the co-editor of Small-Gauge Storytelling: Discovering the Amateur Fiction Film
(Edinburgh University Press, forthcoming).
Amateur Media in Scotland’ based at the University of Glasgow. He has
contributed chapters to the anthologies Movies on Home Ground: Explorations in
Amateur Cinema (Cambridge Scholars, 2009), The City and the Moving Image: Urban
Projections (Palgrave, 2010), and his article‘Theorizing Amateur Cinema:
Limitations and Possibilities’ was published in The Moving Image. Ryan is also
the co-editor of Small-Gauge Storytelling: Discovering the Amateur Fiction Film
(Edinburgh University Press, forthcoming).
Saleha Ali
I’ve worked in digital media, web development, and research prior to working with and
helping to develop WORLDbytes. Having studied anthropology and linguistics at the School of Oriental and African Studies, it was brilliant to find a charity like WORLDwrite and its citizen TV project, WORLDbytes; for me, the charity’s critical approach to biological and cultural determinism is especially refreshing. Being involved in community film-making through WORLDbytes, I have found that privileging content over style in report and documentary-making has enormous potential in engaging an audience with non-mainstream ideas. The format employed by WORLDbytes is a novel approach and one which I believe goes some way in helping to create a uniquely robust platform for debate and discussion. I find that community film-making channelled through citizen TV is a perfect model for promoting the diversity of ideas. I often spend more time in front of the camera than behind it, hosting debate programmes, introducing complex issues and
interviewing challenging subjects on a myriad of topics. In spite of this extensive experience in front of the camera, I’ve never really considered myself a presenter or interviewer as such. Rather, for me this process is about doing what it takes to convey ideas and viewpoints that don’t get expressed.
helping to develop WORLDbytes. Having studied anthropology and linguistics at the School of Oriental and African Studies, it was brilliant to find a charity like WORLDwrite and its citizen TV project, WORLDbytes; for me, the charity’s critical approach to biological and cultural determinism is especially refreshing. Being involved in community film-making through WORLDbytes, I have found that privileging content over style in report and documentary-making has enormous potential in engaging an audience with non-mainstream ideas. The format employed by WORLDbytes is a novel approach and one which I believe goes some way in helping to create a uniquely robust platform for debate and discussion. I find that community film-making channelled through citizen TV is a perfect model for promoting the diversity of ideas. I often spend more time in front of the camera than behind it, hosting debate programmes, introducing complex issues and
interviewing challenging subjects on a myriad of topics. In spite of this extensive experience in front of the camera, I’ve never really considered myself a presenter or interviewer as such. Rather, for me this process is about doing what it takes to convey ideas and viewpoints that don’t get expressed.
ROGER ODIN
Roger Odin is Emeritus Professor of Communication and was the Head of the Institute of Film and Audiovisual Research at the University of Paris III Sorbonne-Nouvelle since
1983 until January 2004. A communication theorist, he is the author of numerous works : Cinéma et production de sens, A. Colin, Paris, 1990; De la fiction, De Boeck, Bruxelles, 2000 ; Les espaces de communication. Introduction à la sémio-pragmatique, PUG, 2011. He is a specialist of documentaries (L'âge d'or du cinéma documentaire : Europe années 50, 2 volumes, L'Harmattan, Paris, 1997), homes movies and amateur productions : Le film de famille, Méridiens-Klincksieck, 1995 ; Le cinéma en amateur, Communications n°68, Seuil, 1999. He is part of the Steering Comity of the European Network “City and Cinema” and is runing a research group on “Cell phones and creativity” (he has directed « Il cinema nell’epoca del videofonino », n° 568, Bianco e Nero, 2011).
1983 until January 2004. A communication theorist, he is the author of numerous works : Cinéma et production de sens, A. Colin, Paris, 1990; De la fiction, De Boeck, Bruxelles, 2000 ; Les espaces de communication. Introduction à la sémio-pragmatique, PUG, 2011. He is a specialist of documentaries (L'âge d'or du cinéma documentaire : Europe années 50, 2 volumes, L'Harmattan, Paris, 1997), homes movies and amateur productions : Le film de famille, Méridiens-Klincksieck, 1995 ; Le cinéma en amateur, Communications n°68, Seuil, 1999. He is part of the Steering Comity of the European Network “City and Cinema” and is runing a research group on “Cell phones and creativity” (he has directed « Il cinema nell’epoca del videofonino », n° 568, Bianco e Nero, 2011).
fiona howe
Fiona Howe is a producer, script writer/editor and international film consultant, besides her extensive musical interests as composer and performer. Most recently she combined all of these roles in Scenario’s feature films DESIRE, which she premièred at the Sarajevo Film Festival and steered through a successful festival showcase and UK theatrical release; and again on DELIGHT, shot summer 2012 and just completed. She has worked as a script and production consultant for more than twenty years, and gives screenwriting masterclasses around Europe, including for Scenario’s own training programme BABYLON, of which she is the Co-founder and Director, alongside her role as Managing Director of Scenario Films Ltd.
PRISCILLA IGWE
Priscilla Igwe is filmmaker who set up her own media company called Anointed Productions in 2004. Since then, she has worked with the community to produce short films, deliver training courses and set up film festivals and film clubs as a platform to screen the work and develop audiences. She has found success with Rapture | Films for the Faithful (www.rapturefilmclub.co.uk) based at Stratford Picturehouse with frequently packed audiences. Currently, she is managing The New Black Film Collective (www.tnbfc.co.uk), a nationwide network of film exhibitors, educators and programmers of black representation. It has a remit to fill the gap of black cinematic provision and act as a resource for the film industry in general. The intention is to stimulate a market and appetite for Black film that is sustainable and generates opportunities for Black filmmakers. Ultimately, Priscilla's passion is to be a successful screenwriter, waving the flag for British film and unearthing stories with both a crossover and international appeal.
Some images from the advisory committee meeting that took place at King's College London on the 24th of April 2013
