Vom 2. bis 8. Mai 2007 zeigte das Filmmuseum Potsdam zum zweiten Mal in Sondervorstellungen die Jugendfilmreihe „School of Life”des bekannten Britspotting-Festivals - dem deutschlandweit einzigen britischen und irischen Filmfestival.

Die spezielle Filmreihe für Jugendliche im Alter von 14 bis 17 Jahren (und darüber hinaus) ging während des Britspotting-Festivals 2005 an den Start und fand im April 2006 erstmalig auch in Potsdam statt.

Ähnlich der Cinéfête, die bei den Französisch-Kursen großen Anklang findet, bietet das Filmmuseum mit der „School of Life”-Jugendfilmreihe seitdem ein entsprechendes Programm für die Englisch-Klassen und -Kurse an. Dabei geht es nicht nur darum, die Sprachkenntnisse zu vertiefen. Wie der Titel „School of Life” schon sagt, handeln die Filme vom Abenteuer des Erwachsenwerdens mit all seinen Herausforderungen und Problemen, in unterschiedlichen sozialen und kulturellen Kontexten. Die Beiträge werden in der englischen Originalfassung (ohne deutsche Untertitel) gezeigt und sind fast ausschließlich deutsche Erstaufführungen. Neben einem ausgewählten Kurzfilmprogramm stehen seit 2006 auch (lange) Dokumentar- und Spielfilme mit auf dem Programm.

2007 bestand zusätzlich die Möglichkeit, im Anschluss an die Vorstellung einen Workshop zum Film zu besuchen (Dauer 60 Minuten, inklusive 15 Minuten Pause). Die Workshops waren für maximal 30 SchülerInnen vorgesehen.

SYNOPSEN DER FILME
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FEATURES
Vorfilm:
On Ice
(UK 3:45 mins) R: Esther May Campbell, D: Leah Morgan, Natalie Philips, Kiera Marie Somers
When Ellie’s nemesis arrives putting her off balance, her nemesis then arrives putting her off balance and so it goes on. We are left to wonder, whose story is this?

Kidulthood
UK 2006, 89 mins
Director: Menhaj Huda
Producers: George Isaac, Menhaj Huda, Damian Jones
Screenplay: Noel Clarke
Cast: Aml Ameen, Red Madrell, Noel Clarke, Jaime Winstone, Adam Deacon, Femie Oyeniran, Madeleine Fairley
Awards: “Best Screenplay” at Dinard British Film Festival 2006, Douglas Hickox Award for “Best Debut Director” at Britsh Independet Film Awards 2006, nominated for “Best Achievement in Production” at Britsh Independent Film Awards 2006
Festival Appearances: Sydney Film Festival, Rebelfest International Film Festival, Buster Copenhagen International Film Festival for Children and Youth, Dinard Festival of British Cinema, Bogota Film Festival

It’s just another day at school of West London teenagers Trife, Jay and Moony: beatings in the classroom, sex on the playing field and drugs in the schoolyard. But things are about to flip sharply for this tight trio and their crows. With school cancelled following the tragic suicide of bullied pupil Katie, the teenagers are all forced to face their own responsibilities and blame for the situations they have got themsleves into.

Nachdem Teenager Katie sich das Leben genommen hat, bekommen ihre Mitschüler den Tag frei. Statt über das Vorgefallene nachzudenken, sind sie jedoch viel zu sehr mit dem Üblichen beschäftigt: Sex, Drogen, Gewalt und Shopping. Abends treffen sich alle auf einer Party wieder und die Situation eskaliert. Gerade als Trife und seine Exfreundin Alisa sich vornehmen, ihr Leben zu ändern, wird klar, dass es dafür bereits zu spät ist.

Advice: Do prepare your class that violent scenes and sex will be displayed on screen and strong language is used.

Vorfilm:
Waiting
(UK 2006 5:15 mins) R: Rob Dean, D: Gabrielle Bennett, Josh Clarke, Jo Barnett, Poppy Barnett-Mottram
Two young children wait in the car for their mother to return, but what has she been doing?

Stranger than kindness
UK 2006, 71 mins
Director: Ian Cottage
Producer: Ian Cottage, Fiona Lockwood
Associative producer: Pille Rünk
Screenplay: Ian Cottage
Cast: Simon Rutter, Toomas Pruunsild, Tanel Tommingas, Rebecca Hayman, Jemma Turnball, Kate Heal

Stranger Than Kindness is a feature about trust and friendship, risk-taking and growing.
In October 2005 a group of young people from Shotton Hall and Greenfield Schools in County Durham went to the Estonian capital, Tallinn, to make a film with north-east filmmaker Ian Cottage within the Creative Partnerships Project ‘Trust’. The film was created with the help of the Estonian production company, Allfilm, and the young people themselves.
Asked to imagine what might happen on a school trip to Estonia, the two English groups and a group from Estonia came up with stories that explored themes of friendship, alcohol and trust whilst being away from home.

Stranger than kindness erzählt kleine Geschichten über Freundschaft, Vertrauen und den Zusammenprall verschiedener Kulturen.
Schüler der Shotton Hall und Greenfield Schools in County Durham dachten sich selbst diese Geschichten aus, die während einer Klassenreise nach Estland im Austausch mit estnischen Schülern passieren könnten und erarbeiteten gemeinsam mit dem Regisseur Ian Cottage das Drehbuch sowie wirkten in dem Film mit.
Der Film ist im Rahmen des Creative Partnerships „Trust“ Projekts entstanden.

True North
Scotland 2006, 96 mins
Director: Stephen Hudson
Producer: Sonja Ewers, Benjamina Mirnik, Eddie Dick, David Collins
Executive Producer: Helmut Breuer, Claire Chapman, Jamie Laurenson
Screenplay: Stephen Hudson
Cast: Peter Mullan, Martin Compston, Gary Lewis, Stephen Robertson, Angel Li

After another unsuccessful fishing run from Britain, the Scottish trawler Providence docks in Ostend, Belgium. Desperate to pull his skipper father (Gary Lewis) out of looming debt prior to assuming control of the boat, first mate Sean (Martin Compston) follows a lead from happy-go-lucky deckhand Riley (Peter Mullan) and strikes a lucrative deal with a shady businessman (German vet Hark Bohm) to smuggle some 20 Chinese immigrants in the forward cargo hold during their return trip. In a decision that will prove fateful, Sean decides to hide the presence of the refugees from not only the ship's cook (Steven Robertson), but from his father as well.
Back at sea, Riley is given the task of looking after the immigrants, which seems to consist primarily of emptying the waste bucket in the middle of the night.
When the skipper, who still doesn't know about the immigrants, decides to zigzag across the North Sea in pursuit of fish, Sean's plans take a series of disastrous turns as deteriorating conditions prompt ghastly choices.

Die Providence, ein schottisches Fischerboot kurz vor dem Konkurs, läuft in einen europäischen Hafen ein. Wieder reicht der magere Fang nicht aus, um die vielen offenen Rechnungen zu bezahlen. In dieser aussichtslosen Lage beschließt der Maat Sean (Martin Compton), 20 illegale chinesische Immigranten nach Schottland zu schmuggeln. Den Fischer Riley (Peter Mullan) weiht er ein, seinem Vater, dem Kapitän, aber wagt er es nicht zu erzählen. Doch ein ausreichender Fang bleibt aus, die Tage vergehen und die Situation der Chinesen unter Deck wird immer verzweifelter. Riley und Sean riskieren ihr Leben, als sie sogar bei Sturm das Netz einholen, in der verzweifelten Hoffnung, es könnten Fische darin sein. Als jedoch einer der Chinesen stirbt, weiht Riley den Vater ein…
(www.max-ophuels-preis.de)

Advice: Do prepare your class that death will be displayed on screen.

Seachd: The Inaccessible Pinnacle
UK 2006, 100 mins
Director: Simon Miller
Producer: Christopher Young
Executive Producers: Iseabail Nicllinnein, Carole Sheridan
Cast: Pàdruig Moireasdan, Aonghas Pàdraig Caimbeul, Colla Dòmhnallach, Dolina MacLennan, Winnie Brook Young, Crisdean Dòmhnallach, Daibhidh Walker, Annie NicLeòid, Calum MacFhionghain, Scott Handy, Toby Robertson, Iain Macrae, Vidal Sancho, Isabel NicRath

Làn fhìrinn na sgeòil. The truth is in the story. When a young man, Angus, visits his dying grandfather in hospital he cannot hold back his boyhood quest for the truth - the truth behind the death of his parents and the truth behind his grandfather's ancient, incredible, fearful stories. Stories from the whole swathe of Gaelic history of poisoned lovers, bloody revenge, water-horses and Spanish gold. His grandfather hijacks Angus' life for one last time leading him to one of Scotland's most treacherous mountains, The Inaccessible Pinnacle, and an ancient truth he never expected to find. Seachd: The Inaccessible Pinnacle is the first Scottish Gaelic feature film.

DOKUMENTARIES
Bloody Sunday – A Derry Diary
UK 2007, 87 mins
Director: Margo Harkin
Producer: Margo Harkin
Main Cast: Margo Harkin, Eamon McCann, Bishop Edward Daly, James (Banty) Nash

Bloody Sunday: A Derry Diary’ follows the course of the 1998 Bloody Sunday Inquiry from the point of view of the families of the victims as they travelled between Derry and London over a five year period. The filmmaker, Margo Harkin, was an eye witness to Bloody Sunday and gave evidence to the Tribunal of Inquiry.
The documentary gives another side to the story of that infamous day. Through Margo’s personal insight and sensitive interviewing techniques audiences are introduced to the people whose lives have been dramatically changed and impacted on as a result of Bloody Sunday.
The film includes eye witness accounts of families and friends of the dead, and those wounded on the day. Harkin also talks to the main players from both sides and the evidence they gave to the tribunal.

Am 30. Januar 1972 erschoss die britische Armee dreizehn unbewaffnete Zivilisten während eines Bürgerrechtsmarsches in Derry, Nordirland. In der folgenden gerichtlichen Untersuchung, entlastete Lord Chief Justice Widgery die Soldaten und zerstörte das Ansehen derer, die getötet oder verwundet worden waren.
1998 wurde ein neues Untersuchungsverfahren eröffnet. Diese Dokumentation folgt dem Verlauf der Untersuchung vom Standpunkt der Familien der Opfer aus. Die Filmemacherin Margo Harkin war selbst Augenzeugin des Bloody Sunday und sagte vor dem Untersuchungsgericht aus.

The Ballad of Vicki and Jake
UK 2006, 84 mins
Director/Producer: Ian Thomas Ash
Camera: Ken Kwek
Editor: Lizzie Minnion
Assistant Editor: Anthea Harvey
Executive Producer: Michael Croucher
Festivals: ZagrebDox 2007, Montreal International Film Festival 2006, Copenhagen International Documentary Film Festival 2006
Awards: Visions du Reel 2006/Nyon - Winner of the Regards Neufs Prix du Canton Vaud; Shadow Festival 2005/Amsterdam – non-competitive

Director Ian Thomas Ash's first feature documentary is the story of Vicki, a single mother struggling with addiction, and her young son, Jake. The film opens as Vicki and Jake are beginning a new chapter in their lives, moving from a homeless shelter into their own council house. But however hard Vicki tries create a home for herself and her son, she is unable to ignore old problems and avoid new ones that arise..
The rather controversial documentary combines interviews, scenes of drug abuse and touching moments of intimacy between mother and son. What emerges from the hours of footage is a raw film honestly depicting the omissions, manipulations and compromises demanded by filmmaking. Through a more than less observational or “fly-on-the-wall” mode of representation the director and camera operator become part of the story itself and the question occurs, how far they are allowed to go....

Wie weit darf ein Filmemacher gehen und wann gilt es, ein Projekt abzubrechen, auch wenn dies bedeutet, die Arbeit mehrer Monate zu ignorieren? Ian Thomas Ash erster Dokumentarfilm verdeutlicht, welche Konflikte zwischen Subjekt und der eigenen Zielsetzung entstehen können. Der Zuschauer nimmt aktiv daran Teil, wie die drogenabhängige und alleinerziehende Vicki versucht für sich und ihren Sohn ein stabiles Leben aufzubauen. Im gleichen Moment zeigt „The Ballad of Vicki and Jake“ inwieweit die Rolle bzw. die Anwesenheit eines Filmteams den Verlauf der Ereignisse beeinflussen können…

SHORT FILMS
(Coming-of-Age Films)

The Dawn Chorus (Dir.: Hope Dickson Leach; 15 mins)
It’s been seven years since the plane crashed, but Bonnie and Lloyd are still searching for their parents in the wreckage.

Love Letter (Dir.: Richard Fenwick; 9 mins)
A lovesick boy eventually plucks up the courage to give the girl of his dreams a love letter.

Wooden Soul (Dir.: Rehana Rose Khan; 11 mins)
Amber, eleven, is facing the imminent death of her father. She copes with the situation in her own way, which is charming to some and shocking to others.

For Mum (Dir.: Esther May Campbell; 3:38 mins)
Chana’s Mum is dying of cancer. Whilst Chana attempts to focus on the positive, the realisation that she’ll lose her Mum finally catches up with her.

Fast Learners (Dir.: Christoph Röhl; 11 mins)
Vicky, 15, has something important to say to one of the teenagers mersing around on Brighton Beach…

t.o.m. (Dir.: Tom Brown, Daniel Gray; 3 mins)
The journey of a young boy.
“My name is Tom, t.o.m. Everyday I have the same routine…”

Finders Keepers (Dir.: David Procter; 8:59 mins)
Tom and Sean have their own unique way of making their pocket money. A confrontation with an elderly man acts as an ethical turning point in their lives.

Faeries of Blackheath Woods (Dir.: Ciarán Foy; 3:45 mins)
Something peculiar happened that day. Curious Melissa was enchanted by some real Faeries. Ignoring her Mother, she followed them down into Blackheath Woods…

Tracks (Dir.: Martin Smith; 12:30 mins)
In a life where violence begets violence 13-year-old Nico reacts to a beating from his brother by stealing his cat. He then engages in an act of wanton brutality with devastatating consequences.

Growing (Dir.: David Alexander; 10:44 mins)
A study of three teenage boys, whose idle lifestyle of smoking, joking around and chasing girls, results in tragedy.