ReVoice Film Commission
We are seeking to commission a film that documents and explores marginalised intangible cultural heritage (ICH) through the project research questions across all study regions (see context below).
We are looking for a creative, dynamic, and culturally sensitive filmmaker (or filmmaking team) who will engage with the research project teams across the regions, who can articulate their creative practice methodology to provide new perspectives on the research questions, to successfully produce an engaging (documentary) film that aims to change policies, practices, or behaviours to make marginalised ICH more visible and resilient and is itself an expression of ICH.
The work will be produced to a high professional standard, it will be exhibited at public engagement events aligned to the outreach programme of the project and may be entered into festivals and distributed by other means at the discretion of the Commissioner.
Context
This commissioned work will form a key output of a European Commission-funded project entitled Re-voicing cultural landscapes: Narratives, perspectives, and performances of marginalised intangible cultural heritage led by Falmouth University with partners the universities of Latvia, Tartu (Estonia), and Groningen (The Netherlands).
The Re-voicing Cultural Landscapes project will use archival and desk research, primary data, and creative practice-based research compared across minority cultures in the UK (Cornwall), Netherlands (Fryslân), Latvia and Estonia (Livonian). The project aims to better understand the interplay between majority and minority narratives, perspectives, and performances of intangible cultural heritage, to make marginalised cultural landscapes more visible and resilient, and produce impactful insights to inform local communities to (inter)national policy-makers.
The project focuses on three local cultural events in each region as a lens. In Cornwall e.g. these are Padstow Obby Oss, Penzance Mazey Day and Redruth International Mining and Pasty Festival.
Using inter-disciplinary and cross-national perspectives, the project will ask: How can a better understanding of the interplay between majority and minority narratives, perspectives, and performances of intangible cultural heritage enable us to make marginalised cultural landscapes more visible and resilient?
The project will interrogate the function of ICH in general, and language specifically, in the performance of marginalised identities, in particular in cultural live events such as festivals and theatre. It asks how ICH is accessed and engaged with and how can we develop greater synergy and understanding between majority and minority to make ICH more resilient, including e.g. to the impacts of Covid-19.
This work is being commissioned by Screen Cornwall working in partnership with the Sound/Image Cinema Lab, and you will be supported by and report throughout the production to the Executive Producer Denzil Monk.
The successful commissioned party will work closely with Falmouth University School of Film and Television staff and students in the production of the film, e.g. offering work experience opportunities to students in production roles throughout the project.
Audience
This output will be cross-regional and should aim to engage audiences in each of the partner regions as well as appealing to global audiences in academic, policy and public settings.
The core aim is to engender better access and awareness of marginalised ICH in the study regions and increased inter-cultural understanding. This documentary has the potential to engage wider audiences and provide direct impacts for a broad range of audiences, we are interested to hear how you think the film might reach which audiences in your proposal.
Production Fee
An all-inclusive fee of £10,000 (ten thousand pounds) inclusive of VAT will be paid for the commissioned work according to the payment schedule.
The Production Fee must costs cover all production costs including any proposed archive material and production staff/student crew travel to capture footage in partner countries, i.e. in Latvia, Estonia and The Netherlands as well as Cornwall.
Support
The Sound/Image Cinema Lab will support this project by providing you with:
· Executive Producer – who will liaise with you throughout the production to agree on your production schedule, approvals and answer any questions that arise.
· Falmouth University School of Film and Television in-kind loan of equipment and facilities, where practicable, including e.g.: camera, lighting & sound equipment, and post facilities including technical staff support.
· Design, recruitment and support of production crew work placements.
Delivery materials
· Film and Video Materials (spec will be provided)
· Publicity Materials
· Documentation
o Final Cost Report
o Any applicable rights clearances
o Completed Equality Monitoring Report
Submission requirement
Submissions by email only in PDF format to info@screencornwall.com
No more than 1p A4 | CV detailing relevant experience, credits, skills. If the proposal is from a production company or team please include CV for each key person and (if applicable) company.
No more than 3pp A4 | APPROACH detailing vision, style, approach. If you wish you can include one reference link (e.g. Vimeo) to your previous work.
CRITICAL DATES
Submission deadline: 17:00 Tuesday 02.11.21
Commission decision: 30.11.202
Filming commenced by: January 2022
Post-production: Spring/Summer 2023
DELIVERY DEADLINE: 14.07.2023
FAQs
1) Why the combination of Latvia/Estonia/Netherlands and Cornwall
All have minoritised cultures in majority settings.
2) How will the film link with the wider research project? E.g. will it need to reflect the team's unfolding research/findings, or will it be something additional?(and the director effectively is going through a research process too)?
This is quite an open brief - the short answer is yes to both, but quite open to interpretation.
3) Will there be support available for securing contributors/locations (and potentially interpreters) abroad?
Yes, it will be contained within the project’s reach - i.e. either project participants or their direct connections
4) Will the film need to be subtitled? (and in which languages - additional budget?)
It depends on the approach and how the film uses languages. We would not expect lots of translation/subtitling to have to come out of the £10,000 production fee.
5) Will each of the 12 regional events need to be included in the film, or a selection?
It is too early to tell - a flavour of each region, but no specific requirement except perhaps something of the final performance, which will comprise in more than one place/culture and will be performed in Cornwall at an international conference at the end of the project.
6) Does the work experience placement(s) need to be paid?
If it is a work placement with a student who is currently studying it does not need to be paid but would need to cover expenses including travel. Anyone outside of education must be paid a fee.
7) Budget will likely be tight - any scope for securing more funding later on?
You could bring in match - from other sources or crowdfunded, but this would have to be on your resource (although obviously the project team would support where they can) and if not secured would have to be add on nice to have rather than the project successful delivery hinge on it.
8) Are there further research questions?
It is early on in the project so this is not yet clearly defined.
