Derby Film Festival Young Programmers

Starting up a young programmers group within a festival.

Photograph by our DFF Young Programmer Camille Relet of our screening of Make Up + Q&A with actor and QUAD patron Molly Windsor as part of our Made in The Midlands screening aimed at 16-25yr Olds.   

Derby Film Festival (DFF) is based and run by myself and my colleague Adam Marsh at Derby QUAD in the last week of November. The festival seeks to celebrate the world of film culture and specialised film by bringing leading figures from the world of film to Derby. Derby Film Festival is supported by the BFI and is a leading regional film festival in the UK. 

Once we were back open at QUAD and planning for this year’s festival, (the first in person festival since before the pandemic), I started to look at ways in which I could get the younger members of the community involved in our festival. Through my role at QUAD and as manager of our BFI Film Academy short courses, I work with young people on a regular basis and see first-hand the enthusiasm not just for film and filmmaking but for the cinema experience.  

I had been thinking about starting a young programmer’s group but struggled to think of a way that I could facilitate that. That is when during lockdown I came across examples a lot of youth juries happening as part of festivals. That is when I thought of the perfect way that I could get young people involved and really give them an opportunity to shape our festival. This is where DFF Young Programmers was born, a group of 8, 18–30-year old's who are enthusiastic about cinema and that would go on to really help me shape the festival programme. 

 The aim of the group was to meet twice from August to November, one session at QUAD and another online going through the submissions for the festival. Together with the cinema team the young programmers decided what submissions made it, including a curated shorts programme highlighting their favourite shorts. 

After recruitment I discovered that many of the young people had skills in lots of various aspects. Therefore, as well as consulting on the programme with me, many offered their skills such as photography and video editing to the festival. 

Our Programmer Camille took some fantastic photographs during the festival like the one below of our screening of Metropolis with live score in Derby cathedral and they all introduced the DFF young Programmers Shorts programme with me.  

Tom made a fantastic festival trailer that was displayed on the screens around the venue leading up to and during the festival. 

Here are some of the programmers and their experiences as being part of the group.

Alicja 

Hello/ Cześć! I am Alicja, I was born in Poland and moved to England 3 years ago. My passions and interests revolve around the creative arts with a big focus on film. I was curious to meet other creatives in the area and take my love of film to the next level, which lead me to Quad. Being open to different genres and styles, DFF has allowed me to further my perspective. 

Thanks to DDF I came across such films as “Bums: A Day in the Life” by Liam Dexter. The film captures the lives of Rainbow and Steve, two best friends, throughout a single day. Their typical day seems to be anything but drinking and walking around Nottingham but, as the story develops, we change our perspective and begin to understand their actions, mistakes, and regrets. 

The short mocumentary is not only an authentic depiction of friendship but also a reflection of modern times. The film explores city life and its problems such as loneliness, judgement, guilt. You can also find a little comedy in this convincing and vivid story.  

Camille 

 I am a French multi-disciplinary artist. I have been passionate about cinema for a long time, growing up in France with the Festival de Cannes and the Festival du Film Francophone in Angouleme. However, I had never taken part in a Film festival before, but I was interest to see what needs to happen to create a film festival. I wanted to become part of the Youth Programmers Group for the Derby Film Festival because it was a great opportunity to discover new independent films of various genre from different countries, whilst learning about what happens behind the scenes to put in place a film festival. I enjoyed meeting up with like-minded people, who are passionate about cinema. The decision process was hard for me. 

Alisha 

Hi, I’m Alisha, a 20-year-old avid storyteller, collector of books I’ll never read and aspiring filmmaker. Born in Derby, the Quad is the place to be if you want to watch not only the latest films but some fantastic indie films. So, when the Young Programmers opportunity came long, I knew I had to give it a shot and the experience was incredible! Meeting more young people, who all share the love of film, getting an insight into how films are selected for festivals and of course watching some brilliant films by emerging filmmakers. One film that really stood out to me was Brink by Brink dir. Fred Warren, with its beautiful score and bewitching cinematography. 

Casey 

My name is Casey, I’m 18 and love comedies and period dramas. I wanted to join the Young Programmers Group to chat to other film lovers and make friends with like-minded people, which I have! I found out about the group after a friend noticed it on QUAD’s website and posted about it on social media. I’ve loved working with the group because I’m an aspiring media writer and it’s given me valuable insight into the world of film. Out of our Showcase pieces, I strongly recommend Rimi – it’s heartfelt and thoughtfully made, touching on themes we don’t often see in mainstream cinema.' 

I liked that the programmer’s group was a short commitment for the young people and consequently that contributed to the success of the group as people were able to commit to a shorter amount of time and fully focus on the curation of the festival.  Some of the programmers have now relocated since the festival but I am pleased to say that most of the group are continuing to work with QUAD but not as intensely.