A touch of Hollywood comes to Stockton

We visit the Tees Valley International Film Festival to discuss the arts scene in the North East.

Transcript

00:00My name is Michael Luke. I'm director of the Tees Valley International Film Festival,

00:04the greatest celebration of creative media the world has ever known.

00:07When we started the festival, we thought, well, one of the reasons it started

00:11was because we've never had anything like this before.

00:13So it was like, well, how do we position it?

00:15I think it's fair to say that independent film, if not the arts in general,

00:18is underrepresented in Teesside.

00:20Starting out as an actor but quickly realising he could make a difference

00:23in the lives of many by creating a festival that celebrates filmmakers

00:26from the very first film to those who have been in the industry for decades,

00:30Michael Luke is a man on a mission to change the landscape

00:32for the creative community in the region.

00:34We have industry professionals coming down, like Jill Halfpenny this year,

00:37Sean Dooley, Stephen Tomkinson, for example,

00:40and they're talking about their careers.

00:42And everything is done with a kind of an advisory slant,

00:45with a thread of learning and development going through it

00:48so people can sit in the audience and think, they did it,

00:51they're from the same streets as me.

00:53If they can, maybe I can too.

00:55There's a heavy slant towards people starting out, the grassroots element,

00:59because that's where you affect change.

01:01So there'll be untold support, there'll be a great atmosphere,

01:04there'll be a breeding ground for collaboration as well

01:07to meet people who are like-minded, and all of these things combined

01:10will increase the kind of engagement with creativity

01:13and independent film in the region that we want,

01:15which will supplement the growth of the festival

01:17and just make for a really good time and hopefully spur people on to do more.

01:21With such an emphasis on championing those just starting out

01:24in the filmmaking journey, as well as a clear importance placed on local talent,

01:27such as the festival highlight Palme d'Or Award for the Best North East Film,

01:31it's clear that whilst the schedule is an entertaining one,

01:33unearthing and supporting those from the region

01:35who hope to work in film and TV is important to the festival.

01:38We've got an infrastructure for people coming through

01:41who do it through a hobby or a passion or for the first time,

01:43but above that we've created paid opportunities for people

01:46who think, I want this as a career.

01:48And all of these things combined will hopefully,

01:51and I'm very, very confident that it will ultimately,

01:54result in the Tees Valley becoming a real centre

01:57for independent film and creative media, a national leader in fact.