News in Brief - May 2009
Film could take of for BAFTAS
A short film made by local director Alex Taylor has been chosen to represent Hackney in the Best of the Boroughs (BOBs) film awards.
His film, ‘Kids Might Fly’, is an offbeat portrait of young people in East London, centred on a homeless girl who is taken into care.
Alex took part in the New Pathways Film Fund partnership between Hackney, Tower Hamlets and Newham councils which is part of the London Borough Film Fund Challenge.
The scheme gives would be film-makers the opportunity to learn the latest film-making technology and techniques and pitch their own original script to industry experts.
‘Kids Might Fly’, along with Tower Hamlets’ ‘Mrs Birk's Sunday Roast’ by Kyoko Miyake, Newham’s ‘Milk Watch’ by Michael Taylor, and films representing other London boroughs, will be shown on the Film London website until 30 June, where you can vote for your favourite.
The winner will receive £2,000 and be in with a chance of securing an additional £2,000 as a separate prize. Winners will also be invited to a ceremony at BAFTA in July.
Cllr Nargis Khan, Cabinet Member for Community Services, said: “It is vital to support talent that we have locally. ”
To vote for Alex’s short film, visit: www.filmlondon.org.uk. The New Pathways Film Fund is financed by money raised from location filming in all three boroughs, and Film London.
For more information on the scheme, visit the Film page.
How does your garden grow?
There is still time to see how your horticultural efforts measure up in this summer’s Hackney in Bloom contest.
The competition categories are: best container garden; front garden; residential area; community garden; educational garden; business premises and pub.
Prizes will be awarded for the winning entries. The deadline for submissions is 12 June.
Application forms are available to download from the Hackney in Bloom page.
For more information, call: 020 356 4215
Calls for improved design
Mayor Jules Pipe has hit out at the proposed design for the 2012 media centres in Hackney Wick, saying it must be improved if they are to deliver a meaningful legacy for the borough after the Games.
He told the Olympic Delivery Authority (ODA) that its current design ‘does not meet the needs of the high quality employers who have expressed an interest in using the centres after the Games’.
The International Broadcast Centre and Main Press Centre designs have also been branded ‘extremely weak’ by the Government’s architecture adviser, the Commission for Architecture and the Built Environment (CABE).
Leading digital, media and creative industry organisations, some already based in Hackney but seeking to expand, are interested in moving to the centres which will provide 900,000 sq ft of employment space.
Mayor Pipe said: “We have consistently and strongly lobbied for both the broadcast and press centres to be on the same site in Hackney and crucially that the buildings are of a high quality, to attract high quality employers and therefore high quality jobs for the people of Hackney.
“Having won the battle to create future employment space here in Hackney, I am disappointed the ODA is putting the site’s future success at risk by proposing to use such terrible materials, particularly for the permanent ‘press centre’ building.
“I will use the short time we have left to continue pushing for better quality buildings so they can deliver a legacy that will be of long-term benefit to Hackney.”
An ODA spokesperson said: “Design work on the external appearance of the buildings is ongoing and we will be discussing updated proposals with our partners.”
Say it with flowers
There's still time to nominate your hero and see their name planted in a giant floral display in Clissold Park, N16.
The tribute can be for anyone who deserves to be honoured publicly – yourself or someone else, dead or alive, a group or organisation, or even a fictional character.
Artist Joshua Sofaer will reveal the winning name in June as part of the CREATE09 arts festival, celebrating culture in the lead up to the 2012 Games. His project, Rooted in the Earth, is one of two winning Create Art Award entries and will be a highlight of the festival which runs from 22 June to 2 August across the five host boroughs for 2012 – Hackney, Greenwich, Newham, Tower Hamlets and Waltham Forest.
Nominations must be received by 22 May. To enter visit: www.rootedintheearth.co.uk
Page updated: 15 Jun 2010
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