Running over three years, the Cornwallis Film and Video Club was a youth-led project based at the Cornwallis Youth Centre N19, where young people worked with filmmakers and youth workers to learn how to plan, film and edit documentaries on subjects chosen by them.
The films were shown at the Holloway Odeon during Holloway Arts Festival each year as part of Reel Islington Screenings.
Here is what some of the young people involved have said about the project:
“It has been a valuable experience, and I’ve got to meet famous people"
“It’s been good to do something constructive, and learn how to use cameras well”
The Films
Why Do Teenagers Have Such a Bad Name (2008)
Working with filmmaker Carla Mackinnon and youth worker Tristam Bent at the Cornwallis Film and Video Club's free weekly sessions, a group of 8 young people produced a documentary film exploring the myths and realities about today's teenagers. The project was funded by the Big Lottery Fund.
"I enjoyed the whole experience of filming and working with different people to do the task"
- Rina, 15
The Panthers Project (2007)
A sixth-month documentary project about the Islington Panthers, a local youth basketball team.
The Panthers are split into under 16s and under 18s and follow a rigorous training programme under coach Guy Lawrence. The players are disciplined and committed,but is it enough to fulfil their dreams of professional basketball careers?
The project offered participants training and experience with a range of audio visual equipment including Sony Z1 cameras and editing software. Interview techniques, storytelling and sound were also key elements in the project. Workshop participants focused on the reasons for and development of the recent rise of basketball in the UK and interviewed key players in the UK basketball industry. The project was funded by the Big Lottery Fund.
"The club has given me an opportunity I wouldn’t get anywhere else, so I seized the chance when it came. I will be so proud when the film is shown."
- Justin, 16
Hip Hop Heritage (2006)
Members of the Cornwallis Youth Project and artist David Blandy, made a documentary film which investigates the history of hip-hop and its impact on London society. It was funded by HLF's Young Roots Programme.
This video was filmed, edited, and promoted by members of the Cornwallis Youth Club - all skills that were developed during the course of the project. The film features in-depth interviews with people from the area and also “experts” in the field, like DJ’s Trevor Nelson from BBC Radio 1 and Dave VJ from Choice FM, and MC’s Skinnyman and Infinite Livez.
The team asked several different questions, to try to examine the personal and social impact that Hip-hop has had on British culture over the last twenty years. Questions like; “How was Rap Music born?”, “What is Rap’s relationship to earlier underground music from the UK?” and “how do you think hip-hop has effected UK society?”. The team also conducted research at the London Metropolitan Archive, looking at what a resource like that could tell them about such recent history.
David Blandy is a Holloway-based artist who has exhibited internationally, recently featuring in the two-person show “Represent” at Gasworks in Vauxhall. Previous projects in the community have included “Ya get me?” (2003) and “Radio Nights” (2005), both commissioned by Artangel Interaction.
“I learnt how hip-hop started”
“The project has given me a true insight into how hip-hop has affected different generations”
“I’ve found that hip-hop is a hundred different things to a hundred different people”