London 2012 blog

Read more of “Sport and education for the 'now' generation”

The Cultural Olympiad is about everyone.  It is about those inside and outside this organisation.  When I started here a year ago, as Jude Kelly’s Personal Secretary, I used to chant “I’m not corporate, I’m creative…” . We work in Canary Wharf, everybody knows that. We are a corporation and that can seem alienating, especially in the field I’m in, but at the heart are people who genuinely believe in what they do. We are working to bring outsiders in, opening up the opportunity of the 2012 Games. The truth of it is creativity is exactly the kind of thinking we work with here.   

When I’m not here I’m based on Brick Lane, working with designers, stylists, and writers encouraging new and emerging talent to get active and develop their skills through an international magazine.  When creative professionals ask me how they can get involved in the Cultural Olympiad I always say- “You have to figure out how to include yourself.” Read about the Cultural Olympiad, watch the Vox Pops on the website, talk to each other about your ideas - start thinking like insiders.

It’s your Games, it’s your Cultural Olympiad, what are you going to do about it?

I recently caught up with Tim Cagney, Head of UK Partnerships at the UK Film Council to ask him a few questions about Film and Video Nation…

What is your opinion of film making in the UK and why is it important that it features in the Cultural Olympiad?

Film can inspire, move, create, entertain, and educate. It reaches out to people of all ages, from all backgrounds and all cultures. It brings people together, creates understanding, transcends cultural boundaries. Film has universal appeal and it can tell personal stories.

Since film began, the UK has had a history of producing a rich stream of talented and creative filmmakers and today’s generation of British filmmakers are working at the top of the game. Directors such as Paul Greengrass (United 93 and The Bourne Supremacy), David Yates (Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix), Joe Wright (Atonement), Shane Meadows (This is England) to name just a few are making films that audiences in the UK and around the world want to see and which also win international awards. 

However, there are young people who face barriers when engaging with film. A range of initiatives supported by the UK Film Council, its regional and national partners and a number of education partners are working to combat this. The Film and Video Nation programme featuring in the Cultural Olympiad will help young people make their own films. By providing inspiration and creative opportunities for tens of thousands of young people, this programme will support and nurture emerging filmmaking talent by helping those who want to pursue careers in the industry to gain practical, hands-on filmmaking skills so they can tell their stories in their own way.

Read more of “Spotlight on Film and Video Nation”

Read more of “(Almost) meeting the Fu Wa”