Ghetto Film School (GFS) London hosted its annual Table Read in partnership with Dell Technologies, on Thursday 23rd June, the first ever in-person, at the House of KOKO in Camden.
Ghetto Film School (GFS) educates, develops, and celebrates the next generation of great storytellers, with a focus on finding the writers, directors, producers and showrunners of tomorrow. The International Thesis Film Project is a real world production experience in which Ghetto Film School (GFS) New York, Los Angeles, and London Fellows write, shoot, and edit short Thesis Films in an international location.
This year, The International Thesis Project in Iceland, for students in all three GFS locations, is made possible by Dell Technologies and GFS x Dell XPS 2022 International Thesis Advisor, Yara Shahidi. With their support, Fellows have embarked on a months-long process of studying the classic and contemporary cinema of Iceland, and writing short scripts based on Icelandic culture, history, and landscape.
The top script, the director of the film, and the crew were chosen through a student-led selection process. Fellows received feedback from top actors and industry leaders through this Table Read. This summer, the student crews will shoot their Thesis Films during a 10-day trip to Iceland, and the finished films will screen at a premiere hosted by A-list actors and filmmaking professionals.
At the table-read 2 student-written scripts – Yggdrasils Bloödbärn by Evani Emily Harradine and Stronger (Sterkari) by Luna Garcia – were read by major names in the film industry including Christopher Eccleston Dodger, CBBC), Sophie Simnett (Daybreak, Netflix), Deborah Findlay (The Split, BBC) and Razan Nassar (Top Boy, Netflix).
The event then saw students receive live feedback from top industry professionals, Jane Featherstone – Co-Founder and CCO of SISTER (Chernobyl, Landscapers), Alice Pearse – Manager Original Series, Netflix, Gabriel Silver – Director of Commissioning, Drama, Sky Studios, and Díana Bermudez (Marvel’s Moonknight). Audience members included Elisabeth Murdoch – Co-founder and Executive Chairman of SISTER and Dan Isaacs – COO of SISTER.
Speaking about his involvement and support of GFS, Christopher Eccleston says: “It is essential to nurture and find new talent in filmmaking and Ghetto Film School is a great example of someone connecting talented young people with some of the best professionals in the business. I was seriously impressed with the talent on show tonight and can’t wait to hear about the students’ journeys into the industry.”
Ghetto Film School London’s Executive Director Tony Fernandes says: “This event is a perfect example of the GFS mission – bringing key industry players to meet young filmmaking and storytelling talent of the future. We give our students all the power and responsibility and their creative process and tonight’s event was no different. We were supported by the industry’s best and our students were given an incredible real-world opportunity.”
