The founding members of Inspired Film and Video met while studying at Staffordshire University and have been supporting its students through bursaries for several years.
This week, BA (Hons) Film Production students had the chance to bid for a cash boost to their final year projects and eight shortlisted were invited to pitch their film ideas to company director Ryan Lloyd.
“There were some very diverse, interesting ideas which made it difficult to choose the winners. Everyone’s presentation was excellent and I’m confident that all the students will go on to make excellent films,” Ryan commented.
“We want to help students realise their ambitions and hope that the injection of these bursaries will enable the winning students to do something that they wouldn’t otherwise be able to do.”
Three winners will each receive £250 towards their final year film projects. Once completed, one of the films will receive a further £250 for distribution.
Vapo Potdar successfully pitched for funding for her film ‘Un Momento’. The 25-year-old from India explained: “It is about reiterating how precious life is and I have a personal motivation because my mum is on dialysis.
“This bursary will help me find the right location. It will also enable me to pay for travel expenses, catering, costumes but mostly location. If I were to do it without the bursary, I would have to dilute the story which would not do justice to the idea.”
Fellow winner Kayleigh Pepper, 28, from Stone, said: “I’m surprised! I thought that I wouldn’t get it but I’m over the moon!”
Her quirky film ‘Where's My F***ing Sandwich’ pays homage to ‘90s cult comedies. The main character is overworked, tired, on her last warning at work and reaches breaking point when a colleague steals her lunch.
“The bursary will really help to up the production value, to make everything cohesive and authentic. It is based in the 1990s so I want it to be really nostalgic and to feel like it could have actually been made then.”
21-year-old Eles Gapelbe Santander, from Coventry, plans to use his bursary to shoot an underwater scene in his film ‘Mister____’. It tells the story of a young person on the day of the most important interview of their life, who realises that they don’t remember their own name and has to rediscover who they are.
“One of the things I enjoy about Staffordshire University is that they put so much emphasis on emulating the industry, putting yourself out there, going to pitches, real film shoots and learning how the professionals do it. We’ve definitely come out of these pitches with more experience than we had before.”
Eles added: “I want to create an abstract representation of what identity is. One of the ways to visualise that is having the character struggling to breathe underwater to reflect their mental state. It’s not something you see often so it’s really cool that I get to do it now.”
The bursaries were made available through the Staffordshire University’s Horizon Fund which provides scholarships, bursaries and opportunities for students funded by donations from supporters, staff, alumni and the public.
Find out how you can support the Horizon Fund and make a donation at https://giving.staffs.ac.uk/.