Manchester Academy students attended a four day summer school at Rekindle and the Whitworth

Over the summer, nine Manchester Academy students across year 9 and year 10 worked with film-maker Izzy Pye, and creative writer Demereece Green as part of a 4-day summer school across the Whitworth and Rekindle.

Day 1

Students visited Rekindle in Hulme, Manchester, and spent the day getting to one another through ice breakers and lunch. The rest of the day involved learning from Izzy and Demereece about their practice, careers, processes, and their brief for the 4 days. The participants were divided into 3 groups of 3, brainstorming their ideas, and were tasked with creating a short film, over the next 3 days to convey a visual narrative of their imagined future.

Day 2

On the second day, students spent their time at the Whitworth working with Demereece to refine their approach to creative writing. They consolidated their ideas onto paper and Ipads, drawing inspiration from the Whitworth’s exhibitions, building, green space, and developed storyboards.

Day 3

Returning to Rekindle, it was apparent that film ideas were taking shape very quickly. Groups arranged themselves to undertake individual tasks, that eventually enable them to pull together individual contributions and begin putting together their final outcomes. Activities ranged from recording dialogue in the form of spoken word, layering recordings and images, as well as filming additional scenes, singing and making sound effects for their films.

Day 4

Students made final touches on their films, before a shared premiere at the end of the day.

A celebration evening will take place on Thursday 18th September 2025 to commemorate the Imagined Future films, and the 1st year of the Mildred Project works.

Thank you.

Jason
Participation and Audiences Assistant