Those of us who work in British television read “Broadcast” magazine, and this week it reports that many commissioners treat indie producers discourteously by cancelling meetings at the last minute. This has been going on for years for both indies and in-house producers too – when I was Head of Network Development at BBC Wales from 1997 to 2000, I was regularly phoned to postpone a commissioning meeting during my train journey from Cardiff to London. All sorts of explanations were offered – “Sorry, he’s moving house today” was one of my favourites. I never complained. I was too afraid of upsetting the masters of my universe at the time.
I am delighted to let you know that I have signed a deal with Films Transit International. It should ensure that “Bastards” will reach viewers all over the world. Founded in 1982 by Jan Rofekamp, Films Transit International is one of the longest running, renowned and respected international sales agencies of quality documentaries with offices in Montréal and in New York http://www.filmstransit.com Jan offered to represent the film within 24 hours of receiving it. After three years of hard work to produce the film, this was my dream come true! It is a great pleasure to be working with Jan and with his New York colleague, Diana Holtzburg, whom I met at Sheffield in June. The plan is to give the film a year on the film festival circuit, and...
I’ve been on the Board of Governors of Newport University for two years. It’s been a time of massive upheavals for everyone involved in Higher Education with tuition fee increases and a change in the way universities are funded, making students responsible for paying more of the cost of their education. In Wales, we’ve had an extra level of challenge from our Minister for Education Leighton Andrews, who wanted to see the creation of fewer better universities which could compete more effectively with institutions across the UK. It’s not been straightforward or easy, but Newport has merged with Glamorgan University to form the new University of South Wales. I am pleased to be a member of the new Board of Governors for USW. I hope that we are in the...
The brilliant and prolific composer Debbie Wiseman has written a note about writing the music for my film…. As soon as I heard about Deborah’s film, I knew I wanted to compose the score. Deborah envisioned moving, uplifting music, with a northern African flavour, to follow the emotional, personal stories as they unfolded; and as I watched the rough cut I was immediately inspired to write a main theme for Rabha. Once I’d composed the main theme, the rest of the music flowed naturally – the film is moving, heart-breaking, touching and full of hope in the face of adversity, so it was easy for me to follow and musically reflect these moments. I composed for ethnic flutes, guitar, percussion, harp and a full string section, and the different musical...
As soon as I heard about Deborah’s film, I knew I wanted to compose the score. Deborah envisioned moving, uplifting music, with a northern African flavour, to follow the emotional, personal stories as they unfolded; and as I watched the rough cut I was immediately inspired to write a main theme for Rabha. Once I’d composed the main theme, the rest of the music flowed naturally – the film is moving, heart-breaking, touching and full of hope in the face of adversity, so it was easy for me to follow and musically reflect these moments. I composed for ethnic flutes, guitar, percussion, harp and a full string section, and the different musical themes build and develop throughout the film alongside the stories. It’s been a hugely rewarding process composing the...
If you like the idea of singing in an iconic musical venue and raising money for a great cause at the same time, then why not come to Mega Messiah? You get to sing Handel’s masterpiece in a chorus with hundreds of other people, sitting in the stalls of the Wales Millennium Centre in Cardiff, while on stage are the orchestra and soloists from the Royal Welsh College of Music and Drama. The whole performance is rehearsed and performed in one day, under the baton of the internationally renowned choral conductor David Lawrence. Singers pay £20 (or only £17 if you come in a group of 10+) to rehearse from 2.30 to 5.30 and then perform in the evening. Audience tickets for the 7.00 performance are £15. All proceeds go...
COMPLETING THE DOCUMENTARY Since the last update I’ve been busy editing the film, thanks to your help with funding. I’m looking forward to getting it out to audiences later in the year, first at film festivals and then on television around the world. I am in discussion with various companies about distribution and am beginning to submit it to film festivals. Executive Producers Peter Grimsdale and Angela Holdsworth are a huge support. I am thrilled with the finished film which is picture-locked at 81 minutes. Composer Debbie Wiseman has written a truly wonderful score which I heard for the first time in full on Wednesday. It will be recorded by the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra next month. Meanwhile we are starting the post production process at BBC Wales – conforming and...
Hello everyone. Thanks to your funding, I’ve been editing my rough cut and the film is looking strong. I am indebted to my two Executive Producers, Peter Grimsdale and Angela Holdsworth. If their wisdom and creativity could be bottled, it would make millionaires of them. I am also hugely grateful to Jeremy Mills at Lion Television who is providing me with a free Avid editing suite next month. Thank you to everyone who responded to the first version of the logo. Here are two more. Comments please! Many thanks, Deborah
May I ask for a few minutes of your time, to help me put together a talk about crowdfunding, which I’m giving at Cardiff University? It’s to PhD journalism students on 31 January at the School of Journalism, Media and Cultural Studies http://www.cardiff.ac.uk/jomec Could you answer the following six questions please, emailing me by 28 January at deborah@deborahperkin.com ? 1 How did you hear about the Bastards Kickstarter campaign? 2 Why did you pledge? 3 Which country do you live in? 4 Are you a Muslim man or woman? 5 Did you pass the campaign on to anyone else, and if so how? 6 Did you particularly like or dislike anything about the Bastards campaign? Please feel free to tell me anything else I might be interested to know about...
