As part of the exhibition Future Knowledge a group of young filmmakers aged 11-14 – all new to the art of filmmaking – considered the past, present and future of Oxford. Embracing a shared sense of inquisitiveness, play and humour they captured their own visual stories of the city that they call home.
The group took up residence within the gallery, transforming the space into their own film studio from which they could explore central Oxford to investigate its people and places while collecting footage. The resulting films depict the diversity of the city and a variety of perspectives held on it.
A playful montage reimagines a tourist’s eye view with reference to Oxford’s main sights and ghostly history, a thought provoking thriller questions stereotypes and trust in our communities and a short interview sequence offers an insight into the perception of Oxford and its future from the viewpoints of visitors, students and locals.
Watch the videos made during the residency below.
The participants gained knowledge both in the art of filmmaking and in the complexities and curiosities of their locality:
‘When I was watching movies I didn’t realise how they did a birds eye view or a worms eye view, I just watched it and thought it was normal, now I know its harder to do!’ – Participant
‘I like how the vicar was saying you can pretty much be yourself in Oxford and the ice cream man was saying about a class division and I thought that was a really important message actually…’ – Participant
‘I think Oxford kind of stands still in time, like the architecture and how people view it’ – Participant
It was interesting working with young people who have grown up around Oxford and seeing how they interpreted their knowledge and experience of it through film. – Artists, Moira and Yasmin
Thanks go to filmmakers Moira Lam, Yasmin Falahat and Samuel Herklots for facilitating Future Knowledge Studio.