How did the group come about?

The group came into existence following student focus groups where it was identified that students wanted to engage more with our activity. We trialed a Student Associate scheme run by Gulbenkian’s marketing department during October 2015 – May 2016 which was the building blocks that led to the development of the Gulbenkian Uncovered scheme.  Weekly sessions have become an invaluable point to communicate – as has a Facebook group with all members – which also provides a platform to pitch ideas and opportunities.

Activity 2015-2019:

• Breakin’ Convention – Working with the President of the Hip Hop Society- an associate in the pilot scheme – we organised the wrap around activity for Breakin’ Convention in May 2016. Focusing on the pillars of Hip Hop we had a Block Party with DJing, Rapping, Breakdance & Aerosol/Graffiti art.

• FilmTalks – worked with the associates to run informal talks and conversations in the café after selected screenings with academics and students, including those as part of the Conversations about Cinema scheme through BFI and Film Hub South East such as Mustang and Chevalier. (www.conversationsaboutcinema.co.uk)
‘I enjoyed watching the film which I probably wouldn’t usually watch. It was good to talk about the film and link it to other similar films’ Talk attendee.

• Young Programmer’s Network – Established as a young programmer’s group with YPN (Young Programmer’s Network run by BFI). This provides access to opportunities across the UK to those aged under 25.

• Flatpack Film Festival – Uncovered members Imogen Dodds and Geo Barcan were awarded full bursaries from Film Hub South East to attend the MyFlatPack Festival’s review writing and vlogging workshop at Flatpack Festival in Birmingham in April 2017.

• ICO Screening Day 2016/18 – Gulbenkian Uncovered member Sam Packer attended the ICO screening day in March 2017 in London thanks to funding from FilmHubSE. In November 2017 & April 2018 Uncovered member, Imogen Dodds, attended the screening days as a member of the youth panel, thanks to the support of FilmHubSE and the young Programmers Network.

• BIFA Awards – Through Uncovered, member Imogen Dodds successfully applied to be a representative for BIFA as a champion for British Independent Film in the South East.

• Programming trips to The Place, and Half Moon Theatre

• BFI Black Star – The group submitted a successful pitch to FilmHub SE to run BFI Black Star screenings. Working with the University of Kent Hip Hop Society the group selected two films which were screened at Gulbenkian: Boyz n da Hood and Do The Right Thing, following which there was a post-show talk with two rappers from London facilitated by an academic from the University of Kent.

• Special one-off screenings of films, with wrap around activity, including the Blair Witch Project (In the Woods), The Rocky Horror Picture Show Midnight Screening, Black Panther,  Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them (with the Hogwarts Society).

• Worldfest screening – Uncovered helped select, organise and set up a free outdoor screening of a Bollywood film, Rab ne bana di Jodi (2017) and Goliyon Ki Raasleela Ram-Leela (2018), as part of University of Kent’s Worldfest.

• Flicks ‘n’ Chill – Funded by FilmHubSE, Uncovered curated and successfully ran a season of event cinema, launched during Fresher’s Week 2017 with an outdoor screening of Jurassic Park that saw 400 students attend. The season continued with a special Q+A panel surrounding the British debut film, God’s Own Country, that included the LGBT+ Staff Network, LGBTQ+ Society, and Kent Union’s Trans Officer. On Halloween night Flicks ‘n’ Chill created a creepy atmosphere in the middle of a secret woodland location on the University of Kent campus and screened the 1970s classic horror, The Wicker Man. The season concluded with a festive screening in Eliot Hall, dressed up to look like a living room on Christmas morning! Watch the Home Alone Essayist film on YouTube.

• This Way Up! Conference – In 2017, Uncovered member Imogen Dodds attended the programming conference in Hull, starting conversations about how to increase student involvement in cinemas the country over.

• WorldFest 2018 – Due to the success for 2017’s outdoor screening of a Bollywood film, Uncovered once more are working to select and put on a spectacular Bollywood film to celebrate University of Kent’s WorldFest.

• Film Panels – Members has worked to select films they believe have a big impact to encourage discussion around. Thus far, they have selected Call Me by Your Name (which was supported by a panel of LGBTQ+ members, activists, and allies) , Three Billboards outside Ebbing, Missouri (an all-female panel discussing the themes of the film, and the impact it has) and Black Panther (followed by panel discussion with representatives from Kent Union and Random Acts, chaired by CSR FM)

• Random Acts & ‘Penny for your Shorts’ Season – In 2017, Uncovered watched and selected short films made by young people aged 16 – 25, across the South East to screen before feature films. The films they choose echoed the feelings of their generation and were programmed into the Gulbenkian’s cinema season 2017-2018. Find out more

Funded by ART31 KENT
ART31KENT is a youth leadership project funded through Gulbenkian’s NPO status, granted by Arts Council England, in addition to funding from Kent County Council.ART31 takes its name from Article 31 of the UN Convention on the Rights of a Child, which states that ‘Children have the right to relax and play, and to join in a wide range of cultural, artistic and other recreational activities’.  See below for our other ART31 groups!