British Film Maker Needed--North Caucasus Nature Reserve

Following is an abbreviated version of the job description received by CCSI. For full details, please contact Liza Hollingshead of Ecologia Trust [email protected]
Interesting Teaching Opportunity For British Environmental Film Maker ... to take part in the 'Kinoschool' Environmental Film Training for Russian Environmental NGO's in the North Caucasus Nature Reserve
September 2000
KinoSchool Project is funded by the British Know How Fund Sponsored Grants Programme: Partnerships in the Non-Profit Sector, Russia
Partners: Institute for Civic Initiatives Support "ISAR", Moscow, "Journalist" an independent film studio, Novorossisk, with Ecologia Trust, Scotland
We are looking for a British Professional to be part of the Kinoschool teaching team with:

broad all-round experience in camerawork, professional directing, making his/her own environmental films
special interest and experience in making Natural History and/or Environmental Films.
professional experience in directing and/or producing films for BBC or Channel 4
knows the audience and the market, with good contacts in television in Britain and Europe, and experience in producing and selling films made for television in the UK.
able to share his/her experience in lecture or seminar format along with Russian teachers)
able to work in a teaching/directing capacity with a small group to make a short film together
willing to travel to remote areas, possibly on horseback, camping out at night
knowledge and information about the most up to date technical equipment, and to bring this information to the Kinoschool. (Technical skill with this equipment is not essential)
Ideally, he/she will have a personal interest in Russian nature and wilderness, with a view to working in Russia in the future. As the people involved in Kinoschool have access to the wildest and most beautiful parts of Russia this will provide a great opportunity for a British film maker to plan joint filming projects in the Russian wilderness. The North Caucasus is a stunningly beautiful mountain range, with wilderness that has long been lost in Europe. In addition, we would like the British Trainer to take an active part in helping to set up a 2-week training 'internship' in the UK for 2 Kinoschool students later in the year.
Dates of KinoSchool Training:

16-18 September Documentary Film Festival Novorossisk (Environmental Films nominations) optional
20 Sept - 3 October Kinoschool North Caucasus Mountains (14 days include travel)
Remuneration: �2,380 plus travel expenses
About Kinoschool
Kinoschool is support system and an annual training for Russian environmental NGOs and independent television journalists to develop their film making skills in order to share their concerns and appreciation of nature more effectively with the public. In Russia such training is either very long, expensive or unavailable to most NGOs, and we are grateful to the Know How Fund for providing us with the opportunity to introduce British film making skills and techniques to an enthusiastic Russian students. An outline of the full Kinoschool Project and the location for this year's Kinoschool may be found at the end of this announcement.
Schedule: (this part omitted for reasons of length)
Accommodation:
The Kinoschool will take place in a comfortable tourist hotel in the valley, near a small village where 20+ employees of the Nature Reserve live. Some groups may leave for several days filming in the mountains and will be camping out at night.
Students Criteria:

previous experience in making journalistic films for television and/or for the screen, commercials etc with a basic knowledge of camerawork and montage/editing
a serious interest in making wild life films for television
a strong connection with environmental NGOs Some students may have participated in the 1st Kinoschool in 1999, but not all. All students should be conversant with basic camera operating and film making. This course is not for beginners in the field. Participants from Moscow, St Petersburg, Samara, Rostov, Ekaterinburg, Kemerovo will be given priority (PNPS regions)
Teachers/Staff:

Scenarist, screen writer, director (Valery Timoschenko "Journalist")
Camera operator with experience in filming wild life
Director, with experience in camerawork, editing, sound, working with actors
Russian Television Producer - media contacts, raising money and distribution in Russia
Public Relations & Fundraising in the 3rd sector
British teacher: director/producer or an independent wild life film maker, with experience of camerawork, directing, editing and producing his own films
KinoSchool Project Activities:
1. Create a KinoSchool Website to publicise the competition for participants in the KinoSchool Training and outline the resources of KinoSchool:
It will be regularly updated to cover funding sources, trainings. Festivals and competitions, information, publications, periodicals, involved organisations and individuals, success stories.
2. Identify the most active, talented and interested environmental film makers in the NGO Network:
Acceptance in the KinoSchool will be by competition, circulated to the Russian NGO Network. Each applicant will be required to submit a sample of their previous work to the board, outline their current activity as an Environmental NGO, their reasons why they need the training, and a statement of how they intend to use the training afterwards. Participants in the KinoSchool Training will be members of the most active environmental NGOs, who have previous experience in making films on environmental issues or wildlife, or environmental journalists who work with regional TV, or people from independent regional film-making companies and studios who are involved in environmental documentaries, TV programs.
3. KinoSchool Training:
20 students of KinoSchool will take part in a 2-week intensive Media Training with experts from Britain and Russia in the Caucasus Nature Reserve. They will receive practical training in Directing, Camerawork, Editing and Producing films and programs for Television; with Modules on Fundraising and contacts with Media.
4. UK Internship:
KinoSchool will arrange an internship for at least 2 students in Britain. Internship is practical work for 2-4 weeks under the guidance of professional film-makers, particularly focused on producing, distributing and marketing films for television. If we have more students who wish to take part in this internship in the UK, "ISAR" and Ecologia Trust will look for more funding to cover their expenses.
5. KinoSchool Studio:
the equipment provided by this project will establish the basics of a KinoSchool studio, with professional camera and other equipment available to the KinoSchool Network free of charge.
6. KinoSchool Film Library: We will expand our existing library of the best Russian and Western documentaries and film about wild nature, available for all interested NGOs.
Reasons for our choice of Project location: (omitted for reasons of length)
Applicants:
Please send a letter of interest with an indication of the reasons for your interest in filming in Russia, in which aspects of film making you have the most experience, and which topics you would be willing/able to teach, with CV's to:
1. Liza Hollingshead
Ecologia Trust
The Park, Forres, Morayshire IV36 3TZ Scotland
Email: [email protected] Web Site: www.rmplc.co.uk/eduweb/sites/ecoliza
2. Mila Bogdan
ISAR Institute for Civic Initiatives
Moscow, Russia
Email: [email protected]
Ecologia Trust is a Scottish Charity reg. no SC023976 working with Russian NGOs in youth, ecology and education since 1988.

Last updated: May 2000

CCSI Home	Announcements	Eurasia	Opinion/Analysis	Bookstore	Site Map	Search
	Center for Civil Society International Ideas and information for civic action worldwide