in partnership with The B-Bar
NEWS: Barbican Theatre premiere ‘Plymouth In Its Prime’ short films on Thursday 22 April
Celebrating the talent and unique voices of Plymouth’s skaters, dancers and parkourists
Image: Groovement Project’s Saf Hazeldine is filmed with Beryl Tebug on Plymouth Hoe (image credit Brett Lockwood)
Barbican Theatre is excited to premiere three short films ‘Plymouth In Its Prime’, produced to celebrate and showcase the talent and unique voices of Plymouth’s skaters, dancers, parkourists and our amazing city.
Plymouth In Its Prime will premiere via zoom on Thursday 22 April from 6pm. As well as watching the three shorts attendees will also get to hear from the filmmakers, producers and some of the talented artists featured in the film, including skaters from Prime Skatepark, members of Plymouth Parkour, dancers from Groovement Project and Rhythm City, and Barbican Theatre’s ReBels.
Image: Prime Skatepark’s George Chegwin on Plymouth Hoe (image credit Brett Lockwood)
Barbican Theatre’s ReBels Dance Lead, Suzie West, says,
“We had huge plans to create some amazing performance opportunities at the start of the year. When the lockdown was introduced, we of course, had to make alternative arrangements and had the idea of producing these films, which still offered opportunities for collaborations and creativity. We had already started chatting to Prime Skatepark and Plymouth Parkour about creative partnerships, and both were eager to get involved with these films. It’s meant that these incredible athletes have been able to connect, share their skills and start collaborating on future projects. ”
Image: Plymouth Parkour’s Josh Champion and Maciej Bolbot at Smeaton’s Tower (image credit Brett Lockwood)
A call out for local videographers was issued in January and more than 30 local filmmakers applied for the commissions. The Barbican team was impressed with the talent in the city.
Suzie says
“The quality of applicants was so high. We’d originally planned to offer the commision for all three films to one filmmaker but with so many exciting ideas and film makers we couldn’t resist commissioning three. I’m so glad we did. It really does demonstrate the diversity in approach and perspective we want to encourage“
The three successful filmmakers all offered a unique take on the project;
Image: Amber Amare filming Groovement’s Saf Hazeldine at Lion’s Den on Plymouth Hoe (image credit Brett Lockwood)
Amber Amare
Amber Amare proposed a retro feel film, inspired by Plymouth’s connection to Chicago Footwork and Benny Lau Crispin’s especially commissioned audio track.
Amber says
“Working in collaboration with Barbican Theatre has been a source of creative freedom for me. To be able to see your vision reflected so clearly through creators, artists, performers, is something rarely found for directors. The complete trust and excitement I had in our alliance, including in my wonderful dancers Saf and Beryl, is what I want to carry on in my career”.
Next up for Amber is editing a feature film and working on an Arts Council England funded project with a local artist/visual creator. She has also just been commissioned to work with Barbican Theatre’s Digital Rebels as a videographer for a project they are working on.
Image: Rocco Harris filming Maciej Bolbot, from Plymouth Parkour on Castle Street outside Barbican Theatre (image credit Brett Lockwood)
Rocco Harris
Rocco Harris, a film student at Plymouth Conservatoire, already has his own film making business. Rocco has worked closely with our marketing manager and prime skatepark to create an innovative film that promotes the Prime Saturdays events that start this Summer. The parkourists and skaters perform a race against time challenge across the city to get to Prime Skatepark in time for the event.
Rocco says
“I’ve really enjoyed working on this commission. It’s been so much fun getting back to action sports videography with such a great team of athletes giving their all, with the Barbican Theatre team to help every step of the way. This all came together to create a piece of work we can all be proud of.”
