Rejected Supporting Statement - Belfast Film Festival, February 2022

My commensurate programming experience lies in my extensive planning and development of screenings for modules in many undergraduate and postgraduate film degree courses throughout the UK since 2012. Select examples that indicate my breadth of knowledge include weekly screenings for ‘Cinema and the American Avant-garde’ at University of Aberdeen, ‘Documentary and Contemporary Art’ at Lancaster University, and ‘Filming Literature’ at Newcastle University. I have also programmed for specialist film clubs, such as the Insight film club at Lancaster University in 2016 (where I gave them a taste of home in Good Vibrations), what I affectionately termed as ‘Wrinkly Film Club’ at an Abbeyfield residential care home in Newcastle upon Tyne in 2017, and a season of Silver Screenings at Strand Arts Centre before I moved to England in 2014. In addition, I mentored Queen’s Film Theatre’s youth panel throughout 2010–2012 and helped them programme the Takeover Film Festival those three years.

I completed three degrees in film studies at Queen’s University, and my PhD ‘Old Borders, New Technologies: Visual Culture and Social Change in Contemporary Northern Ireland’ (subtitle updated to Reframing Film and Visual Culture in Contemporary Northern Ireland for my monograph published in 2014) demonstrates specialist knowledge of moving image production in the region informed by national and international contexts. My research since has involved comparative studies between film and video work from and about NI and similar contexts elsewhere, such as post-dictatorship Chile. My research specialisms lie in documentary, the essay film, archive-based fiction and artists’ cinema. My Master’s thesis examines documentary surrealism and I continue to be drawn to where documentary meets challenging and experimental approaches to film. I have published articles in academic journals to that effect, such as focusing on Duncan Campbell’s cineliterate essay films which trouble categorical boundaries.

It is in such research for publication – including as an editor as well as a writer – that I continually grow my knowledge of contemporary film production, technologies and histories. This is augmented in my production of Audiovisual Cultures Podcast for which I regularly interview creative practitioners and other researchers based all over the world. This has led me to build a growing network of directors, writers, actors and producers, many of whom also organise film events and festivals. Through all of this work I have developed confidence in speaking publicly and to the media, and I relish the opportunity to engage with live audiences again as life opens up.

Through my studies, writing and years of teaching, I am highly proficient with the full suite of Microsoft Office applications, especially Word and Excel. Since becoming self-employed in 2017, I have become skilled in using workflow tools (e.g. Slack), imaging software (e.g. Canva) and social media schedulers (e.g. Later) for project management and marketing the podcast. I perform every role in its production; I write, produce, research, record, present, interview guests, edit and administrate. I manage its income and budget, I seek funding opportunities, and I deal personally with booking guests. A great deal of my time is spent on social media engagement with listeners, followers and guests to build an audience and extend the show’s reach. Instagram in particular has proved an important tool for networking and meeting new people, and a way of interacting with industry professionals via the podcast. I also use it to lobby followers for what they want to learn about on the show and what topics they respond to.

I have developed proficiency with digital audio workstations such as Audacity and video editors like Kdenlive through my podcast work, as well as video call and streaming software (Zoom, Skype, StreamYard and Zencastr) for recording and hosting live online events. I also have training in Final Cut Pro from my film degrees and in iMovie through workshops with QFT’s youth panel.

As a media and arts podcaster, I promote and discuss film frequently, including documentary. I am especially keen on demonstrating and encouraging critical thinking and media literacy in my listeners. As well as film analysis and history, I am knowledgeable about the business side of film and media industries, and have a learned understanding of agreeing, undertaking and measuring time-bound and realistic objectives. I perform these in programming Audiovisual Cultures outputs, often knowing months in advance what content I will curate and what significant dates with which new episodes may coincide.

Through my studies and current work, I am knowledgeable about audiences of both film and film-related content such as reviews and podcasts. As a lecturer I frequently checked in with my students to see how they were responding to my chosen corpus of films and topics. I learn and take on board feedback while also being prepared to challenge from an informed perspective.

In addition to the extensive knowledge and skills I can bring as Head of Programming, I am personable, hard-working, quick to learn new skills, an effective communicator, determined and reliable. I thrive when I have a range of tasks to do and can be supported in a mixture of quiet solitary time for planning and writing and more sociable time brainstorming in meetings and collaborating. I am discerning and prepared to ask questions while keen to find common ground wherever possible. I aim always to build partnerships on trust and to achieve mutually beneficial outcomes. I am a whizz with spreadsheets and pay close attention to detail while also being able to imagine the bigger picture.

Finally, my pursuance of a career in film academia took me to England, but at heart I never wanted to leave Belfast and felt I had work to do there. I have been seeking opportunities such as this programming post to return, and I can do so enriched by my experiences of living in different cities across Britain and becoming an active participant in producing culture as well as analysing it. The Belfast Film Festival was fundamental to my film education and fuelled my teaching expertise. I know this festival well from regular attendance since 2009, including where it excels and where it can do better at involving communities and under-represented film-makers. I will be very happy to demonstrate my skills, knowledge and passion for this festival at interview, and I look forward to hearing from you. If you would like further information in the meantime, links to my podcast and publications can be found at https://bio.link/peablair. Thank you.

River Lagan at Night, August 2017

 

If you enjoyed this post, please subscribe and visit https://www.buymeacoffee.com/peablair to support my work - thank you!