Factory International deliver Factory International Schools, a year-round creative learning programme for secondary schools across Greater Manchester. The programme focused on Year 8 and 9 pupils from partner schools, who took part in weekly workshops ranging from zine-making and spoken word to fashion, photography, and puppet-making – all connected to Factory International shows. Themes explored included climate change, identity, and the power of art to drive social change.
Factory International invited the School of Digital Arts (SODA) to collaborate on one of the projects within the programme which focussed on documentary filmmaking. This project was inspired by Factory’s acclaimed production of Hamlet with music by Radiohead. Working alongside filmmaker Matt K (Wolf Company), pupils explored themes of identity and courage while gaining documentary filmmaking skills. They then pitched their own film concepts to SODA students, who helped bring their ideas to life.
Following a competitive process, MA Filmmaking student Farah Khalil was selected as producer, working closely with both student groups to incorporate the young people’s individual skills – from acting and writing to camera operation and narration – into the final projects.
The results were two powerful short films:
To Be Or Not To Be: A music-themed documentary, capturing pupils’ passion for music through animation and a collaboration with a local Manchester rock band.
The Courage To Be: An anxiety-themed documentary, portraying the everyday challenges of walking through school corridors or meeting new people.
Both films went through four weeks of post-production before being premiered at Factory International, where the young participants also attended a live matinee performance. The films will now be showcased on a dedicated Factory webpage, shared in schools, and submitted to festivals to extend their impact even further.
Reflecting on the experience, Farah described the pupils’ creativity and passion as a highlight of her time as producer. Amber Calland, Senior Creative Learning Manager at Factory International, praised the collaboration as “joyful, meaningful, and protective of the young people’s voices.”
The project put our MA and BA students into the role of facilitators, and seeing how they navigated that with responsibility and creativity was incredible. Amber and the team at Factory were brilliant at making everyone feel welcome and the sharing event at Aviva was a really proud (and teary) moment for everyone involved!
Mark Thomas, MA Filmmaking Programme Leader and project lead for SODA added, “The experience really helped to shape the student’s continued journeys, fostering skills and ideas that helped their continued academic work and building their networks within the creative industries and education. Can’t wait to see what they get up to next.”
The project has strengthened school partnerships and laid the foundations for future collaborations between Factory International and SODA – ensuring young voices across Greater Manchester continue to be heard.
