Former Wyke Sixth Form College student, Emilia Barry, has spent the last couple of months overseeing the pre-production of Young Adults, a short film in association with the National Youth Film Academy.After collecting her A level results in Film Studies, French and Fine Art this summer, Emilia will leave for London’s Ravensbourne University where she hopes to pursue her lifelong dream of working in the industry.She said: “My obsession with cinema started when I was about four-years-old. I became really obsessed with Tim Burton after seeing Corpse Bride because that was the first film that made me cry and I developed a massive love for him and all of his films.“Then when I was eight I watched the academy awards and I sort of got this sense that this is where I belonged and this is where my future was going to be.“So from that point onwards on knew the film industry was the industry I wanted to work in it was just figuring out where I wanted to work that was a challenge.”“I went through phases of wanting to work in all different types of roles and then when I was 16 I worked with BFI to produce my first ever short film and I realised that I’m sort of a natural producer.“Ultimately I’d like to be a producer/writer/director but right now I’m focusing very much on producing because that’s the thing I need to learn the most for.”She said being an aspiring filmmaker in Hull isn’t easy but more distinguished names from the area are often willing to lend a hand.“It’s definitely more challenging than it is for a lot of my friends in the industry who are based in the south or bigger places like Manchester where the film industry is more prominent,” she said.“But it is still absolutely possible to get involved with it from Hull."There are a few big film makers from Hull such as Chris Hees and Sean McAllister – if you can in touch with them or get involved with BFI then that can be a great opportunity, if you really prove yourself to them and then they will be a reference for you.”This year her A level results will be determined by predicated grades and coursework. What had promised to be a hectic few months suddenly became a clear schedule. Emilia took full advantage of the time, throwing herself into the production of Young Adults.She said: “At the start of May I was put in touch with 14 other people who were aged between 16 and 26 from all around the country.“I’d never met them before and we all had to come together to come up with a concept for a film and then just create it.“My job in this has been pretty major so far because it’s all been pre-production. I had to spend pretty much every day of lockdown down on meetings, with emails, and dealing with paperwork.“We’ve also been doing a lot of script surgery and contacting businesses, making sure everyone knows what’s going on and trying to establish locations for the film, additional casting and everything.”She described the film as a part coming of age tale and part family drama, with a focus on the tensions within families.As part of the project the team must raise funds to meet the production costs of the film which includes equipment, locations, casting, distribution and advertising.Visit https://www.crowdfunder.co.uk/young-adults-short-film to help Emilia reach the £8,000 production target.
