15 June 2026Critical Connections London Film Festival 2026
Jesmond Park Academy students travelled down to London to attend the Critical Connections Film Festival.
The film festival was hosted at Goldsmiths University of London and brought together digital stories from around the globe. JPA students have been working alongside Newcastle University's North East Solidarity and Teaching (NEST) programme to make a multilingual short film, The Tail of the Chef, which was showcased at the event.
The young filmmakers explored the theme of a 'Journey or Quest' in inventive, critical, and speculative ways. These films told insightful multilingual stories about journeys or quests and captured how children and young people are finding ways to seek novel paths and routes, form strong friendships, and look for peaceful resolutions. The festival shared the stories these young filmmakers have created about their cultures, histories, and global connections.
The film festival featured 22 languages across the 19 digital stories. Lead educators worked with young participants (4 – 18 years old) across 21 educational institutions (kindergarten, primary, secondary, community-based complementary, library) and 7 countries (Australia, India, Italy, Taiwan, UK, USA, Zimbabwe).
In attendance at the event were acclaimed authors Michael Rosen and Michael Vidon – students were able to take part in multilingual poetry workshops and to experience a memorable live performance ahead of the short film screening.
Mr Lovatt, EAL practitioner, said "This has been a really fantastic opportunity for our students to be involved with. As a School of Sanctuary, we want to ensure students' home languages are celebrated and showcased. Collaborating with other schools on the common theme of diversity and multilingualism has opened the door to JPA students' creativity and originality, through the medium of film. My thanks go to NEST for organising their participation in the filmmaking and the trip to London."
The short films, including The Tail of the Chef, can be viewed at this link: https://goldsmithsmdst.com/cc-film-booklet-and-screening-2026/
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Critical Connections London Film Festival 2026 Jesmond Park Academy students travelled down to London to attend the Critical Connections Film Festival. The film festival was hosted at Goldsmiths University of London and brought together digital stories from around the globe. JPA students have been working alongside Newcastle University's North East Solidarity and Teaching (NEST) programme to make a multilingual short film, The Tail of the Chef, which was showcased at the event. The young filmmakers explored the theme of a 'Journey or Quest' in inventive, critical, and speculative ways. These films told insightful multilingual stories about journeys or quests and captured how children and young people are finding ways to seek novel paths and routes, form strong friendships, and look for peaceful resolutions. The festival shared the stories these young filmmakers have created about their cultures, histories, and global connections. The film festival featured 22 languages across the 19 digital stories. Lead educators worked with young participants (4 – 18 years old) across 21 educational institutions (kindergarten, primary, secondary, community-based complementary, library) and 7 countries (Australia, India, Italy, Taiwan, UK, USA, Zimbabwe). In attendance at the event were acclaimed authors Michael Rosen and Michael Vidon – students were able to take part in multilingual poetry workshops and to experience a memorable live performance ahead of the short film screening. Mr Lovatt, EAL practitioner, said "This has been a really fantastic opportunity for our students to be involved with. As a School of Sanctuary, we want to ensure students' home languages are celebrated and showcased. Collaborating with other schools on the common theme of diversity and multilingualism has opened the door to JPA students' creativity and originality, through the medium of film. My thanks go to NEST for organising their participation in the filmmaking and the trip to London." The short films, including The Tail of the Chef, can be viewed at this link: https://goldsmithsmdst.com/cc-film-booklet-and-screening-2026/
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