Film and media students from Wiltshire College & University Centre will have the chance to quiz two former students who have gone on to make a critically acclaimed feature film, when The Fence is shown at The Everyman Cinema in Salisbury on 11 December.
Will Stone and Adam Pickford developed The Fence from Will’s 2017 graduation project while they were studying for a degree in Film Production and Cinematography at the college. The gritty comedy drama, set on a 1980s Bristol housing estate, went on to attract six million views on YouTube, helping the pair secure funding to turn it into a full-length film in 2022.
The finished feature, written and directed by Will, includes a cast of local performers alongside How To Train Your Dragon star Gabriel Howells and Sally Phillips, known for Bridget Jones and Smack The Pony. The Guardian praised the film as a ‘likeable and sparky debut’, while it holds a five-star rating on Rotten Tomatoes and was selected as one of 20 films to tour Australian cities in a Best of British promotion.
Will and Adam will return to The Everyman on Endless Street from 4pm to 6.30pm for a screening and Q&A with current students. The event is free and open to the public.
Tim Dodd, who works closely with students on the college’s film courses, said the pair’s success offers a valuable, grounded insight into the film industry.
“I hope they will get a little inspiration from Will and Adam because they are proof that it can happen,” he said. “It was a big struggle for them and maybe this will be a good lesson to learn and an opportunity to be a bit more realistic about the fact that you’re not just going to walk out of the course and go and make a film.”
He added that their long-running collaboration began at college. “They were like chalk and cheese really but their skills complemented each others’ and they worked very well together on each other’s projects all the way through their three years here.
“They still work together quite a lot, although Adam is now a freelance cinematographer. Will is writing and developing his second film and has already raised the initial development money towards that. It’s a long journey but it can be done and I hope that will be an encouragement to our students.”
Tim also thanked The Everyman for hosting the event. “It’s very generous and we are incredibly thankful for this support,” he said. “We had a very successful screening of our students’ projects last summer so it is nice to be back there.”
Free tickets for the screening and Q&A are available via Eventbrite. For details on film courses at WCUC visit www.wiltshire.ac.uk.
