About
Established in 2019
The Oakwood Film Academy’s roots come from it’s connection to the very successful Oakwood Cinema which opened it’s doors in 2015. (The first film – A Theory of Everything) with Eddie Redmayne.
The cinema has a fabulous community spirit especially during the 20 minute interval where people chat, catch up, nip for a pee and have a drink. It’s a great buzz. The academy is an extension of this. Our mission is to provide a creative space for the community to make short drama and documentary films. Meet different people and have some fun whilst learning.
The academy is hugely proud of its local connection to the godfather of film-making Louis Le Prince who lived not 700m from the Roundhay Parochial hall.
mission
To provide a creative space for the community to make short films, meet different people and have some fun.
vision
To screen academy films to the community and hopefully win a few film festival awards with our students.
values
- treat everybody with kindness and respect.
- to embody a life-long learning ethos.
- to help build friendships.
Our mentors
Johnny
The academy is run by Johnny who teaches at the University of Leeds on the BA (Hons) Film, Photography and Media course. He is a graduate of the NSFTV (Northern School of Film and Television) where he studied editing. He also teaches special effects. Johnny is also a founding member of the Oakwood Cinema.
Paul
Paul is a Leeds based screenwriter and producer focused on feature scripts in the genres of horror, thriller, sci-fi and urban drama. He is a fourteen time international screenplay competition winner. Paul has taught screenwriting at the University of Leeds and is our resident screenwriting mentor at the Oakwood Film Academy. He is also a successful designer and online marketeer.
tony
Tony runs The Atom Film Company and has over 20 years graphic design and 15 years video production experience. His films have featured all over the world (including The Leeds International and Cannes Film Festivals) and Parliament! He was a finalist in the BBC New Film-Maker Award and attended the Northern Film School. As a graphic designer he has worked with some of the top agencies in the country, like Attic and Outside The Box to name a few.
