Bristol Named UNESCO City of Film
Posted on: 07 Nov 2017Bristol has been recognised as a world-leading hub for film. Director-general of UNESCO (United Nations Educational Scientific and Cultural Organisation) announced the city’s title last week. Bristol will join the likes of Sydney, Galway, Rome and Bradford as City of Film.
A wonderful endorsement for Bristol, as it maintains its longstanding reputation for being a creative city. It is a popular filming and cultural destination with many film festivals and the award-winning Watershed Cultural Cinema and Digital Creativity Centre. The city also boasts a designated Film Office service supporting all types of production, and is also home to the legendary Bottle Yard Studios which is the largest film and TV studio in the West of England.
The UNESCO Creative Cities Network has been established since 2004. It acts to credit creativity and unite cities around the world, within the seven fields of: Crafts and Folk Art, Design, Film, Gastronomy, Literature, Media Arts and Music. It currently consists of a total of 180 cities in 72 countries.
Now that Bristol is a part of The Creative Cities Network, its cultural identity takes the global platform. A proud contributor towards geographical creative practices, it can demonstrate its role as an enabler for integrated culture worldwide.
The UNESCO City of Film bid first began in 2016. The city’s application was put together by a management group consisting of Bristol City Council, Bristol Film Office, University of the West of England (UWE), University of Bristol, Screenology, Destination Bristol and Bottle Yard Studios.
Marvin Rees, Mayor of Bristol, said:
“This is fantastic news and a ringing endorsement of Bristol’s position as a world leader in film production, education and training. Our reputation as a diverse and creative city has long helped to attract productions and talent across film, TV drama, animation and of course natural history. I hope this recognition will be a catalyst for bigger opportunities for the city and Bristolians to showcase Bristol as a centre for film.
“Bristol’s cultural sector is a diverse industry that plays an important role in breaking down the barriers inequality creates. Our ambition is that the education, training and employment opportunities developed by the sector will benefit all communities across Bristol and being named as an UNESCO City of Film is a step towards meeting this goal.”
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Hannah recently graduated with a degree in English with Writing. She is an avid writer, freelancer and creative. She is currently writing her first full-length novel and a collection of poetry. Always out and about in Bristol's music scene, she attends music events on a weekly basis.
