events & festivals
CASE STUDIES
Brave Day support events and festivals through helping to share the stories behind the themes of the event and produce content that can be shared within the event itself, and across digital media channels.
Sharing stories about the event or festival, and associated projects can support art and cultural development in the communities, education and workplaces for building greater connection and reach more diverse audiences.
case study
BBC Contains Strong Language Festival
About the festival: BBC Contains Strong Language is an annual poetry, spoken word and performance festival that has been hosted by the city of Hull for three consecutive years. It was launched as part of the Hull City of Culture 2017 programme and was so successful that the BBC were invited back in 2018 and 2019. This year the festival will be held in Cumbria, and in 2021 the festival with move to Coventry to be part of their City of Culture programme.
As well as attracting worldwide poetry, spoken word and theatrical performance artists to the festival, there are a number of community arts and storytelling initiatives commissioned each year to engage people from diverse backgrounds and ages in the local area.
Collaborative Commissioning Partners:
BBC, Wrecking Ball Press, British Council, Absolutely Cultured, 14-18 Now, Arts Council England.
BRAVE DAY COMMISSIONS
BBC Arts and Radio commissioned Brave Day as the video producer and filmmaker for the festival for 3 consecutive years, documenting the festival community arts projects, as well as the festival highlights films, released onto social media channels and hosted on the BBC Arts Contains Strong Language website.
BBC CONTAINS STRONG LANGUAGE - HULL LEGACY - Filmed by Kirstie Henderson, Ryan Murrell, Ben Horrigan, Jake Stott, Joel Penn. Edited by Kirstie Henderson
WORDS FIRST HIGHLIGHTS OF THE COMPETITION - Filmed by Carys Kaiser and Ryan Murrell. Edited by Kirstie Henderson
UNWRITTEN POEMS
Through involvement in the festival I was also asked to film a short documentary about a co-produced project, by 14-18NOW, British Council and BBC, called ‘Unwritten Poems’. It was a project exploring the unwritten stories of WW1 soldiers recruited from the Caribbean. The project involved following the commissioned poets, of Caribbean and Caribbean diaspora decent, to Jamaica to film workshops, performances and interviews with the participants.
The poets responded to their research of the archives to create a published book of poetry, and performed the poems live at the Contains Strong Language Festival.
UNWRITTEN POEMS DOCUMENTARY- Filmed and Edited by Brave Day, Kirstie Henderson for BBC Contains Strong Language, 14-18Now, British Council.
TRIO - A MULTIDISCIPLINARY DANCE, FILM AND POETRY COLLABORATION
One of the stories I covered about a dance company interpreting the work of renowned poet, Imtiaz Dharker, led to a longer term collaboration between Brave Day and JoinedUp Dance Company.
Over the last 3 years we have collaborated on 3 pieces of work, including work by Simon Armitage and Jackie Kay - all performed live at the BBC Contains Strong Language Festival, named TRIO.
I produced the digital mixed media films that were projected onto the stage during each performance, taking inspiration from the themes of the poetry and dance, and including my own photography, footage and motion graphics.
The documentary provides an overview of how the collaboration began and developed, and our future plans to continue to develop our unusual creative approach.
TRIO PERFORMANCE HIGHLIGHTS - Motion Visual Art Projection and Documentary Filmed and Edited by Brave Day: Kirstie Henderson
TRIO DOCUMENTARY
what clients say
”Kirstie is a skilled and professional filmmaker; her expertise enables her to engage with all types of people /stakeholders in a friendly, confident manner. Her knowledge and techniques allow her to gain great insight into a subject, simplify vast amounts of information and footage to create truly compelling stories for online web and social media. Kirstie's films had a massive positive impact on the CSL festival, they had over 1 million views online and the festival would not have been as successful without her.”
Caroline Kelly - BBC Contains Strong Language Project Producer 2017-2019
“Thank YOU Kirstie. You have captured the spirit of Contains Strong Language so well in all your films. You have a sharp eye and a big heart.
Thanks so much for all your work on Hull over the 3 years . You are very much part of the festival .
We’ve had incredible feed back with people saying CSL has changed the conversation around poetry in Hull , boosted the cultural engagement in the area and been life changing for some artists .
I just wanted to say a personal thank you for all you’ve done . It’s been so lovely working with you and the team . Your films really capture it all.”
Sue Roberts - BBC Radio Drama Genre Head based in Salford, Director of BBC Contains Strong Language Festival
“Meeting Kirstie was a happy accident. My contemporary dance company, JoinedUp Dance, was performing at the BBC Contains Strong Language festival, which Kirstie had been commissioned to document. She mentioned that she would be interested in collaborating with dance projects. At short notice, Kirstie produced a video backdrop to our performance based on a specially-commissioned poem by Imtiaz Dharker. And so, from tentative beginnings, a collaboration began that has completely transformed the work of the JoinedUp company and taken Kirstie and I on a creative journey where the sharing of ideas and expertise and a growing confidence to experiment has developed immersive experiences for both performers and audience. Kirstie is totally committed to the work she undertakes and is generous with her time and skills. Working with her is inspiring and exciting; she picks up on ideas and suggestions and turns them into images with stunning visual richness. I will never forget the first time the company rehearsed with the projections for ‘Still’, a piece based on work by Poet Laureate Simon Armitage. The effect was breathtaking and our working partnership has moved on to more challenging and complex ideas to integrate visuals and movement.”
Jackie Goodman - JoinedUp Dance Creative Director