A powerful picture of Peterborough

Afilm made by more than 30 young people in Peterborough has premiered on YouTube.

Fierce Talent is the latest part of a campaign by local company, Jumped Up Theatre, to encourage creativity in young people in Peterborough.

“The Fierce Talent film came about because it was noticed that creativity, whether it was performing, painting, or creative writing, was helping lots of people cope during the pandemic.” explains Emily Steele, the project manager for Fierce Talent.

“We wanted to celebrate that and make sure more young people knew about the opportunities in Peterborough to be creative.”

The Fierce Talent campaign has seen Jumped Up promote youth arts organisations and leaders in the city and highlight inspiring local young creatives. The Jumped Up team then worked with a Sounding Board of seven young people to design and make a film that told a story about what creativity does for young people in the city.

Local poet, Charley Genever, ran workshops and interviews to gather opinions from young people, which she used to create the words for the film. Local filmmaking company, Reckless Abandon, then filmed a selection of young artists practising their craft, and Jumped Up‘s Sounding Board performed Charley’s poem to camera.

The result is a 5 minute film packed full of the energy and talents of creative young people, creating a new, positive and powerful picture of Peterborough.

“The message from young people in Peterborough is that there is a space for everyone in the creative community and that there are opportunities out there, but we want and need more support and encouragement from those in a position of power,” explains Keelan, one of the Sounding Board.

The impact of the Fierce Talent campaign has been noticed outside the city, including an invite to talk about it at Disrupt, a conference at Central School of Speech & Drama at The Barbican Centre, London, on Friday, July 9, which you can listen to online. Details are on the Jumped Up Theatre website.

Everyone is encouraged to watch and share the film - funded by a grant from Youth Inspired and additional support from Jumped Up’s Moving Roots project - and inspire more young people to develop their resilience, confidence and skills by being creative. Go to https://jumpeduptheatre.com/fierce-talent-film