Bury College University Centre Creative Media Production students enjoyed a career enhancing visit from an award-winning filmmaker.
Marcus Markou, who is based in London, has won over 20 awards from worldwide festivals for his films, including short film Two Strangers Who Meet Five Times and feature film Papadopoulos & Sons, which starred Games of Thrones actor Stephen Dillane (Stannis Baratheon).
During the two-hour guest lecture, Marcus spoke about his own journey in the film industry before offering words of wisdom to the students.
Marcus said; “Create your own path. Embrace the setbacks and rejections; these things point to a better way or place.”
The ambitious students thoroughly enjoyed the visit and left the workshop feeling motivated. Second year student Esther Thompson said, “It was refreshing to hear from someone in the industry; someone who has faced struggles to get where they are now. We watched his feature film in class and it’s inspiring to see how his own life has shaped his work.”
Marcus has also inspired the students to collaborate on a group film project outside of their studies.
First year student Luke Jackson said, “Marcus really put into perspective that we should be making more content while we’re students. We all have different ambitions and would like to progress into different roles within the industry. I want to be a cinematographer and he said I should be using the college cameras and shooting lots of stuff. These short films will form part of our showreels.”
The first and second years will join forces to make a short film in 2020 and will be aiming to enter it into various festivals.
For more information about the HE Media course available at Bury College please visit www.burycollegeunicentre.co.uk