* An A-level media studies conference is being held at the Institute of Education, London, June 29 to July 1. There will be discussion panels, workshops, details of new research and practical sessions, with keynote speakers including David Buckingham and Angela McRobbie. Among the topics will be non-linear editing and resources for the subject. The price is Pounds 130. Further information from A-level Conference, Media Studies Department, London University, Institute of Education, 20 Bedford Way, London WC1H OAL.
* Fast Forward, an event about film and video for people with learning disabilities, will be held at the Museum of the Moving Image, South Bank, London, on May 24. Films, workshops and discussions will explore how the camera can provide a means of self-expression. Information from Fast Forward Conference, Mental Health Media, 356 Holloway Road, London N7 6PA. Telephone: 0171 700 0100 ext 272.
* Free study guides to recently-released films are on offer from Film Education, an organisation that provides educational support to the film industry. Titles published recently include Little Women, Rob Roy, The Madness of King George and Schindler’s List. From this summer, material will also be made available on-line, through Campus 2000. There are also plans to launch an Internet service. Film Education, 41-42 Berners Street, London W1P 3AA. Telephone: 0171 637 9935.
* Once voted the worst director of all time, Ed Wood Junior, the master of the unlikely B movie, has made a return to critical favour almost as unlikely as his own horror films. Now the improbable plot twists and the regular intervention of aliens that characterised his Fifties films have been recognised as the hallmarks of a sub-genre and a film biography of the director, called Ed Wood, starring Johnny Depp, is about to be released.
The National Film Theatre is hosting a season of Ed Wood’s films throughout this month, including Bride of the Monster, May 20, and Night of the Ghouls, May 22, plus a special preview screening of the new biography on May 25. Details from the National Film Theatre, South Bank, London SE1 8XT Telephone 0171 928 3232 * As the ultimate in hands-on experience, the media students at South Nottingham College have been running their own radio station for six days, finishing their stint as Medi-8 FM tomorrow. The station is running on 97.5FM for 12 hours a day and the project will count as one of the participants’ major course assignments.
* The inaugural meeting of the Northern Ireland Animation Association is to be held on Saturday May 27, with an informal gathering and a screening of selected animated films. The venue will be the Northern Ireland Film Council, 21 Ormeau Avenue, Belfast. Information from Paul Largan on 01232 232444.
* The relationship between cinema and pop music is explored in two education events at the National Film Theatre, London. “From Blaxploitation to Rasploitation”, June 12, is a panel discussion, plus film screening, which looks at how black American music, such as soul, funk and rap, has been represented and incorporated in feature films.
“The British Pop Movie”, June 27, will offer a corresponding view of how the music of teen romance and rebellion, from Cliff Richard to the Sex Pistols, has been portrayed in British film making. For more information, contact Museum of the Moving Image Education Department on 0171 815 1418.
