THE Rural Media Company will be taking on a major new role in leading one of four Random Acts Network Centres which have been announced across England. The company has been awarded £597,417 to deliver the Midlands contract for Random Acts, a major three-year Arts Council England project that supports young arts film makers between the ages of 16-24.

Working in close partnership with award winning Maverick Television, the project will offer 16 to 24 year olds across the Midlands an exciting package of activity including education, training and production support, to create 24 high quality short arts films per year for the Channel 4 Random Acts online platform and television strand.

Random Acts was established in 2011 as Channel 4’s platform for short arts films. The creation of the Network Centres and the boosted partnership with Arts Council England is part of a major expansion of the project.

In the first year the Midlands focus will be on the West (Birmingham, Coventry, Black Country, Staffordshire, Worcestershire, Shropshire and Herefordshire) and workshops will be held to enable young people to find out more about the scheme, meet professional arts practitioners and apply for a Random Acts commission. The project will be looking for a wide range of young creative talent with ideas drawn from diverse art forms, from choreography to visual art, animation to poetry. Each film will have its own production budget and be closely mentored by Maverick Television to enable it to meet high quality broadcast standards.

For more information on the scheme and to find out about workshops or how to apply contact Julie Colman on 01432 344039 or juliec@ruralmedia.co.uk - or visit the website at ruralmedia.co.uk