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Bristol Stories video Podcast

Bristol Stories can be downloaded via a “vodcast” (video podcast) using iTunes or similar software. In iTunes, go to the Advanced menu, choose “Subscribe to Podcast…”

Type www.bristolstories.org/podcast/bristolstories.xml into the box. As long as you are connected to the internet, the Bristol Stories podcast should appear in the iTunes Podcast library.

April - May 2008: Bristol Stories in the Cinema: Capturing our imagination

Selected short films produced by Bristol Stories will be shown before selected Watershed cinema screenings. Launching with Bernice’s and Iva’s stories, the programme gives cinemagoers the chance to watch some of the exciting work that is coming out of Bristol communities.

18th April – 8th May: Bernice’s Story by Bernice will be shown before Mike Leigh’s “Happy-Go-Lucky”.

28th April: Iva’s Story by Iva Williams will be shown before Wim Wender’s “Buena Vista Social Club”.

9th May – 22nd May: Young, Gifted and Talented by Jehenelle Blackwood will be shown before John Sayles’ “Honeydripper”.

16th May – 5th June: Barber by Junior will be shown before Nadine Labaki’s “Caramel”.

February 2008: Bristol Stories screened at the Arnolfini

Four Bristol Stories are being presented at the Arnolfini, on the 5th February 2008, 6-9pm in a screening organised by South West Screen for the Last Mile / Identities.

Last Mile / Identities is a national programme which enables diverse UK communities to create film and moving image content focused on their identities.

Bristol Stories contributed work by four artists: Domino Days by Cleo Lake, Burbujas by Nathan Hughes, Lost in Transition by Ella Bissett Johnson and Why Bristol? by Liz Milner.

October 2007: Bristol Stories and the last prefabricated houses in the city

Bristol Stories team in collaboration with the New Museum of Bristol has organized a workshop at Southville Center for participants who are living in the last prefabricated houses in the city. The workshop focuses on the tenants’ stories, memories and experiences linked to their prefab houses, in order to preserve this history for future generations.

October 2007: Independence Stories exhibition

To commemorate the 60th anniversary of Indian Independence, Asian Arts Agency and Bristol Stories, developed a unique storytelling workshop that focused on the personal “Independence” stories of Bristol-based people from a wide range of South Asian backgrounds (encompassing the whole Asian sub continent).

Bristol Stories worked with digital animation artist Tajinder Dhami and the project concluded with an exhibition at Empire and Commonwealth Museum, Bristol from the 1st-31st October 2007.

June 2007: 150 stories celebrated

Storytellers, friends and family, and people interested in the life and culture of Bristol joined us as we celebrated the 150 stories made during two years of the Bristol Stories project. All the stories were shown in a series of five free 1½ hour matinee screenings at Watershed Media Centre’s Cinema 2. Each focused on a different theme: People, Place, Communities, Creativity and History. At the end of the week, participants, tutors and staff came to a drinks reception, watched their favourite stories and heard talks from Aikaterini Gegisian (project manager), Sarwat Siddiqui (Museum of Bristol) and Michele Farmer (Bristol City Council).

March 2007: Bristol Stories “on the buses”

A special storytelling workshop was held for people who use the 77 bus route. Five passengers and two drivers shared their stories of travelling in Bristol, and then went on to create films with the help of the Bristol Stories team.

Co-ordinator Aikaterini Gegisian said, “This is a pilot event aiming to bring together participants from diverse areas. The bus route is a link between different communities.”

March 2007: Storytelling Masterclass

Bristol Stories continued the series of masterclasses, this time to improve participants’ story-telling skills. Project workers Aikaterini Gegisian and Paddy Uglow attended, along with 12 other storytelling practicioners, learning techniques to help future workshop participants tell their stories in the best way.

February 2007: ‘Tales in the City’

Bristol Stories Co-ordinator Aikaterini Gegisian was at the Tell A Story Day at the Bristol City Museum.

She worked alongside professional storytellers, encouraging participants to tell their stories of Bristol. This forms part of ‘Tales in the City’, the first Bristol Storytelling Festival, a week-long series of events celebrating the magic of stories and storytelling held during the National Storytelling Week. For more information visit www.bristolstoryfest.co.uk.

December 2006: 100th story goes online!

The Bristol Stories team celebrated the 100th story made with a cinema screening of stories from recent workshops, followed by an hour long discussion of storytelling by course-leaders, storymakers and staff.

The website now has nearly 4 hours of digital stories, told by people living in and around Bristol. The project will soon be entering its third year of storytelling workshops and training sessions and we look forward to seeing many more Bristol Stories in the future.

November / December 2006: Masterclasses for Digital Storytellers

Two masterclasses were held at Watershed Media Centre, one for sound and one for graphics. Artists and community workers who attended learnt advanced techniques in Audacity and Photoshop, as well as discussing equipment, technique, and networking for storytelling projects. For information about future masterclasses, contact BristolStories@watershed.co.uk. In the meantime, there are new links to online tutorials, glossaries and troubleshooting information on our resources page.

November 2006: International stories go online

English language students from three different continents came together in Bristol to make digital stories as part of their English Language classes. Tutor Harriet Brennan had already taken part in a Bristol Stories workshop (see her story Lunch in Bristol on the site) arranged for the workshop to take place, and also made a documentary small version - 4.4MB / large version - 15.8MB) during the workshop, using Windows Movie Maker.

Autumn 2006: New co-ordinator for Bristol Stories

Artist and lecturer Aikaterini Gegisian has taken over from Ruth Jacobs as co-ordinator of the Bristol Stories project. She will be carrying on Ruth’s work, which has seen the project go from an idea to a series of succesful workshops, involving people from many walks of life and areas of Bristol.

Summer/Autumn 2006: Brunel200 Exhibition

A selection of Brunel-themed Bristol Stories are on show at the CREATE centre, alongside photographs of other projects celebrating the 200th anniversary of Brunel’s birth. The exhibition runs until 6th October. For more details visit the CREATE Centre website or ring 0117 925 0505.

Funding for Bristol Stories partner

The planned Museum of Bristol has received a £10.2m grant. Bristol Stories will provide multimedia content for the new building, which is scheduled to open in 2009.

October 2006: Local History Month

The dates for Local History Month have been changed - the organisers have now decided to run the events in October, so that Local History Month will coincide with Black History Month.

Through October, to celebrate Local History Month, there will be a series of screenings of digital stories about Bristol at selected local libraries. These will be open to the public to attend, and you will be able to find out more about how to get involved in digital storytelling at your local library.

Summer 2006: Bristol Stories on air

BBC Radio Bristol worked with Bristol Stories on the 8th and 9th of July at Watershed Media Centre to exhibit digital stories by local people. The event included screenings of short films and a chance for people to find out more about and get involved in digital storytelling.

30 participants created audio stories which were broadcast on BBC Radio Bristol. Listen to the stories online (requires RealPlayer plugin).

Summer 2006: Bristol Stories on show

Recent Bristol Stories workshops have concentrated on the work of Brunel, as Bristol celebrates the 200th anniversary of his birth. A number of them were seen by visitors to “Brunel and the Art of Invention” at Bristol’s City Museum and Art Gallery, and all of the Brunel stories are playing on a big screen during “Nine Lives of I K Brunel” (until 31st October) at the SS Great Britain, Brunel’s famous ship which was built in Bristol in the 1840s. See Brunel Stories on this site.

2006: Digital Storytelling at the Malcolm X Centre, St Pauls, Bristol.

During March 2006, the staff from Watershed and the Museum began meeting with the Elders at the Malcom X Centre on a weekly basis. After screening a selection of stories, a group of Elders started working together to tell their stories about coming to Bristol, discussing the changes they have witnessed in Bristol over the years, and comparing the past with how they find life here now.

Through 2006, stories will be recorded and developed into short movies, using photos, objects, and other memorabilia. The completed stories will then be published online.

For more information about the Bristol Stories project, please email Bristol Stories: BristolStories@watershed.co.uk