New university production house launches Plymouth City of Culture film

A company made up of talented students, graduates and lecturers from Plymouth University has produced an energetic and visually stunning film, showcasing and celebrating Plymouth’s culture in all its glory.

The high octane one minute video entitled ‘Plymouth Culture is…’ is a riot of colour, sight and sound, set to the track ‘Racer’ by local group, The PJP Band and featuring a cameo by Tom Daley.

Launched today on YouTube (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gZY9aMjjrZY), the film came about after Plymouth University commissioned its new production house, PUMA (Plymouth University Media Arts) to create the video as part of its frontline support for the city’s bid.

Professor David Coslett, Deputy Vice-Chancellor and member of the Plymouth Culture Board said: “Submitting the bid and gathering the different strands of information together, was a demanding and difficult process. This film captures the joy of what culture is to Plymouth. It’s exuberant, spirited, stimulating, inclusive – in fact if the judging panel were to see this film, my view is Plymouth would definitely be shortlisted. In sixty seconds the film captures the essence of what we tried to say in a forty-page document - if you want to know why Plymouth deserves to be City of Culture – watch this film!”

PUMA is a new initiative from the University’s School of Art and Media. It is a production house that produces high quality media drawing on the skills developed across its suite of courses in a process of mentoring. Associate Head of School for Media Arts, Phil Ellis said: “PUMA believes that Plymouth has a lot to be proud of in its culture. The inspiration was to represent the dynamic, energetic and creative culture celebrated by the people of Plymouth. Importantly, both in content and style we wanted to show the breadth and diversity of the people and cultural activities which make up Plymouth’s unique cultural identity. There is nobody like us.”

Plymouth University has partnered Plymouth City Council in funding the City’s first stage bid in the national City of Culture 2017 competition. The bid was submitted last week (Monday 29th April) with the shortlisted cities announced in June. In the meantime, stay up-to-date and show your support on the Plymouth City of Culture Facebook page and Twitter. You can also vote for your favourite city to win at the Department for Culture, Media & Sport Facebook page.