Teesside academic staff in Venice Film Festival double header

In a coup rare not just among academics but in the UK film industry in general, two films from the same production company, founded and run by Teesside University staff, will debut at the world’s oldest film festival.

Teesside University media lecturers Samm Haillay and Ben Young will bring Bypass and Blood Cells – the only British feature films selected for the 2014 Venice Film Festival — to the Lido at the end of the month.

Third Films, started by director Duane Hopkins and producer/Teesside University lecturer Samm Haillay, will present Bypass starring George Mackay (For Those in Peril) and Blood Cells featuring Barry Ward (Jimmy’s Hall) at the 71st Venice Film Festival.

Bypass, directed by Hopkins and produced by Haillay, will premiere in the Orizzonti section of the festival, a highly selective slot dedicated to rewarding exceptional achievement in forward-thinking world cinema.

Only a few days beforehand, Blood Cells, produced by Haillay and Young and written by Young alongside directors Luke Seomore and Joseph Bull, will premiere in Official Selection. In November 2013, Blood Cells was the first British film ever to receive funding from the Venice Film Festival’s Biennale College: Cinema programme.

Samm Haillay, Senior Lecturer in Media Production, said: 'We are delighted. Bypass was shot last year and given the director’s track record we had hoped for an ‘A’ list festival. But the relatively accelerated pace of development and production on Blood Cells has resulted in a really great confluence of events.'

Ben Young, Section Head and Principal Lecturer, said: 'To a significant extent, all of this has come about because of the School of Arts & Media’s progressive approach to media practice as research - practice that feeds straight into our work with students.

'As a department, I think that’s really what distinguishes us - our strong balance of insightful theorists and active practitioners, who in combination give our students a uniquely comprehensive and enriching experience.'

Third Films

Bypass facebook page

Blood Cells facebook page

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