NORTHERN Film & Media (NFM) has teamed up with Channel 4 to turn the national focus on North East artists who have an eye for what makes a good movie.

Inspired by the success of people such as Steve McQueen – an artist whose first forays into a filmmaking have met with enormous success – a pilot project called The Artist’s Cut hopes to showcase similar talents and is open now for submissions.

McQueen’s direction in films Hunger and now Shame – both starring Michael Fassbender, the latter winning him his Bafta nomination – reveals his artistic eye in beautiful and bleak scenes that capture the power of the stories and performances.

Fellow artists-turned directors Sam Taylor-Wood and Gillian Wearing are also finding themselves much talked about for their ventures behind the camera.

Turner Prize-winning artist Wearing made her directorial debut with Self Made, which Northern Film & Media, the Newcastle-based creative development agency, invested in and which was shot in the North East.

Also Bafta-nominated, the hard-hitting documentary-style feature – co-produced by Newcastle-based Third Films – was described by Agnes Wilkie, NFM’s creative director, as having the ability to sit in both a cinema and contemporary art gallery and it has since been seen in galleries across the world.

With such successes in mind, NFM has secured Arts Council Funding to develop, in partnership with Channel 4 , the work of other local artists and help them to break into film.

Alison Clark-Jenkins, regional director of Arts Council England North East, said this collaboration will support the next generation of talents to continue living and working in the North East.

The support will take the form of a series of workshops to develop film or TV ideas.

With the aim of producing two narrative films at the end, the artists will be able to learn all they need to know from industry professionals. Intensive mentoring over three months will cover everything from storytelling and cinematography through casting and directing to distribution and marketing.

And, says Wilkie, they’re expecting “break-through results” from the project which will provide “a structured, industry-focused development opportunity for North East artists to explore the intersection of art, film, TV and digital media”.

Already signed up as mentors are script editor, and former Film4 head of development, Kate Leys who worked on The Full Monty, Four Weddings and a Funeral, and Trainspotting; Channel 4 commissioning editor for arts Tabitha Jackson, and producer Samm Haillay, who worked on Self Made.

Susie Wright, Channel 4’s media project manager for creative diversity, is another.

She said the channel, committed to giving a platform to the next generation of talent, is delighted to support the initiative.

She added: “The North East has a wealth of creative talent and this scheme will help us to tap into a part of the creative industries that can really bring something new.

“The Artist’s Cut feels particularly timely when you consider that the Turner Prize was, for the first time ever, held outside of London at Baltic in Gateshead.” It’s certainly the sort of project that helps add buoyancy to an industry, which will be celebrating the past year’s achievements this coming Saturday at the Royal Television Society Awards held at The Sage Gateshead.

It follows too a former NFM project, Film4ward, also aimed at developing film-making talent and this time involving Film4, which resulted in features by four North East filmmakers.

Artists hoping to get a look-in this time around should get busy on their applications.

The Artist’s Cut is open to established artists based in the region who want to develop their work and understanding of traditional film production and story.

Among the ingredients looked for will be quality and potential of ideas, originality, and visual style. Successful artists will get to develop their ideas between March and May, receiving a budget of up to £4,000 to make short pieces.

The deadline for submissions is February 28. Visit www.northernmedia.org for guidelines before applying. For more information or to discuss applications contact Roxy Bramley on 0191 275 5963 or roxy@northernmedia.org