This year, Shehzad had continued his development in film and creative media, and was selected to join the ENGAGE programme run by the Screen Academy in Edinburgh. The programme takes 24 of the best up and coming practitioners from the various film schools in Europe, and engages them in an intensive 9 month development programme at various European venues. The emphasis is on cross border collaboration with other talents, building networks, and gaining deeper insights into the film development processes from experts in their field.
Shehzad said, "I feel honored and privileged to have been selected for the Engage Programme, which acts as the breeding ground for international creative collaboration. It is a European Film Academy which selects the best talent from across Europe to participate. I have just come back from Ireland, where the first workshop and Engage event took place. This was amidst the backdrop of the Volcano eruptions, luckily the Scottish contingent managed to get back to Scotland, however other European colleagues were stranded there for over a week. The workshop in Ireland though was a great start to programme, and made a number of new contacts for future collaboration."
Shehzad added, "It has been really hectic over the last few years, and the Screen Academy at Edinburgh Napier University has been there, helping, supporting and guiding me through the complex maze of film and creative project development. I'd certainly recommend the academy to anyone wishing to embark on a creative career in film and creative media development."
Shehzad had also just finished wrapping his first feature film debut as writer/director/producer on a film called Pendulum Drift. The film was financed privately, managing to attract a high caliber of cast and crew onboard the project. The film was shot near Glasgow, and the story sees an eclectic mix of travelers stop off at a mysterious hotel café/car park, where truths, lies and loyalties are uncovered. It has one of the largest casts seen in a British film recently, and the film will be accompanied by a soundtrack featuring some of Scotland's finest bands. The film expected to premier in 2011, screening at a number of film festivals, before going to screen theatrically at a number of art-house cinemas in the UK.
Shehzad commented, "It was a great experience working with fresh talent. The cast and crew all worked hard on the shoot, and this will become evident once the film completes post-production. The story contains a number of interesting characters, which I am sure the audience is going to love."
The following is a link to the Edinburgh Skillset Screen and Media Academy page detailing the film screening event: http://www.essama.org/content/may-13-graduate-film-screening-edinburgh-napier-mfa-advanced-film-practice
Dundonian Shehzad Afzal, who graduated with a Masters in Screen Project Development with Distinction in 2009 from the Screen Academy, sees his film, Down the Rabbit Hole, playing along side the other selected films. Shehzad Afzal was presented with an award by Abbey Santander for Outstanding Achievement in Film and Creative Media earlier this year, building on his success from last year, which saw Shehzad being selected as one of the 25 British Cinema's most promising talents, winning the Skillset and EIFF Trailblazer 2009 award which was presented to him by Sir Sean Connery.
