Three hundred Northern Ireland teenagers heard from top film industry professionals at their very own spin-off event as part of the prestigious creative tech RENDR Festival.
RENDR Junior is a new event held today (12th February) at the Banana Block in Belfast, where young people heard from inspiring speakers who have worked on films such as Jurassic World, Into the Spider-Verse and Captain America.
The RENDR Festival is an immersive event for people over the age of 18, featuring talks by professionals from the worlds of film, gaming, animation, and immersive experiences including creatives from Netflix, Pixar, Sony Pictures and Epic Games.
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This new event, organised by film education charity Into Film, gives young people aged 14-18 the chance to join in with their own curated event.
Sean Boyle, ScreenWorks Lead at Into Film said: “By including young people in RENDR Junior, we’re giving them a head start in exploring the screen industries. Starting young is key, and this event aims to spark their creativity, inspire ambition and open doors to future careers they might never have imagined.”
The event aimed to give young people insight into careers in the screen industries by hearing directly from industry professionals.
Michael Weir, RENDR Director, said: “At RENDR Festival we believe in inspiring and investing in all generations of creative talent. RENDR Junior is a vital part of our programme, giving young people aged 14–18 direct access to industry expertise and insight, and allowing inspiration to be passed down to the next generation of storytellers and creators.”
RENDR Junior featured three speakers with experience on high-level film and screen projects:
Brenda Ximena Roldan Romero is an early-career professional who graduated only five years ago and is already recognised for her animation and VFX work with DreamWorks and Disney. Her credits include Eyes of Wakanda, The Wheel of Time and Dogman.
Katherine Jones is a CG Supervisor at Sony Pictures. Her most recent work includes In Your Dreams and K-Pop Demon Hunters, alongside major titles such as Into the Spider-Verse, Jurassic World, Godzilla and Captain America.
Kris Kelly is the Belfast-based Managing Director and Founder of EnterYes VFX studio. He has developed immersive entertainment experiences, video games and short films, and is a BAFTA-nominated and IFTA award-winning filmmaker.
Into Film, which organised this event, is an educational charity supported by Northern Ireland Screen that puts film at the heart of learning through projects such as ScreenWorks and Story Builder.
Young people attending the event were keen to explore careers in the screen industries.
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Soraya (17) from Caledon, County Tyrone said: “I love storytelling and I came to this event today to hear from these amazing professionals. I’m so inspired to perfect my art.”
Isaac (15) from Bangor Grammar explained that he is focusing on courses that will help him get into the film industry. “This is the career I want to pursue and I’m looking at ways to develop my skills.”
And Eoin (17) from Coláiste Feirste said: “I’m here to learn from the professionals – there’s no one better to tell you what the jobs are really like and how to get into the industry.”
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