Xiaohongshu
78 years of student film making at UCL
For generations, the Students’ Union has been the starting point for students discovering film at UCL. As part of our UCL200 Summer Festival, we came together to celebrate the power of film, showcasing iconic Students' Union films from our archives.
Students, staff and many members of our alumni community, including Harry Bradbeer, director of Fleabag and Killing Eve, attended the Film Festival event in the main quad to watch short student films and learn about UCL's history of supporting student film makers through the Students' Union.
That film was the start of my career as a filmmaker. I thought, 'Wow, this is where I'm meant to be. This is where I've been put. This is my life.'
Director Harry Bradbeer reflecing on his film Christie, made whilst he was a student at UCL
Robin Jackson: UCL Film Society President, 1962
Robin Jackon first joined UCL Film Society in Freshers Week of 1960, drawn in by a lifelong love of cinema and an interest in seeing new films. What he found was a small but passionate group of around twenty students making their own films and newsreels – FilmSoc!
The very first project he worked on as part of Film Society, a twenty minute black and white film directed by a Slade School of Art graduate, went on to be screened at the National Film Theatre and selected for an Amateur Cine World Ten Best Competition, which was open to amateur films from all over the UK, with its Director, Slade student Dehta Hsuing, later becoming a prominent filmmaker.
During his time at Film Society, Robin made many reels about student life at UCL (including capturing some famous moments in Varsity history, where mascot heads were stolen by rivals King’s College London!). It was an atmosphere where the students who had been there for three plus years were passing on their knowledge to those who were just joining, and so there was a constant cycle of information exchange.
In his third year, he became President of Film Society. One of his prominent pieces of work during this time was a campaign promoting the idea that the country needed more higher education, shot in and around the UCL campus, as well as across wider North London. It became an influential piece in terms of promoting the need for higher education, and was selected for the National Film Archive as a good representation of student life.
After finishing his biochemistry degree, Robin stayed on at UCL for an extra year to figure out how to turn his love of film into a career. He joined the Shell Film Unit, where his science background opened the door to documentary work. What followed was a 50 plus year career in documentary and educational filmmaking, from Ministry of Defence training films to widely used safety pieces for the Navy. Even with a degree far from the arts, film remained the thread that shaped his working life.
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