25
July
2025
|
15:30
Europe/London
Creative media internship brought community stories to life in North Manchester
University of Manchester students collaborated with SICK! Productions to create a powerful, community-driven documentary highlighting the vibrant spirit of North Manchester.
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Six student interns from the School of Social Sciences (SoSS) and the School of Arts, Languages and Cultures (SALC) successfully completed the project as part of a creative media internship programme, now in its second year.
The initiative provided students with valuable real-world experience while enhancing their employability in the creative industries.
Highlighting community voices
The students produced a short documentary exploring community arts projects in Moston and Harpurhey, focusing on a mural initiative that transformed shop shutters and walls into vibrant artworks.
The project aimed to challenge negative perceptions of the area and highlight the resilience and creativity of local communities.
During production, the interns developed new technical and storytelling skills while working to tight deadlines. The experience provided valuable insight into both filmmaking and community engagement.
Developing real-world skills
Working alongside SICK! Productions and mentor Fresh RB, the students built experience in:
- Documentary filmmaking
- Teamwork and collaboration
- Time management
- Community-focused storytelling
The completed documentary was presented to University staff and students, as well as members of the SICK! and Fresh RB teams, and was praised for its quality and impact.
Reflecting on the experience, one student said:
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It was amazing to see the community come together and to be able to do something that makes a tangible difference. This experience has been incredibly rewarding and has given us confidence in our abilities.
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Recognising student impact
“
It was fantastic to collaborate with SICK! Festival on these creative media internships. The students gained valuable experience working on socially engaged projects that brought together media, storytelling and real-world impact - a strong example of our commitment to civic engagement and social responsibility. Well done to our colleagues at SICK! Festival and to our brilliant student interns for their amazing work on this initiative.
Dr Claire Fox / SoSS EDI Director
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“
The students who won their places on the internship proved their worth in creating an extraordinary film about community and hope in North Manchester. They spoke eloquently about what they learned from the internship, professionally and personally. And, gratifyingly, they highlighted the skills around teamwork and time management which they had learned on their degree programmes which proved useful on this intensive internship. Well done to our six students!
Dr Sheena Kalayil / SALC EDI Director
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University of Manchester Interns Work with SICK! Festival to Produce Community-Driven Documentary
Six student interns from the University of Manchester's School of Social Sciences (SoSS) and School of Arts, Languages & Cultures (SALC) have successfully completed a documentary project in collaboration with the renowned SICK! Productions.