2024: Great Escapes

Are you interested in History, animation, art, meeting new people, being creative, learning new skills?

We will be running our next exciting film project, ‘Great Escapes,’ from Monday 5 August to Friday 9 August 2024, and we have places for 12 enthusiastic young people (aged 16-19 years) to take part.

Working with professional filmmaker, Nigel Kellaway, you will have the opportunity to explore original documents from our collection. Taking inspiration from the latest exhibition Great Escapes, these records tell the personal stories of those who sought escape from captivity. From famous escape attempts such as the escape from Stalag Luft III “the Great Escape” to forms of mental ‘escape’ through art, music and finding love, you will discover how the human spirit endures in desperately hard times.

Taking part in this project will enable you to:

  • Learn stop-motion animation film-making skills with a professional from the industry.
  • Research the stories of individuals who sought both physical and mental ‘escape’, using original documents, with support from our Education team and record experts.
  • Work creatively with like-minded young people.
  • Take part in a unique project that combines historical stories from our records with modern day reflections on how we ‘escape’ from challenging times.
  • Receive an Arts Award accreditation at Explore level.

You will need to be available for the entire project week (Monday 5 – Friday 9 August 2024) and a welcome day on Saturday 20 July.

Applicants who have taken part in previous film-making projects, have commented on their experience:

‘I think learning about preservation and discovering history for ourselves is really fulfilling.’

 

‘… it’s really important to give young people a chance to understand the archives and what they do.’

 

‘Thank you so much for the opportunities during this project week, I’ve enjoyed every minute of it!’

 

If you’re 16-19 years old and would like to apply, please email youngpeople@nationalarchives.gov.uk with up to 150 words (or up to 120-second audio/video clip) explaining why you’d like to take part. The closing date for applications is Monday 15 July 2024.