Students' Polish documentary

By UK Journalism

Two final year broadcast students have filmed a documentary in Poland after it was commissioned as part of a university project by Granada.

Simon Turner and Pete Waters pitched their idea to produce a 24 minute film for their final year documentary project that was based on the wave of Polish immigrants that have come to the North West.

Pete said: ìIt was a daunting experience as it was something we have never done before. There were a lot of questions and we had to think on our feet so it was a relief when Richard Frediani and Duncan Ryecroft from Granada News approved it.î

Simon and Pete wanted to focus on the start of the workersí journey in Poland instead of when they arrive in the UK and spent five days filming in Gdansk, Poland interviewing ex-pats and locals and exploring the city.

Different perspective

Pete said: ìThere are many assumptions made about immigrants who come to the UK and we wanted to look into the issue further from a different perspective and spending time in Poland allowed us to do this.î

They met a Polish DJ who now lives in Blackpool and he put them in touch with friends in his hometown of Gdansk including a Polish TV star.

Simon said: ìWe got a good range of interviews including someone who has moved back to Poland after working in the UK, English people who live in Poland and local residents.î

They have nearly finished editing all of the footage and say they are happy with how the documentary has turned out.

ìItís a snapshot of the lives of immigrants and the reasons why they choose to work in the UK. The people we met in Poland were very welcoming and some of the nicest I have ever met. I learned a lot from the experienceî said Pete.

Simon added: ìThe shoot really motivated us to make the film a success and some of the shots we got there make the film stand out. Without them the film would have the same old clichÈd shots of the North West. Instead, we have shots of old Communist battle ships, decaying shipyards, Soviet style architecture and most importantly, interviews with people who have something different and interesting to say.î

More info
BA (Hons) Journalism
PGDip Broadcast Journalism
Granada News

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