Connecting people through film and music

Connecting people through film and music

Reel Connections uses film, music and the creative arts to connect people, groups and communities across Norfolk and the South East.

We deliver a range of courses, events, screenings and activities with people of all ages and backgrounds.

Find out more about…

Courses

The Reel Connections Learning Hub is an online learning programme specialising in film and music theory courses.

RECORD CLUB

A range of free monthly sessions across Norfolk, where we listen to a classic album played in full, on vinyl, before discussing the record together.

ARCHIVE FILM PROJECTS

Screenings, film programmes and events designed to bring archive film alive in new ways, and to new audiences and spaces.

FOREVER YOUNG

A specially compiled programme of rarely screened archive films from the collections of the East Anglian Film Archive that celebrates the diversity of British youth culture.

REVOLUTIONS

Celebrating Music’s Rebels and Pioneers! A programme of pop-up screenings of films that shine a light on some of the voices that have transformed both music and society.

MUSIC ON MY MIND

A community project designed to encourage positive discussion around mental health through the shared enjoyment of popular music.

About us

Reel Connections are a Community Interest Company that uses film, music and the creative arts to connect people, groups and communities across Norfolk and the South East. We deliver events, screenings and activities with people of all ages, abilities and backgrounds.

As a small and enthusiastic team with a broad range of experience and specialisms, we believe in the many benefits arts and culture can have on both individuals and communities. Our activities are designed to build on people’s enjoyment of film, music and the creative arts to improve wellbeing, and develop new skills and opportunities. We are passionate about increasing creative participation and engagement for all, particularly for audiences who experience social and rural isolation.

Meet the Team

Guy Martin

DIRECTOR

Guy has worked in the film and arts education sector for over 30 years devising and delivering education and audience engagement projects.

Prior to founding Reel Connections, Guy managed Cinema City Education leading on the delivery of screenings, events and courses for schools, colleges and adult learners. Previously, Guy was Head of Media and Film Studies at DLD College in London. More recently he has been working on projects with organisations including St Mary’s University and City & Guilds. In 2018 Guy received the Norfolk  Arts Award for Education and Community work.

Guy holds an MA in Video Production from Bournemouth University and a BA in Film Studies from Reading University. He is fairly eclectic in his film and music tastes and, depending on what day you ask him, would list Vertigo, Jaws or Almost Famous among his favourite films.

EMAIL GUY

Dr Anna Blagrove

DIRECTOR

Anna has been a film and media educator and researcher since 2007. She is a Lecturer in Animation (Visual Effects) at Norwich University of the Arts and attained a PhD from the University of East Anglia (UEA) in 2020. The title of her thesis is Teens’ Screens: The Places, Values and Roles of Film Consumption and Cinema-Going for Young Audiences. From 2014-2020 she convened and taught film and media studies modules at undergraduate and postgraduate level at UEA.

Anna was Education Officer at Cinema City for over ten years where, with a team, she programmed, marketed, administered, and delivered informal film education events for all ages and sections of the community. She is a qualified teacher of English as a second language with experience teaching at private language schools.

Anna has a passion for the cinema experience and is driven to ensure that future generations can continue to enjoy independent cinemas and see a broad spectrum of specialised films.

EMAIL ANNA

Milly Kirby

FREELANCE COORDINATOR & MARKETING OFFICER

Milly works with a variety of projects and arts organisations across the East of England providing freelance administration, marketing and social media support. These include TOAST Poetry, Reel Connections and Spark, as well as individual artists and creatives.

Since graduating from Norwich University of the Arts with a BA in Visual Studies in 2010, Milly has worked as Education Officer for the educational charity Cinema City Education, with Norfolk & Norwich Festival on their Festival Bridge programme, and as a Producer for the yearly Young Norfolk Arts Festival. They are currently studying for an MA in Gender Studies at the University of East Anglia.

Milly is passionate about the benefits creativity and culture can have on both individuals and communities, and particularly loves working on our archive film projects.

EMAIL MILLY

Stuart Hobday

DIRECTOR (Non-Executive)

Stuart is former Director of Norwich Arts Centre and Chief Exec of Diss Corn Hall. In 2016 he founded Norwich Science Festival. He has also published a biography of Norwich C19th radical Harriet Martineau. He is passionate about lifelong learning and facilitating access to arts opportunities.

Dr Nathalie Morris

DIRECTOR (Non-Executive)

Nathalie is a curator, writer and film historian who has always loved cinema. She has an MA in Film and Archiving and a PhD in silent film from the University of East Anglia, and has worked for a range of regional, national and international organisations. As an archivist at the East Anglian Film Archive (EAFA), Nathalie supported the archive’s public access programme, before going on to hold senior curatorial positions at the British Film Institute (BFI) National Archive and the Academy Museum of Motion Pictures in Los Angeles.

She has contributed to publications including Sight & Sound, Women Screenwriters: An International Guide (Palgrave Macmillan, 2015), The Directory of World Cinema: Britain (Intellect, 2012), and British Women’s Cinema (Routledge, 2008). With Claire Smith, she edited The Cinema of Powell and Pressburger (Bloomsbury, 2023).

Nathalie’s favourite films include I Know Where I’m Going! (dir Michael Powell and Emetic Pressburger, 1945), Mildred Pierce (dir. Michael Curtiz), Vertigo (dir. Alfred Hitchcock, 1958) and Portrait of a Lady on Fire (dir. Celine Sciamma, 2019).

Matthew Worley

DIRECTOR (Non-Executive)

Matthew is a Professor of History at the University of Reading. He has written several books, chapters and articles on aspects of British history, primarily in relation to interwar politics and post-war youth cultures.

His book, No Future: Punk, Politics and British Youth Cultures, 1978-84, was published in 2017 by Cambridge University Press. His latest monograph is on fanzine culture. A book series for Palgrave Macmillan is edited by the Subcultures Network, which Worley co-founded in 2011.

Contact us

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Email us at: info@reelconnections.co.uk