Cam*Era- mini Cannes film festival

Lights, camera, action! This past weekend the University of Cambridge experienced the birth of a new persona, Cam*Era, the first Cambridge International Student Film festival, and what a beauty!

With all the features of its older siblings: great new films from around the world; enthusiastic film makers of all ages; fun receptions; BAFTA officials (Hilary Bevan Jones) and Oscar-winning film makers (Jon Blair) offering wisdom and assistance; talented actors (Tom Hollander) and documentary film makers (Taghi Amirani) ; swarms of effortlessly beautiful people, many of them former students now developing careers in the big Smoke (Zara Hayes and Piers Royce); savvy techno geeks pouring out information on the latest and best gadgetry; film directors and producers (Huck Melnick) generously offering ideas on how best to shape one's inspirations; and of course, the not-to-be missed awards ceremony, complete with fraught thoughts and fancy frocks, it made for a delightful event. It meant a hitherto unknown side of Cambridge, became "unhided", as one of foreign language subtitled entries so charmingly captured it.

Whilst George Clooney himself was not there, a fine young actor called Peter Hinton, who easily could pass as his younger brother, was present and showed great interest in promoting my work through film and TV. He is an up-and-coming actor who has worked with and continues to collaborate with the great and the good of British theatre and television. By combining the latest knowledge from academia and everyday life then presenting it in a creative, engaging and, where possible, fun way, we have a chance to put out some interesting and useful work. Peter has asked for a reading list and is boldly immersing himself in this material so that he can put his creative mind and perhaps too his production company, to work on this project.

In short, after many years in the austere and heady academic environment that is Cambridge, I have been inspired by the rich advice received and the hearty enthusiasm for this work to focus now on a wider audience to tell stories about love in its many guises though documentaries, comedies and whatever other format suits. So get ready for the next episode in this unfolding tale of mystery, love and enchantment. London? Cannes? Hollywood? Here we come.