Farmers on Film hope to shine at the Olympics

Films which aim to put Staffordshire on the map at the London 2012 Olympic Games premiered this week at Staffordshire University.

Short video profiles starring farmers and food producers from Staffordshire have been created by Staffordshire University film students to boost the region’s profile during the Olympic Games.

It is planned to link the videos created for the Farmers on Film project to Quick Response (QR) barcodes on packaging whereby, when scanned by a smart phone, consumers will be directed to the profile video of the producer of that product.

Sarah Gayton, a baker from Staffordshire Moorlands and Staffordshire Olympic Coordinator for the Women in Food & Farming Union, was the inspiration behind the Farmers on Film project.

She said: “The whole idea is to promote Staffordshire and get food from the area eaten and publicised at London 2012.Our farmers are absolutely stunning people. They feed us every single day and are never in the limelight and I thought wouldn’t it brilliant to give them a little buzz by getting their faces and stories into the Olympics.”

“This Olympics is all about legacy and that is exactly what we want to achieve with Farmers on Film, a legacy of our fantastic Staffordshire farmers at the Olympics.”

Jon Fairburn, of Staffordshire University’s Business School, led the bid for a Research Informed Teaching Grant to fund the project, which forms part of the BSc(Hons) Film Technology degree at Staffordshire University.

He said: “This was a real world project brief; they had to plan, organise and contact each farmer and producer as a professional. Considering some of these students have not had any experience of making films before, they all should be very proud of their achievements.”

120 students participated in Farmers on Film with 18 films produced with each group profiling a different farmer or food producer from Staffordshire.

Following the preview screening an award ceremony will be held in the January to crown the best entry in the Farmers on Film project.

Vanessa Darlington, Stoke-on-Trent Co-ordinator for the London 2012 Olympic Games said: “People will be inspired to be the best they can be next summer, whether they are a farmer or an athlete. Achieving your best is a key message of the Olympic Games in the UK and these films are a brilliant way of communicating the best of Staffordshire farming and the students involved in this project.”