Brighton Filmmakers present ‘Dummy’ at the Cosmat Conference for Film and Media Students

The Cosmat Conference for A level students of Film and Media Studies across Sussex schools and colleges takes place on Thursday 26 November at Brighton’s Duke of York’s Cinema. This year it features the acclaimed film Dummy which was conceived and shot in and around Brighton and Hove.

It is the brainchild of director Matthew Thompson and producer Paula Barnes and stars 12 year old Thomas Grant as Jack who suddenly has to deal with the death of his mother from a possible overdose. He gets looked after – if that is the right word – by his older brother, Danny, who prefers to escape into the world of drugs, girls and music.

Danny is played by Aaron Johnson whose performance has jetsetted him into starring roles as John Lennon in about-to-be-released Nowhere Boy directed by artist, Sam Taylor Wood and, coming next year, as the eponymous hero in Kick Ass alongside Nicholas Cage.

Matthew Thompson and Paula Barnes will tell the audience about how Dummy - with its emotional story and strong visual style - came to be made and will answer the questions of students keen to follow in their footsteps.

The conference kicks off with the work of short film and music video maker, Joe Tunmer who also lives and works in Brighton.

The conference, organised by film tutors at Varndean College, Brighton and part of Brighton and Hove’s film festival, CineCity, has been running since the early 1990s and has featured directors like Ken Loach with Hidden Agenda and more recently Paul Andrew Williams with his visceral thriller London to Brighton.