Publication date: 23/01/2009
Bangor graduate Danny Boyle's latest film, Slumdog Millionaire is fast becoming one of the major films of the year, having been nominated for 10 Oscars as well as receiving four Golden Globe Awards in Hollywood recently.
Danny Boyle received an Oscar nomination for Best Director, while the film also received nominations for Best Picture, Achievement in Cinematography, Best Adapted Screenplay, two nominations for Best Original Song, Best original score, Achievement in Film Editing, Sound Editing and Sound Mixing.
Danny Boyle graduated from Bangor University with a degree in English & Drama in 1978.
Slumdog Millionaire won the Best Drama Golden Globe, Best Director, Best Scriptwriter and the Best Musical Score Globe.
Professor Tony Brown of the School of English taught Danny Boyle during his first year at University. He recalls : "He seemed a very mature, very focussed and down to earth student- and so very involved in everything that was going on- in particular within the Drama Society- I recall him acting in a production of Saved by Edward Bond."
"I am surprised at his success- in the sense that I'd have expected him to be a stage actor or director. He has immense presence and personality, he's very bright and has made some remarkable films- they're all so different to each other- he's been his own man and has not become sucked in to the Hollywood 'studio' system.
He visited Bangor around two years ago to speak with our students; he was terrific with them and very unassuming""
Since Danny Boyle's time at Bangor, the University has rapidly expanded its film and media courses (http://www.bangor.ac.uk/creative_industries/index.php.en). Students can now take single honours in Film, study joint courses or follow film studies modules as part of their degrees. The University has state of the art facilities for production work- filming and editing in a dedicated building. Students can choose from a wide range of modules covering practical and theoretical subjects with all periods of cinema from around the globe offered. Twenty staff from across the University contribute their expertise to the film studies programme.
"Film Studies continues to grow in popularity at Bangor and we're looking forward to enrolling high calibre students at Bangor- who knows which one may become the next Danny Boyle," commented Dr Nathan Abrams, Senior Lecturer in Film at Bangor University's School of Creative Studies.
Professor Graeme Harper, Director, Arts and Innovation at Bangor University's School of Creative Studies and Media commented: "Danny Boyle has recently been described as one of the world's most "energetic" directors
Meanwhile, local student Siôn Griffiths, from Llangefni, has been accepted on a PhD Film Studies course at Bangor University. Siôn recently returned from Universal Studios in Los Angeles where he was following an intensive nine week film making course with the prestigious New York Film School there. His first year's fees have been sponsored by the University's College of Natural Sciences in exchange for some documentary film-making on their behalf.
(See: http://www.bangor.ac.uk/news/full.php?Id=744 for Sion's story)