Girl with the Light Blue Hair scoops award with educational copyright film

Last Thursday an animated film, The Adventure of the Girl with the Light Blue Hair, by Professor Ronan Deazley (right, Queen’s University Belfast) and CREATe researcher Bartolomeo Meletti won the AHRC [don't try pronouncing this: it's the Arts & Humanities Research Council] Research in Film Award for Innovation in Film. The panel of judges – consisting of industry and academic experts such as film director Beeban Kidron, Financial Times Arts Editor Jan Dalley, and actor and producer Diana Quick – described the film as 

“a well-constructed, quality animation addressing issues of creativity, IP and copyright for schools and undergraduates: lively, engaging, witty (à la Sherlock Holmes mode), informative and educating at the same time.”

Awards were doled out at the British Film Institute Southbank in London. The AHRC Research in Film Awards – designed to recognise the creative and innovative work being undertaken at the interface between research and film – attracted hundreds of entries including, animations, installations and gallery pieces, music videos, and documentaries. All the winners and full versions of the films can be seen here. Said Ronan: 

“We set out to make a film that would help explain fundamental concepts of copyright in a way that is thought-provoking but also entertaining. It is a privilege to receive an award for work that celebrates the possibilities of lawful, creative copying.”

Added Bartolomeo Meletti: 

“With this film we wanted to educate about copyright but also to highlight the crucial role that lawful copying plays in the way in which we all create and present ourselves, artistically and otherwise, to the world.”

Not yet showing at a cinema near you ...

The Adventure of the Girl with the Light Blue Hair is the first episode of The Game is On!, a series of short animated films that puts copyright under the magnifying glass of Sherlock Holmes [who is not copyright-protected, even though he has been regularly appearing in court], illustrating concepts of remix, reuse and the public domain for school-aged learners and other creative users of copyright. The film is accompanied by 12 Case Files, supplementary educational materials providing points of discussion about copyright for UK teachers and students. Drawing inspiration from well-known copyright and public domain works, as well as recent copyright litigation, the resource provides a springboard for exploring key principles and ideas underpinning copyright law and creativity, and the limits of lawful appropriation and re-use.