This week saw the second meeting of the Preston Sync group at the New Continental, an evening dedicated to bringing together people interesting in film and media arts in Preston.

It took the structure of showcasing work by local students, sound creators and video directors, as well as opening the event up to attendees in order to debate what direction Sync should take in the future.

Ric Michael, coordinator of Lancashire Film Festival (who Blog Preston interviewed when we reviewed last year’s event) spoke about how he wanted to spearhead a movement to bring creativity in film and visual arts to Preston that would make it a hive of activity in the North West and gain national recognition.

Everyone also agreed about the lack of a discernable creative ‘scene’ in Preston, for people to hang onto and call their own. Guests and participants who were showing the work felt that there was no reason why there shouldn’t be a strong visual arts scene in Preston, as the quality of the work shown was comparable to any other city in the UK.

Below are some of the works that were showcased, ranging from animation to event documentation and film shorts.

Gabriele Ganzaite – ‘Balloons’

Stephen Janson – ‘A Frantic Shot Torn’

Patricia Guerra and Ben Grime – ‘Falling In’

Sam Pratt – ‘Continental Beer Festival’

Sync is proving to be a great platform for people to not only screen their own work, but to network and meet likeminded people involved in the visual arts in Preston. The next event is in February.