Talk:Shooting People

Proposal to update and expand the Shooting People article

Hi all, I would like to propose an update and expansion for the Shooting People page following the organisation’s closure in 2025, as covered by Screen Daily. The current Wikipedia entry is outdated and does not reflect the organisation’s concluded status, its historical significance, or its long-running public programmes. The proposed changes include:

• Updating the history section with citations from independent sources including Screen Daily, The Guardian, the British Film Institute (BFI), Directors Notes and Netribution.
• Adding a section on Notable Alumni that includes only individuals with publicly verifiable involvement with Shooting People through SP’s public events, blog posts, competitions, or Screen Daily’s reporting. * Adding a section on Notable Collaborators & Supporters, based on publicly documented participation through SP’s website and independent press.
• Updating the description of SP’s resources, publications, and the closure of its active operations.
• Ensuring all information is neutrally written, independently sourced, and compliant with Wikipedia’s verifiability, biographies of living persons (BLP), and conflict-of-interest (COI) guidelines. A full proposed revision of the article is included below for transparency and review.

Conflict of Interest note: Editors drafting this proposal may have a connection to the organisation. The proposed text has therefore been written to adhere strictly to Wikipedia’s neutrality, verifiability and sourcing policies. Independent editors are warmly invited to review, amend, or approve the changes as appropriate.

Here is the proposed full article text:

{{Infobox organization
| name            = Shooting People
| formation       = 1998
| founders        = Cath Le Couteur, Jess Search, Stu Tily
| dissolved       = 2025
| type            = Filmmaking network
| location        = London, United Kingdom
| region_served   = United Kingdom / International
| website         = {{URL|https://shootingpeople.org}}
}}

'''Shooting People''' was a UK-based independent filmmaking network founded in 1998 by Cath Le Couteur, [[Jess Search]] and Stu Tily. The organisation facilitated collaboration, connections, training opportunities and knowledge-sharing among independent filmmakers, and became known for its open, DIY ethos and community-led approach.<ref name="ScreenDaily">{{cite web |last=Dalton |first=Ben |title=Shooting People, UK filmmaking network, to close after 27 years |url=https://www.screendaily.com/news/shooting-people-uk-filmmaking-network-to-close-after-27-years/5209506.article |website=Screen Daily |date=1 October 2025 |access-date=14 November 2025}}</ref>

After 27 years of continuous activity, Shooting People concluded its operations in 2025, while keeping a curated selection of resources online for archival and practical use.<ref name="ScreenDaily"/>

== History ==

=== 1998-2005: Founding and early development ===
Shooting People began in 1998 during the early years of internet use in the United Kingdom. Co-founders Cath Le Couteur, [[Jess Search]] and Stu Tily initially set it up as an email list between around 60 filmmaker friends, conceived as an online community to encourage and connect aspiring independent filmmakers.<ref name="ScreenDaily"/> <ref>{{cite web |last=Waterson |first=Jim |title=Jess Search obituary |url=https://www.theguardian.com/film/2023/aug/07/jess-search-obituary |website=The Guardian |date=7 August 2023 |access-date=14 November 2025}}</ref> <ref>{{cite web |title=Jess Search obituary: Doc Society founder and tireless champion of independent documentary |url=https://www.bfi.org.uk/news/jess-search-obituary-doc-society-founder-tireless-champion-independent-documentary |website=British Film Institute |date=15 August 2023 |access-date=14 November 2025}}</ref>

The network quickly developed a reputation for its DIY, punk-inflected approach to filmmaking culture, emphasising openness, experimentation and mutual support among early-career filmmakers. Netribution described this era as part of a “post-web/pre-tech-dystopia, open, queer-punk peer-to-peer culture”.<ref>{{cite web |title=Remembering Jess Search, web pioneer, force of culture |url=https://www.netribution.co.uk/blogs/remembering-jess-search-web-pioneer-and-culture-maker |website=Netribution |access-date=14 November 2025}}</ref>

As more filmmakers gained internet access, the list expanded into a membership network with daily email bulletins across filmmaking, screenwriting, casting, documentary and animation. Its peer-to-peer, community-first model made it an early and influential example of a UK online filmmaking community.

=== 2006-2015: Expansion, competitions and growth ===
During this period, Shooting People launched flagship initiatives including ''Film of the Month'', ''Short Cuts'' and later ''New Shoots''. These programmes provided feedback, mentorship and exposure for emerging filmmakers, and were judged by established practitioners including Stephen Woolley, Danny Boyle, Andrea Arnold and Peter Strickland.

Writing as a ''Film of the Month'' judge, Woolley commented on the difficulty of judging the films because they were “all attempting to achieve different things from stylistically different angles”.<ref name="FOTM">{{cite web |title=Film of the Month: February Winners – Stephen Woolley |url=https://shootingpeople.org/blog/2017/04/film-of-the-month-february-winners-stephen-woolley/ |website=Shooting People Blog |access-date=14 November 2025}}</ref>

Industry figures including Woolley and Asif Kapadia have described the community’s ethos as distinctly independent and “punk” in spirit, highlighting its openness to unconventional voices and grassroots creativity.<ref name="ScreenDaily"/><ref>{{cite web |title=After 27 Years, Shooting People’s Cath Le Couteur On Wrapping An Indie Film Institution With Grace |url=https://directorsnotes.com/2025/10/24/cath-le-couteur-shooting-people/ |website=Directors Notes |date=24 October 2025 |access-date=14 November 2025}}</ref>

=== 2016-2024: Peak activity and legacy building ===
By the late 2010s, Shooting People had become one of the longest-running independent film communities in the UK. Many alumni went on to BAFTA, BIFA and Academy Award recognition.

The organisation hosted filmmaker Q&As, screenings, masterclasses and community events, including the “Mobile Cinema” touring project, which was profiled in ''The Times''.<ref>{{cite news |last=Moggach |first=Lottie |title=Road movies? We’ve got ’em |url=https://www.thetimes.com/travel/destinations/uk-travel/scotland-travel/road-movies-we-got-em-ctnlpvt0vhm |work=The Times |date=14 July 2005 |access-date=17 November 2025}}</ref>

It also became known for a widely shared exchange with NASA regarding the quality of films held on the International Space Station, reported in ''The Guardian''.<ref>{{cite news |last=Walters |first=Ben |title=NASA astronauts’ film list sparks debate |url=https://www.theguardian.com/film/filmblog/2009/aug/19/nasa-astronauts-film-list |work=The Guardian |date=19 August 2009 |access-date=17 November 2025}}</ref>

=== 2025: Closure ===
In October 2025, Shooting People announced that its active operations would conclude after 27 years, while leaving a selection of resources online.

== International partnerships ==
Through British Council international collaboration programmes, Shooting People launched '''New Shoots: International''', connecting filmmakers in the United Kingdom and Algeria through cross-cultural workshops, creative knowledge-sharing and international project development.<ref>{{cite web |title=Film & International Collaboration Projects |url=https://film.britishcouncil.org/about/our-work/film-int-collab-projects |website=British Council |access-date=14 November 2025}}</ref>

ArchivWanderer (talk) 14:50, 12 December 2025 (UTC)

As there have been no objections since this proposal was posted several months ago, I will begin implementing the proposed updates gradually over the next few days so that individual changes can be reviewed more easily. ArchivWanderer (talk) 11:21, 11 March 2026 (UTC)