The public had an exclusive first-look at Mind the Gap during a special preview at Leeds Playhouse.
Mind the Gap is just one part of an ongoing co-creation and research project at Leeds Trinity University, which utilises staff and students in the film’s production.
Associate Professor Ricardo Barker who wrote and directed the film said: “This is a no-budget film. It’s a minimal crew of professionals and we’ve got students who are learning the craft as it unfolds, but the expectation is a professional standard.”
The film, which is based on real-world attainment gap research, revolves around Daniel, a white senior professor who must navigate his unconscious bias and its impact on his students.
“This is not another white saviour narrative,” Ciaran Dow-Jones, who plays Daniel, said. “I hope it [the film] will allow white professors to see themselves in Daniel and encourage them to change their approach to teaching.”
The film will go through final edits as the co-creation team prepares the rest of the project which is aimed at presenting the film and their research on the attainment gap to universities around the UK.
According to the Advanced HE, the degree attainment gap is the difference in ‘top degrees’ – a First or 2:1 classification – awarded to different groups of students. The biggest differences are found between white and black students.