Oceans of Hope – Ellia’s Story

We were absolutely delighted this week to hear from Ellia Rhodes, a former Net School student who has recently completed their MA in Cinematography. Here she shares her story and news of her inspiring short documentary Oceans of Hope which is available to watch now!

‘I enjoyed five fantastic years as a student at Net School, beginning in year 9 to completing my A levels and leaving after year 13 A level exams. Net School provided me with an outstanding education, where I felt valued as a person and developed a love of learning, from caring, enthusiastic teachers to enjoyable and engaging lessons, small class sizes and individual attention. I felt wistful when it was my time to leave but I have so many fond and happy memories.

There are so many great benefits to attending Net School. From a personal perspective, one benefit being the timetables are constructed in a way that allows you to attend scheduled classes and complete homework to a high standard, with lots of spare time to focus on ‘outside of school interests and activities’, at no detriment to my educational studies at Net School.  In my case this was art, photography and sailing. Photography has been a passion of mine since I was around 7 years old, from 14 I was mentored by a senior assessor from the Royal Photographic Society, along side my Net School classes. At 17 years old, I became one of the youngest to be awarded a Licentiate distinction qualification, equivalent in level to a BA degree. A wonderfully proud moment :) This would not have been possible had I not attended Net School.

My illustration skills developed too, along with some experimental filmmaking. With sailing, I became an RYA Sailing Instructor at 16, going on to complete the yachting qualification RYA Competent Crew at 18 years old. All stood me in good stead for my future career and my growing soft skills. Net School students’ do not need to be sat at home on a computer all day! During my time with Net School, I attended many to their career talks from outside professionals, which was incredibly helpful. Although I explored a few career options, I’m a visual creative and have chosen to pursue a career as a Director of Photography / Cinematographer. I’m delighted and tremendously proud to say, I have just graduated from Met Film School with an MA in Cinematography :)  And am now starting my career adventure as a professional Cinematographer and Filmmaker, working on independent films, documentaries, commercial and corporate films.

My final MA course project is an uplifting documentary short film, and combines my love of sailing and storytelling, interest in healthcare with cinematography. Based on the Danish/UK foundation ‘Oceans of Hope’, I hope my documentary will reach those who may benefit from taking part in an Oceans of Hope sailing activity. Please feel free to share the YouTube link…’

Oceans of Hope documentary on YouTube https://www.elrhodesfilms.com

Photographs of the Oceans of Hope crew and the Oceans of Hope film poster are both © Ellia Rhodes and are used with her permission.