21/01/2013 - 54 16-19 year olds to be selected for training programme

The British Film Institute (BFI) has announced a new BFI Film Academy Talent Campus (April 2 -12) to be held at the National Film and Television School (NFTS). The BFI Film Academy is the result of a partnership with the Department for Education in England, which has provided £3 million funding for the programme over three years. The NFTS is taking applications from 16-19 year olds all over England, to select 54 participants.

Selected participants will choose a specialism, such as Directing, Producing, Editing, Cinematography or Sound Recording, and form teams that will be tutored by film industry experts to make short films using the school’s film studios and teaching facilities. Tutors include cinematographer Brian Tufano (Billy Elliot), director Brian Gilbert (Wilde) and producer Michelle Eastwood (In Our Name). There will also be masterclasses from some of the country’s leading filmmakers, industry support from BAFTA and visits to the BFI National Archives and Pinewood Studios.

Amanda Nevill, BFI CEO said, “Finding and supporting the talent of tomorrow is fundamental to the future success of the UK Film Industry.  I am so thrilled that we have yet another eminent partner in the NFTS helping to bring this new strategy alive. The NFTS is ideally placed, with all its skills and dynamism to offer an extraordinary opportunity to any young person with ambitions for a career in film.”

The students’ films will be screened at the end of the course at a London event attended by industry professionals. Following the Talent Campus, support will be given to the participants in obtaining further training, work placements or jobs in the industry.