An NFTS 1st year short film North directed by Philip Sheerin and produced by Jacob Thomas has been selected as one of the finalists in the Foreign Category, for the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences’ 41st Student Academy Awards competition.

This is the third year in succession that the School has reached this stage and the NFTS has won this competition 6 times.

Academy members will now vote to determine up to three winning films in each category and the winners will be announced later this month.

Congratulations and good luck to Philip and the team!

Film Synopsis: Isolated on a farm Aaron battles with his family to hold onto what he cherishes most.

Pictured is a still from the film North.

NFTS student credit list:

Writer/Director - Phil Sheerin

Producer - Jacob Thomas

Cinematographer - Steven Ferguson

Designer - Daniel Warren

Editor - Jojo Erholtz            

Sound - Robert Malone

Composer - Freya Thomsen

Boom Operator - Barry Coxhead

NFTS Production Management students have recently enjoyed work experience placements on a diverse range of film and television productions including, 20th Century Fox Television’s 24:Live Another Day; ITV’s Downton Abbey; Babylon directed by Danny Boyle and written by Jesse Armstrong and Sam Bain; the cookery game show Come Dine With Me at ITV Studios and Suffragette starring Carey Mulligan, Helena Bonham Carter and Meryl Streep, which is directed by NFTS graduate Sarah Gavron.

One month of the NFTS Production Management for Film & TV diploma course is spent on work placements, which not only provide valuable contacts, but also opportunities for paid work during or after the course.

APPLY FOR THE NFTS PRODUCTION MANAGEMENT DIPLOMA BY JUNE 5th DEADLINE

24: Live Another Day’s Producer Iain Smith says: "We have been delighted to cooperate with the NFTS in bringing several of their excellent students into the body of the production. This is work experience at its best."

Current student Annys Hamilton, who joined 24:Live Another Day as part of her work experience placement said: "I started off in the production office, and also got a chance to do a day in publicity, and now I am based in scripts. I've been given such a unique opportunity in a really small amount of time to get an amazing knowledge of the workings of the production office. I've had the chance to go on location during filming, and see the sets at unit base, I really have learnt so much.”

She joined two other Production Management graduates working on 24:Live Another Day - Suzie Frize-Williams who graduated in 2012 and recent graduate Pascha Hanaway. Since graduating Suzie has worked in production on feature films including Mordecai, London Fields starring Johnny Depp, and Vampire Academy. She is now the Assistant Co-ordinator working on 24: Live Another Day.

 “It has given me the opportunity to experience filming at a fast pace, with an established American series and a large crew and cast. Coming from a film background I was eager to see how TV works - a show this size certainly keeps you on your toes!” said Suzie.

Pascha Hanaway, who is the Production Assistant to 2nd Assistant Director said of her expeirence: "I am taking full advantage of this opportunity to utilise the skills I learned while at the NFTS on the Production Management course and expand on them, learning the American way of doing things. It is such a great crew and an exciting and well established show that I feel privileged to be a part of."

Now in its seventh year, the NFTS Production Management diploma course is taking applications for the September 2014 intake. The deadline for application is 5th June 2014. There are two scholarships available, generously provided by Sargent-Disc to support the training of talented individuals.

This year’s Sargent Disc scholars are Kirsty Barham who did her placement at Sky Vision, the creator and distributor of multi-platform entertainment, and ITV’s hit drama Downton Abbey, and Tom While who worked as Locations Assistant on Babylon for Channel 4.

Sargent-Disc provide integrated payroll, accounting and software service to the entertainment industry, including the budgeting and scheduling Movie Magic software. The NFTS is a Movie Magic Academic Partner. 

Inside Pictures, the leading film industry business training and leadership skills development programme, has today announced the successful applicants for its 2014 edition. In its eleventh year, the programme is open to applicants from across the whole of the European Union.

The interview panel carefully selected the successful group from more than one hundred high calibre applications from industry subsectors including development, production, sales, distribution, finance, new media, agents and legal and business affairs.

This year’s cohort is comprised of sixteen Full Participants, who attend all three modules of the programme, and nine London Module Participants, who take part exclusively in the London part of the course.

The final selected participants, who come from France, Germany, Denmark, the Netherlands, Ireland, Sweden, Belgium, Czech Republic and the UK, are:

• Conor Barry, Producer, Savage Production Ltd.

• Sara Boss, Senior Sales Executive, K5 International

• Morgan Bushe, Co-Owner, Fastnet Films / WildCard Distribution

• Helena Danielsson, Executive Producer, Producer & CEO, Hepp Film International

• Katie Ellen, Senior Distribution Manager, Film Fund, British Film Institute

• Simon Gillis, Associate Director, Legal and Business Affairs, Universal Pictures International Entertainment

• Paul Grindey, Independent Film Consultant

• Teun Hilte, Managing Director, Under the Milky Way UK

• Tomas Hoffman, CEO and Producer, Infinity Prague

• Alexander Janssen, Acquisitions Manager, Universum Film GmbH

• Gursharn Khaira, Business Affairs Executive, Pathé Productions Ltd.

Mark Lane, Producer and Company Director, The Tea Shop & Film Company

• Graeme Law, Finance Director, Prescience Film Finance

• Anthony Mestriner, Agent, Casarotto Ramsay & Associates Ltd.

• Claire Mundell, Producer, Synchronicity Film Ltd.

• Errol Nayci, Director of Operations, FourOne.Media

• Lucas Ochoa, Head of Film, Company Partner, Producer and Executive, Pulse Films

• Natja Rosner, Head of Sales and Acquisitions, LevelK

• Reinier Selen, COO and Producer, Rinkel Film BV

• Peter Sølvsten Thomsen, Head of Distribution, Acquisitions and Sales, Angel Films A/S

• Damian Spandley, Head of Theatrical, TV & New Media, Metrodome Distribution

• Isabelle Stewart, Manager International Production, Universal Pictures International

• Bart van Langendonck, Producer & Founder, Savage Film

• Sara Woodhatch, Producer, Ichor Magma

• Dragoslav Zachariev, Secretary-General, EuroVoD

Inside Pictures is an initiative created by Qwerty Films and presented by the NFTS. The programme is supported by the MEDIA Programme of the European Union and by Creative Skillset’s Film Skills Fund, which is funded directly by the industry through the Skills Investment Fund (SIF), as well as by the National Lottery via the BFI.

This ambitious and highly regarded programme is comprised of three intensive one-week modules, taking place in London and Los Angeles between June and December 2014. The focus of Inside Pictures is to deliver to its participants cutting edge industry business knowledge and high-level management skills, as well as a greatly enhanced profile within a cross-industry contact network that is second to none in the global film industry. Seminars, workshops, studio visits and events will cover all aspects of the international film business - from development through production, financing, worldwide distribution, marketing and exhibition and the latest digital developments.

Nik Powell, NFTS Director, said: "The eleventh edition of Inside Pictures will welcome a great mix of top level participants from across Europe, and we are looking forward to a very strong year. We are immensely proud of what the partnership between the NFTS, Creative Skillset and the MEDIA Programme is achieving year on year. The impressive accomplishments of Inside Pictures' alumni network are a testament to the quality of the course and its participants."

In addition to MEDIA Programme and Creative Skillset support, scholarship support has been generously offered by the Film Distributors Association, Ingenious Media, and the Irish Film Board. The programme and its participants are also supported by Grant Thornton and Lee & Thompson LLP.

Julia Short, Inside Pictures Programme Director of Content, said "The Inside Pictures programme develops the business and leadership skills necessary to succeed in a rapidly changing industry and world market. Each of the selected 2014 Inside Pictures Participants brings a unique set of skills and experiences to the group, and we are privileged to have a range of top levels speakers from around the world lending their expertise to the programme. We are tremendously excited to see what this year's group achieve, both during the programme and in their subsequent careers as film industry leaders." 

Dan Simmons, Head of Film at Creative Skillset said “Inside Pictures continues to attract and develop an exciting cross section of future industry leaders. Congratulations to all those selected; this a very competitive programme, with an impressive alumni who have become leading lights in the industry over the past 10 years.”

Many of the most experienced and very highest-level industry professionals in America and Europe will take part. See the Inside Pictures website for the most up to date list of speakers.

The NFTS is strongly supporting British actor/writer/comedian and television presenter Lenny Henry's nation wide campaign to increase diversity on our screens by calling for a change in the law to boost the number of black and minority ethnic (BAME) workers in British broadcast media.

NFTS' fundraising Gala on June 18th at old Billingsgate this year also celebrates and supports diversity in the British film and television industry.

Lenny Henry has launched a petition and email campaign aimed at lobbying the government to change the law.

In a "call to action" appeal video launched on The TV Collective website to kick off the petition, Lenny Henry urges people to sign an email addressed to Ed Vaizey the minister of the Creative Industries which supports "Lenny Henry's plan for UK TV channels to have ring fenced money for BAME productions and programmes as they do for the nations and regions."

The video also features comments that have been made to BAME people who have faced discrimination working in the media. These include comments such as: "Wow, I didn't expect you to speak so well,""You're not the right profile to go out on a shoot" and "You're not right for the lead but it'd be good to keep you in for colour."

Voiced by actors to avoid repercussions, a response from one man was: "No, I can't sit in my cab and wait for Moira Stuart to come out; I work here," after it was assumed that because he was BAME, he must be a taxi driver.

Lenny Henry and campaigners have meetings scheduled with the BBC and the Department for Culture, Media & Sport over the next couple of months.

For more information abiout the NFTS Gala click here 

Pictured is Lenny Henry with teenage film makers at a recent NFTS masterclass.

At the NFTS our students get hands on experience on a huge range of programmes including documentaries. Seven out of 8 of our 2014 sound recordists have been on location making documentaries this month – the 8th student chose to work on a drama.

At the moment we have students all over the world: in Brazil filming in a refuge for abused girls; in Cambodia following a 70 year old British missionary on her first mission; in Thailand filming in a monastery rehabilitating drug addicts; in California’s Mojave desert filming people who live in an old town built by Hollywood to film westerns; in Finland about a town twinned with a Russian town; in Gibraltar exploring the relationship between man and monkeys and in Los Angeles capturing the women who dreamed of becoming actors. Read 2 of the students' reports from Brazil and Cambodia here.

This really is invaluable experience and changes the students far more than class room lessons and exercises ever could. Real life situations, often in difficult environments, where they have to think on their feet and learn about close working relationships with their director and contributors give them an experience that will be invaluable once they start working as sound recordists.

They learn as much about themselves as the equipment and how to record sound. So far we’ve had reports back from students who’ve had technical issues on location, some who have suffered in the extreme heat and others who’ve been emotionally overwhelmed by the people who’s lives they’ve recorded. Often the benefits of having a sound recordist on location are not about the technicalities but about the human experience; interviewees are often drawn out by the person capturing their voices and the directors benefit from the support of having a sounding board. It’s about team-work.

This is why the on the job documentary training at the NFTS is unparalleled at any other film or television school TV school in the world – a fact acknowledged by the BBC. The BBC Academy is supporting the NFTS’ Production Sound course and providing internships on TV programmes as well as a job contract for one of the graduates each year.

APPLY for this highly sought after course by the deadline of June 5th.

Pictured is current NFTS Production Sound student Juan Montoto Ugarte on his shoot in Brazil for the NFTS documentary film The Pink House.

Secret Studio, an exciting new high stakes hidden camera game show format created by the TV Entertainment department of the NFTS, is to be developed by Warner Bros. International Television Production as part of a first look deal.

In the format, one contestant answers tough questions and faces their deepest fears in order to walk away with life-changing money – or so they think! The real game is one of psychology, perception and prediction. Each week an unsuspecting ‘mark’ plays an entirely hoaxed game show within a game show called Hell to Pay. Their family and friends secretly watch their loved one from a secret studio and have to predict the ‘mark’s’ behavior in order to win the grand prize. The format was created by students on the NFTS Producing and Directing TV Entertainment MA course James Spokoini (Co-Producer/Format) and Sipho Sondiyazi (Co-Director/Format).

The school has a first look option deal with Warner Bros. International Television Production who viewed all of the students’ graduation game shows before selecting Secret Studio.

“The NFTS course delivers some of the most creative and brightest minds into the TV world. The chance to work with them and their ideas from the earliest stages, taps into Warner Bros.’ ethos of partnering with great talent. Secret Studio showed the most exciting potential from this year’s entries. It is original, well-structured and we feel it’s a concept that will travel well internationally,” said Andrew Zein, SVP, Creative, Format Development and Sales WBITVP.

James Spokoini, Secret Studio Producer and format co-creator, said: “Sipho and I are delighted that Warner Bros. has shown such enormous faith in the pilot and this is fitting testament to the hard work of the production team, crew and department staff who assisted with it. We are confident that in their hands there is every chance for this witty & innovative format to be delivered to air."

James Spokoini graduated from the NFTS in 2014 and has since formed a production company - Bad Accent Television - alongside fellow NFTS graduate Max Bulgheroni.

The NFTS’ Televisions Entertainment department is headed by David G Croft (Shooting Stars, Baddiel's Syndrome, Live Aid, Top of The Pops & Crystal Maze) and enjoys close links with the Television industry. Its graduates have previously been commissioned to make an entertainment documentary (Sexters) that was broadcast on Channel 5, won the Critics Award and the Unscripted Pilot Awards at the New York Television Festival 2013 and have this year the Royal Television Society Student Award for a post graduate TV Entertainment production (Killer Moves).

Warner Bros. and Zodiak Media both offer scholarships for TV Entertainment courses.

David G Croft said: “The industry is taking the work that TV students are making seriously and considering it with a professional sensibility that recognises the quality and execution of ideas is up there with professional production companies.”

Read David G Croft's Blog on why TV industry is starting to sit up and take notice of post graduate's productions.

Read James Spokioni's Blog on how he got his 'big break' in TV here.

Apply by June 5th deadline for Producing and Directing Television Entertainment MA course  here 

The NFTS has won two Royal Television Society Student Television Awards and received seven nominations across the four postgraduate award categories.

The Royal Television Society (RTS) is Britain's leading forum for television and related media. Chaired by Patrick Younge, Founder and Director of WeCreate Associates Ltd and former Chief Creative Officer for BBC Productions, the Awards celebrate the best in student television from across the UK.

The NFTS’ TV Entertainment Department sitcom Killer Moves - co-written and produced by Ben Hillyar and directed by Tim Partridge has won the post graduate RTS Entertainment award. It was described by the judges as “An original concept with pacey writing and editing and clear characters with room to develop storylines across a series. The Jury commended it for its ambition, execution and sheer watchability.”

Killer Moves previously bagged a New York Television Festival Critics Award in 2013. Congratulations to Ben Hillyar, Tim Partridge and his NFTS Team.

Separately, Secret Studio, an exciting new high stakes hidden camera game show format created by the TV Entertainment department of the NFTS, is to be developed by Warner Bros. International Television Production as part of a first look deal. Read more here ...

APPLY for our Producing and Directing Television Entertainment MA course by June 5th here 

The NFTS also snapped up the best post graduate Animation award for the film Miss Todd which was co-written and directed by Kristina Yee, co-written by Frances Poletti and produced by Suzanne Mayger. It was described by the judges as “An ambitious well-directed film that delivers its inspirational message with confidence. The cut-out animation, art direction and camera work all come together beautifully.”

APPLY for our Directing Animation MA by July 10  here 

Also nominated for RTS Student Awards were:

Animation

The Magnificent Lion Boy directed by Ana Caro, produced by James Cotton and written by Jonathan Carr

TV Entertainment

The Big Steal directed by Andre Sousa and produced by Anti Reinthal

Factual

Sodiq directed and produced by Adeyemi Michael

Fiction

Cocoons co- written and directed by Joasia Goldyn, co-written by Sarah Woolner and produced by Dan Demissie. Wasted written and directed by Cathy Brady and produced by James Walker

The winners were announced at an awards ceremony hosted by comedian and actor Joel Dommett on Friday 16 May at the BFI Southbank, London.

Pictured left to right: Killer Moves Co-writer David Mayes with NFTS graduates Sarah Warne (Composer), Tim Partridge (Director) and Co-Writer/Producer Ben Hillyar.

NFTS Games Design and Development student Bojan Brbora’s 2014 graduation video game ‘4pm’ has secured development funding from a private investor for its first episode.

And from June, the ‘short interactive experiential drama’ video game will be available to buy on Steam– the world’s biggest online store for PCs and Macs (http://store.steampowered.com). The meteoric success of the game is due to a massive public vote on the Steam website to ‘Greenlight’ the game. You can follow the game’s progress here www.4pmgame.com.

Working with NFTS Screenwriting graduate Stefan Kaday, Bojan has also been awarded £25,000 by the Wellcome Trust to develop a game to compliment the Wellcome Collection’s forthcoming History of Forensics exhibition.

Fellow 2014 NFTS Games graduate Albert Bentall, who designed and developed the ethereal riverboat exploration game Sandman for the Oculus Rift interactive headset (www.sandmanthegame.com), has now taken up a key role at Sony London studios – just months after graduating.

Albert has also been awarded the initial £10,000 for another project with the Wellcome Trust in partnership with fellow Sandman team members, NFTS Producing graduate Chris Hees and NFTS Screenwriting graduate Melissa Iqball.

And another 2014 NFTS Games graduate, Rich Metson, was invited to the Games for Change Festival in New York to present his grad project Off Grid (www.offgridthegame.com), which he created with fellow NFTS Games graduate Pontus Schonberg. The pair are currently in the process of securing further funding for the project and have formed an indie development partnership.

Finally, Xander MacLeod has teamed up with NFTS Entrepreneurial Producing for the Creative Industries (EPCRI) graduate Amy Mathieson to form the company Crest Games. Their first project is the digital version of Kickstarter card game sensation The Agents, which smashed its original Kickstarter target of $6000 by raising over $250,000.

APPLY FOR THE NFTS GAMES DESIGN AND DEVELOPMENT MA COURSE BY JUNE 5th

FOR MORE INFORMATION

Email: games@nfts.co.uk

Games blog: www.nfts-games.com

Sky Studios bosses have praised the NFTS’ Broadcast Production diploma and snapped up 6 out of 9 graduates from last year’s course giving them job contracts at its London studio.

In a video interview, Sophie Turner-Laing the Managing Director (Content) at BSkyB and Darren Long, Director of Sky Production Services applaud the unique 12 month course for providing the skills that prepare to people to work in a modern multicamera studio environment. Watch the video film with Sky and students here 

The course offers training for Vision Mixers, Camera/ Lighting operators and Sound Mixing specialist to work in television entertainment. These are the core disciplines of multi camera studio operations and people trained at a high level in these craft areas are hotly in demand.

The course includes working on NFTS 1st year TV Entertainment gameshows and graduation projects as well as a six-week internship with Sky Studios in London where some of the modules are taught.

“You can teach theory but you actually really learn when you are deep in it and it’s a reality,” says Sophie Turner-Laing.

"It's unlike any other course...working with Sky you're giong to get a true understanding of what it takes,"adds Darren Long.

Students are exposed to the creative challenge of working across a range of entertainment programming, including: Situation Comedy, Magazine Shows, Talent Shows, Panel Shows, Game Shows etc.

Vision Mixing graduate, Chantal Fitzpatrick says: “It’s a perfect balance between practical and theoretical work. The first time I was able to vision mix live - on Sky sports News - it was a lot of pressure, but I got through it!”

Ben Abineri, one of last year’s Camera students, says: “My memory of Sky is the adrenaline rush that you can only get in a TV studio when the red light goes on and there are potentially 100s of thousands of people watching what you’re doing.”

Sound Mixing graduate Sam Stubbs Benbow says: “To go into a functioning major broadcaster and be treated as a member of the crew is such a brilliant learning experience….You dive straight in, get your hands on the kit and make your own show.”

Students on the current course recently visited the Euro Election studio at BBC Elstree and watched a recording of Pointless, also at the BBC. Coming up in the next few week, students will enjoy masterclass talks from Heather Townsend - author of 3 books including The Financial Times Guide to Business Networking and Gary Clarke - Freelance Sound Supervisor (ex-BBC).

Sky is offering three scholarships to people starting this course. Click here to find out more. Sky also guarantees to employ at least one graduate of the course each year.

Pictured: Sound student, Siyuan ( Tao) Lin, mixing a course music exercise at Sky’s state-of-the-art digital studios.

NFTS graduates have snapped up two prizes at the international Cannes Film Festival.Crocodile, a BFI Lighthouse funded film produced by NFTS producing graduate Zorana Piggott won Critics Week. And NFTS 2014 animated graduation film The Bigger Picture, directed by Daisy Jacobs, produced by Chris Hees and co-written by Jennifer Majka has won Joint Third Prize in the Cinefondation Short Film Section. One of the judges on the panel for this section was fellow graduate Joachim Trier.

The film was selected from 1631 entries that were submitted from all over the world to the Cinéfondation - and was the only film from the UK. This is the third year in succession that an NFTS film has played in this category.

Congratulations to Zorana Piggott and also to Daisy, Chris and all the other NFTS graduates on The Bigger Picture team, who are as follows:

Co-Writer - Jennifer Majka

DoP - Max Williams Designer Elo Soode

Production Assistant Gemma Priggen

Editor Vera Simmonds

VFX Artist Janusz Tomczyk

Sound Editor/Rerecording Mixer Jonas Andreas Jensen

Composer Huw Bunford

SFX Supervisor/Online Editor/Grade Ross Allen

NFTS graduate Zorana Piggott setup 011 Productions in 2008 following her Head of Production position at London’s F&ME. She has produced a number of award-winning short films, including Tom Geens’ Film4/UKFC production You’re the Stranger Here, and the 2009 Cannes Film Festival selected Together by Eicke Bettinga and starring Matt Smith. She is currently developing Andrew Brand’s debut feature Way Out East, selected for the iFeatures2 Development Programme. 
http://zerodoubleone.com

Also selected in Critics Week was The Chicken - a short film written and directed by NFTS 2010 graduate Una Gunjak (Editing).  The film includes NFTS graduates Jelena Goldbach (Producing 2011), Matthias Pilz (Cinematography 2012) and Giacomo Matteucci (DPP 2011) and has already won the Robert Bosch Stiftung Film Prize for Short Fiction. Many congratulations to all of the filmmakers.

SIGN UP for NFTS courses  here before the June 5th DEADLINE!

APPLY for NFTS Directing Animation MA before July 10th. 

Three NFTS films have been selected for the 2014 Sheffield International Docs Fest – one of the world’s leading documentary film festivals.

The School has two films in competition in the Sheffield Student Doc Award section: Honey On Wounds, a film by 2014 NFTS Directing Documentary graduate Iulia Stoian (Director/Producer/ Cinematographer) about war widows in Kosovo who start bee keeping as a means of alleviating social restrictions, depression and poverty, and Love Me Tender by Tim Knights (Director/Cinematographer) and Vera Simmonds(Producer/Editor) about the lives of three young men living in a British coastal town. https://sheffdocfest.com/articles/173-films-in-competition

In the Sheffield Green Award section, the NFTS and the Bertha Foundation present Ecoside: Voices from Paradise, a film by NFTS 2011 graduate Juliet Brown which exposes the impact of one of the greatest ecological disasters in recent history and its impact on local lives. http://sheffdocfest.com/films/5598

Honey On Wounds is also one of 7 NFTS documentaries being shown at the Krakow Film Festival 2014. The other films are: Dylan by Ania Winiarska, After and Brother both by Lukas Konopa, Sing Your Heart Out by Peter Akar, The Bridge by Mara Trifu, The Cleaners by Kostas Georgoussis.

The screenings are part of a 3 hour presentation by the NFTS for a British Documentary Market 'Focus on UK'.

Lukas Konopa's graduation film Vegas was also in the short documentary competition at this festival. 

In addition, an NFTS Head of Documentary Dick Fontaine is showing his recent film about Jazz musician Sony Rollins - Beyond the Notes. 

Good luck to all of the film makers and their NFTS teams

APPLY by JUNE 5 for DIRECTING DOCUMENTARY MA

Love Me Tender:

Tim Knights– Producer/ Director/ Cinematographer

Vera Simmonds– Producer/ Editor

Gemma Priggen – Production Manager

Jonathan Fowle– Sound Editor & Re-recording Mixer

Huw Bunfold– Composer

Boyko Stankov– Online Editor & Colour Grader

Honey On Wounds:

Iulia Stoian– Director/ Producer/ Cinematographer

Stephanie Paelow– Production Manager

Sibila Estruch– Editor

Natasha Roper– Production Sound Mixer

Neo Amilcar Peterson– Sound Editor & Re-recording Mixer

Arran Price– Composer

Ram Krishna Tripathi Samaveda– Online Editor & Colour Grader

Congratulations to the NFTS graduates - Krysty Wilson-Cairns (Screenwriting), Aneil Karia (Producing and Directing TV Entertainment) and Laura Tarrant-Brown (Production Design) - who've just been named 'STARS OF TOMORROW' in the prestigious SCREEN INTERNATIONAL film magazine.

After studying journalism and working briefly at Sky News, Aneil Karia studied Producing and Directing TV Entertainment at the NFTS. Now a writer and director, Aneil’s latest short film, Beat, starring actor Ben Wishaw is described by Screen magazine as ‘…a masterful short film: explosive, involving, tense, different, and almost entirely dialogue-free. Self-financed and shot on 16mm, it firmly establishes Karia as a talent to watch in the film world, although he has been knocking on the door for a while.”  

Read more here…http://bit.ly/1jU7vik

APPLY for our PRODUCING & DIRECTING TV ENTERTAINMENT MA course by midnight TONIGHT June 5th.

Krysty Wilson-Kairns only graduated from the NFTS’ Screenwriting MA course in 2014 but has already had a film script Aether snapped up by Hollywood.

“I wrote Aether over Christmas, during six weeks. I really, really went for it,” says Krysty Wilson-Cairns. By March 13, FilmNation Entertainment had swooped for the riveting, high-concept sci-fi film, written by a “self-confessed science nerd” who was intrigued by the concept of sound never disappearing.

Read more here …http://bit.ly/1owOKps

Laura Tarrant-Brown has not stopped working since graduating in Production Design from the NFTS with two features being offered immediately (the low-budget Love Me Do and Destiny Ekaragha’s Gone Too Far) followed this year by the Goa-set Jet Trash. Tarrant-Brown is currently working on Adam Randall’s futuristic iBoy.

Screen magazine says: “Laura Tarrant-Brown did what (fellow NFTS graduate)Mahalia Belo did in her 2012 graduation film Volume– she created a crafted world that was also natural, as opposed to the stylised Bafta-nominated short Keeping Up With The Joneses in 2013.”

Read more here … http://bit.ly/1pHBBxC

APPLY for our PRODUCTION DESIGN MA course by July 10th.

Well done to all of the 'Stars' - we're looking forward to celebrating with you at the party hosted by BAFTA tonight.

You can read more about these ‘Stars’ here http://bit.ly/SwQHIe

Pictured: Krysty Wilson Cairns, Laura Tarrant Brown, and Aneil Karia

Actor, writer, TV presenter and comedian Lenny Henry who recently launched a campaign for greater diversity in film and television, is to introduce the National Film and Television School’s Gala, ‘The Great British Film, Television and Games Event – Striving for Diversity Nirvana.’

The NFTS' annual fundraising Gala, held on June 18th at Old Billingsgate, London, this year celebrates and supports diversity in the British film and television industry. Baroness Floella Benjamin, OBE, is chairing the Gala committee, which includes Ade Adepitan (Paralympic medalist and television broadcaster), Alrick Riley (NFTS graduate, Bafta - winning director of Hustle, Hotel Babylon and Spooks), Simon Blagden, MBE (Chairman, Fujitsu, UK and Ireland); James Clayton (CEO, Ingenious Investments); Alex Graham (founder of Wall to Wall TV); Judith Chan (Director, Media Banking Division, Coutts & Co); Ashley Tabor (Executive President and Founder, Global Group) and Nik Powell (Director NFTS).

The NFTS is strongly supporting Lenny Henry's nation wide campaign to increase diversity on our screens by calling for a change in the law to boost the number of black and minority ethnic (BAME) workers in British broadcast media.

The Gala aims to raise funds for the school to enable greater opportunities for women, Black, Asian and Minority Ethnic (BAME), LGBT and people with disabilities to study at the NFTS through scholarships and its outreach programme. This includes an NFTS Scout who will seek out talented British young people of all backgrounds to encourage and help them apply to the NFTS, as well additional facilities once they start at the NFTS.

The school already provides £650,000 a year in scholarships to UK students and the Toledo Scholarship, established by Producer Duncan Kenworthy (Four Weddings and a Funeral, Notting Hill) has awarded £150,000 to enable talented newcomers from the UK’s ethnic minorities to fast-track their ambitions and join the British film industry. However, the NFTS is committed to doing more.

Nik Powell NFTS Director said: “The NFTS endeavours to attract a diverse body of students to ensure that their rich mix of experiences, hopes and aspirations are reflected in the great films that get made at the school and continue to be made by our alumni. But we are aware that more can be done to increase the numbers of people from diverse backgrounds in influential positions behind and in front of the camera.”

The NFTS is proud to have as the Gala’s main industry sponsor Ingenious, the biggest independent investor - alongside publicly-funded BBC, Film4 and BFI - in British film and television for 15 years. Ingenious has been a major supporter of the NFTS, both financially and creatively, since its founding, supporting everything from new buildings to new courses and most recently the groundbreaking ‘Creative Business for Executives and Entrepreneurs’, the first ever business course across TV, film, theatre, music, publishing, games and online entertainment, as well as the NFTS initiative ‘Into Film.’

Broadcast and Screen magazines are the media partners for the NFTS’ Gala this year, whose sponsors are Microsoft and Ingenious, and the drink sponsor is Cobra Beer.

For more information about the Gala contact Dominique Cadiou, the NFTS’ Head of Development email dcadiou@nfts.co.uk or visit the NFTS website http://nfts.co.uk 

Director Ben Franklin and Producer Anthony Melton, the makers of the popular cult horror series Bloody Cuts (www.bloodycuts.co.uk) and Millenniun FX have teamed up with NFTS Digital Effects students to produce a gory, thrilling Sci Fi film – Escape Zero.

Written in just 14 days, Escape Zero is a short film set on a space ship, the USS Cronolis, whose crew are being pursued by a bloody-thirsty alien. It was filmed at the NFTS with sets, prosthetics and post production delivered by students.

Writing in his Blog site, Ben Franklin says: “…essentially beyond writing the script and directing for 48 hours, all of the heavy lifting and production was taken care of with aplomb by students from the NFTS. And after a 1st pass edit from Ben and I, the team took care of the post-production and soldiered on to deliver a terrific short, showcasing the skills that they have been developing on their respective courses.

“I’m hugely pleased for the students, and very happy that John and the NFTS Digital Effects course have triumphed (and then some) in delivering a solid piece of work for their course and show reels.

“Personally Ben and I were hugely rewarded in this endeavor as it was a fantastic experience to work amongst a unfamiliar, although exceedingly talented crew, whilst quickly having to develop a working rhythm under the pressure of a ticking clock.”

You can read the full blog and view the filmhere: http://bit.ly/1oYWWm0

John Rowe, Head of DFX, said: "Working with professional writers, producers and directors is an invaluable experience for DFX students. Working with Ben and Anthony gave them that praactical experience - and was also great fun!" 

Apply for the NFTS Digital Effects MA course by the July 10th Deadline

Louise Brown, Channel 4’s former Head of Multi-Platform Commissioning is to lead the NFTS' new Producing Digital Content and Format Development diploma course in partnership with Sky TV.

Her team produced award-winning digital content across all genres including Embarrassing Bodies, Million Pound Drop and Channel 4 News. She was originally hired as Head of Operations for Channel 4’s New Media department where she was responsible for managing the design, production, and project and community management teams.

Before joining Channel 4, Brown was the Portal Manager of MSN.co.uk, leading local editorial and product planning teams for Microsoft’s UK content site after launching and managing Microsoft’s first local search engine outside of the US as their Search Business Manager. She has also worked within the Business Development team at Associated New Media (now Northcliffe Digital).

Her career and interest in online media started at Websters Multimedia publishers as the Content Manager for the first versions of Encarta Encyclopedia when in her spare time she also wrote some of the UK’s first website reviews for magazines such as Future’s.net directory.

Speaking about her appointment, Brown said: “I'm excited to be leading this new course especially within such a high quality educational institution. I'm looking forward to using my knowledge and experience as well as that of my network of brilliant colleagues and production companies to develop and nurture the next generation of talent.”

The 12-month Producing Digital Content and Format Development course has been designed to give graduates the interactive new media skills to build and engage audiences around films and television programmes online.

Brown said the industry was hungry to employ graduates who could help production companies connect with new audiences and stay ahead of the game: “Production companies want connected individuals with fresh ideas and the ability to reach new audiences in new ways. By hiring people with digital content skills they will be ensuring they stay relevant in the fast-moving world of digital content.”

The course will teach practical production and project management skills alongside product development techniques whilst nurturing their all-important creative skills, essential for future idea development within the media. It will be taught both at the NFTS, the UK’s leading film and television school, with some modules at Sky TV Studios. Two Sky Academy Scholarships are available on this course.  To find more click here

The Independent Film Trust (IFT) has announced that it is awarding a scholarship to enable a student to study on the NFTS’s Creative Business for Entrepreneurs and Executives course (CBEE).

The scholarship will be awarded during autumn 2014 to a student starting on the CBEE course in January 2015 and completing in November 2015 and is just one of many training scholarships awarded by the IFT for those who have demonstrated talent but need financial support. The IFT Iacts to advance the cause of independent film-making by various means, and sees the provision of scholarships as a key activity.

Neil McCartney, Chairman of the IFT, said: “We are delighted to be partnering with such a prestigious organization as the NFTS in such a worthwhile initiative, which is helping to generate the producers and entrepreneurs that the UK’s creative industries so badly need.”

The unique 10-month CBEE diploma course for media entrepreneurs and executives (previously titled Entrepreneurial Producing for the Creative Industries) is led by the film producer Chris Auty. It gives participants a detailed overview of commercial practice in seven key media areas (television, film, theatre, music, publishing, games and online entertainment); the networking opportunity to meet leading over 100 media industry executives, advisors and investors across each; and support to build, test and launch their own business proposal or new venture.

Of the first graduating cohort, participants have gone on build a wide variety of cross-platform businesses, including: a B2B online news service in the Netherlands; a games and childrens’ edutainment company; a unique app, social network and marketing tool; and a lifestyle app and events company. The course is delivered in partnership with Ingenious Media – the leading UK Media Investment Group, major media law firm Lee and Thompson and Saffery Champness chartered accountants.

Over 200 leading industry players have featured on the course so far, including Richard Branson, Martin Mills (Beggars Banquet Records), Tim Bevan (Working Title Films); Jamie Byng (Canongate Books), Michael Comish (Blinkbox/Tesco Digital), Joanna Prior (Penguin Books); Robert Delamere (Digital Theatre); Anna Higgs (Film 4); Max Lousada (Atlantic Records); Colin Nightingale (Punchdrunk); Anthony Rose (Zeebox); Charlie Redmayne (HarperCollins); Rebecca Smart (Ebury Publishing); Imre Jele (Bossa Studios); Alex Graham (Wall to Wall Television); and Ian Livingston.

Dominique Cadiou, the NFTS’ Head of Development, said: “We are very grateful for the Independent Film Trust’s support. Scholarship funding is particularly vital to ensure that the NFTS continues to attract the most talented students, irrespective of their financial circumstances.”

Apply for this course and scholarship by the July 10th dealdine here 

NFTS 2014 animation film The Bigger Picture, written/directed by Daisy Jacobs, produced by Chris Hees and co-written by Jennifer Majka has won the Cristal prize for a graduation film at the prestigious ANNECY film festival – Europe’s biggest animation film festival.

The film faced tough competition from film schools across Europe and is huge achievement. It comes hot on the heels of The Bigger Picturewinning Joint Third Prize in the Cinéfondation Short Film Section of the Cannes Film Festival.

Speaking from the festival, Daisy said the team had celebrated their success with other NFTS graduates and added:

“I saw some really great animation films and had a fantastic time during Annecy. I'm delighted to have won the Cristal for our Graduation Film. Well done to all the team.”

Congratulations to Daisy, Chris, Jennifer, and all the other NFTS graduates on The Bigger Picture, who are as follows:

DoP Max Williams
Designer Elo Soode
Production Assistant Gemma Priggen
Editor Vera Simmonds
VFX Artist Janusz Tomczyk
Sound Editor/Rerecording Mixer Jonas Andreas Jensen
Composer Huw Bunford
SFX Supervisor/Online Editor & Colour Grader Ross Allen

Apply for the Directing Animation MA course by July 10 here

Some of Britain’s best-loved actors, producers and directors are coming out to show their support for improving diversity in the British film and television industry, at the NFTS' Great British Film, Television and Games Event –Striving for Diversity Nirvana. The Gala is being held at Old Billingsgate on Wednesday June 18, 2014. It is Chaired by Baroness Floella Benjamin, OBE, and sponsored by Ingenious and Microsoft.

And starry film and television auction prizes generously donated by the industry include Daniel Craig’s suit in the James Bond film Skyfall, a Damien Hirst Exclusive print, tickets to the Hollywood premiere of 50 Shades of Grey,a walk on part in the J K Rowlings’ ‘Casual Vacancy’– and many more.

Bringing sparkle to the National Film and Television School’s Gala will be:

Lenny Henry CBE (actor, writer, comedian)

Sajid Javid MP (Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport)

Baroness Doreen Lawrence, CBE

Baroness Floella Benjamin, OBE

Gurinder Chadha OBE (Bend It Like Beckham, Director)

Stephen K. Amos (British Comedian)

Rochelle Humes (British TV presenter and singer in The Saturdays)

Adrian Lester, OBE (British Actor)

Lolita Chakrabarti (Actress and Playwright and Adrian's wife)

Rudolph Walker, OBE (Actor - Love Thy Neighbour, Eastenders)

Melvin O'Doom (British comedian, radio DJ and TV presenter)

Nitin Ganatra (Kenyan born British actor - Eastenders)

Ade Adepitan MBE (Paralympic medalist and TV presenter)

E.L James (50 Shades of Grey author),

Beeban Kidron OBE (Director)

Sarah Gavron (Director)

Abi Morgan (Playwright and Screenwriter)

Sir Peter Bazalgette

Duncan Kenworthy, OBE (Producer)

Andy Harries (Producer).

Also attending are the following companies and their guests: Ingenious, Microsoft, Virgin Atlantic, Global Radio Group, Working title Films, Hat Trick Productions, Independent Talent Group, Pathe UK, Shine Group, Stoke Park, The Weinstein Company, Warner Bros, BSkyB, ITV, BBC, Sky TV, Channel 4, Toledo Productions, The Walt Disney Company, Twenty First Century Fox film company, Adobe, Coutts & Co, Alex Graham, Simon Blagdon (Fujitsu), SEO International, Pinewood Studios, Elstree Studios, Shepperton Studios, David Abrahams, Hartswood Films, Cineworld, Eon Productions, Entertainment One, Discovery Channel, Creative Skillset, Creative England, Enders Analysis, Big Talk Productions, left Bank Pictures, Altitude Films, Pact, Motion Picture Capital, the FDA, Aimimage, BBFC, Swarovski, Specific Films, West End Films, Fremantle Media, Studio Canal UK, Screen Magazine, Broadcast Magazine, New Moon Films, Enable Partners, Colin Young OBE, Glenn Howell Architects.

The NFTS has been overwhelmed by the generosity of individuals and companies within the British and international creative industries in donating prizes for our live and silent auctions. Funds raised will enable more students from diverse backgrounds to study at the NFTS.

Auction Donations include:

• Exclusive 36” x 36” print by Damien Hirst donated by the artist – ‘Benevolence 2007’. Silk screen on paper with diamond dust.

• A piece of James Bond film history – the Tom Ford suit worn by Daniel Craig in the movie Skyfall, donated by Michael G Wilson and Barbara Broccoli, Eon Productions.

• Two tickets to the L.A Premiere of the film ’50 Shades of Grey’ donated by Universal Pictures and the novel’s author E L James (an NFTS graduate), plus 3 nights in the luxury Chateau Marmont Hotel, off Sunset Boulevard, Virgin Atlantic flights and copies of the erotic romance novel signed by the film’s cast.

• Voice a character in the upcoming Xbox One video game ‘Fable Legends’, recorded at Pinewood Studios, donated by Microsoft Studios (London).

• Exclusive tour for of Marvel’s The Avengers: Age of Ultron live film set at Shepperton Studios while the movie is being filmed, donated by The Walt Disney Company.

• A fantastic walk-on part for a day in the BBC television adaptation of J.K Rowling’s novel The Casual Vacancy, donated by Neil Blair, Paul Trijbits and Jessica Cameron-Lewis.

• Felipe Massa signed F1 racing suit - A unique F1 collector’s piece for all those motor racing enthusiasts. Donation arranged by SEO International.

Plus many more live and silent auction items.

The NFTS Great British Film, Television and Games ‘Striving for Diversity Nirvana’ Gala, chaired by Baroness Floella Benjamin, OBE, and sponsored by Ingenious and Microsoft. Broadcast and Screen magazines are the media partners for the NFTS’ Gala this year. The drink sponsor is Cobra Beer.

It aims to raise funds for the school to enable greater opportunities for women, Black, Asian and Minority Ethnic (BAME), LGBT and people with disabilities to study at the NFTS through scholarships and its outreach programme. This includes an NFTS Scout who will seek out talented British young people of all backgrounds to encourage and help them apply to the NFTS, as well additional facilities once they start at the NFTS. http://nfts.co.uk

The NFTS is proud to have as the Gala’s main industry sponsor Ingenious, the biggest independent investor - alongside publicly-funded BBC, Film4 and BFI - in British film and television for 15 years. Ingenious has been a major supporter of the NFTS, both financially and creatively, since its founding, supporting everything from new buildings to new courses and most recently the groundbreaking ‘Creative Business for Executives and Entrepreneurs’, the first ever business course across TV, film, theatre, music, publishing, games and online entertainment, as well as the NFTS initiative ‘Into Film.’

The school already provides £650,000 a year in scholarships to UK students and the Toledo Scholarship, established by Producer Duncan Kenworthy (Four Weddings and a Funeral, Notting Hill) has awarded £150,000 to enable talented newcomers from the UK’s ethnic minorities to fast-track their ambitions and join the British film industry. However, the NFTS is committed to doing more.

Amma Asante, whose first major feature film ‘Belle’ has opened to applause in the USA and opens in UK cinemas this week, is not one to be pigeon-holed.

Speaking to students at the NFTS (the only talk she has given to a film school), Asante cautioned them against defining themselves too soon in their film-making careers, adding: “Don’t let society or others define you either. I really don’t define myself as a Black film-maker, or a female film maker; I am just a film maker.”

It is a theme that she readily admits runs through both the period costume drama ‘Belle’ and her Bafta winning indie film ‘A Way of Life.’ “In my first film, ‘A Way of Life,’ there are no black characters but the issues (of racism between white teenagers and a Turkish neighbour) are relevant to black people… and to everyone. In ‘Belle’ I’ve written about the black experience - but I speak to the human condition,” she says.

Belle 

Belle tells the extraordinary story of Dido Elizabeth Belle (1761-1804) who was the daughter of John Lindsay, a British admiral, and an African slave. She grew up in Kenwood House, Hampstead, under the guardianship of Lord Chief Justice Mansfield and, against social convention of the time, was raised almost as an equal to his other great niece, Lady Elizabeth Murray. Asante says the film was inspired by a postcard of a painting, attributed to Johann Zoffany, in 1779, that depicts both Dido Belle and Lady Elizabeth as almost as equals, which broke with the social convention of the day. However, there is an ambiguity in the painting; Dido Belle is shown neither as a servant, or as the lady in the portrait.

“I found that painting fascinating; I wanted to know who Dido Belle was and how this painting came to be,” says Asante.

While the film focuses on a legal ruling by Lord Chief Justice Mansfield that lead to the abolition of slavery in England, the film draws parallels between racial and sexual inequality at a time when women were also treated as property. The film shows how even in the upper echelons of society, women were virtually worthless without a dowry and many were forced into marriage for financial reasons.

Developing Characters

Asante says she could have told the story from Lord Mansfield’s point of view but chose to tell it through Belle’s eyes. “My biggest problem putting together Dido as a character was because she was so privileged, not just as a woman but as a black woman at that time. I needed that to be believable.”

To create a sense of contrast, Asante created the character Mabel, the black servant girl, to show how Belle’s life could have been if Lord Mansfield had not chosen to raise her as his own. “Belle leads a very privileged life. At one point she realises that she has been freed twice in her life; once as a slave given her freedom and again as a woman who is given her own income. As a woman, if you didn’t have a husband of consequence, you had no future.”

Questions were raised during production about whether viewers would like Dido Belle. “I wanted to show that Dido Belle isn’t asking for more than she already has, she is just asking to be equal.”

Working with actors

Asante started her career as a child actor on the TV series Grange Hill set in a school, and while she doesn’t believe acting was her forte, Asante says the experience was a good one because it made her appreciate good actors around her. “I developed an appreciation of good acting, while also deciding to become a writer/ director. Now when I’m filming, I am an authority figure as a director - but the actors trust me.”

The film includes two child actors who Asante says were encouraged to rehearse their scenes and make suggestions about their performances. “We rehearsed and discussed their roles a lot. And it was from these discussions that the girls said they wanted to play around with who was the big sister depending on the situation. When you really know your story, that gives you the confidence to take on board other people’s ideas.”

Inspiration

Asante says as a film-maker, she has been inspired and influenced by her father: "My father died during the production of Belle and this had a big impact on me emotionally. He was a great influence in my life and he is a part of the film. He was the one who told me that, “what is right can never be impossible” (the line is attributed to Lord Mansfield in the film).

The portrait of Dido and Elizabeth hung at Kenwood House for many years until the 1920s when it was moved to the family home in Scotland. It now hangs in Scone Palace, the family home. Asante told students she had just flown down that day from Scotland where she had been invited by the family to stay at Scone Castle to view the painting. “It was wonderful to finally see the painting that had inspired the film.” ‘

Belle is only Asante’s second film and like the character Belle, she is a director who seems to know herself - even if others don’t know where to place her. Asked by one of the NFTS students about her experience of being a black female director, Asante replied: “We are all contradictions. I am a woman and I’m black and I’m British and Ghanaian and I live in Holland, I’ve been an actor, I’m a writer and a director. To society, I don’t make sense, I don’t conform to the image of a director; I’ve come here today in my white dress and Jimmy Choo shoes… because that’s just who I am. I don’t want others to define me. As film-makers the most important thing is to define yourself.”

Some of Britain’s best actors, producers and directors were among the guests who stepped onto the red carpet, at Old Billingsgate, London, on Wednesday June 18, 2014, to celebrate and support diversity in the film and television industry, at the NFTS‘Great British Film, Television and Games Event – Striving for Diversity Nirvana’ gala, sponsored by Ingenious and Microsoft.

Baroness Floella Benjamin, OBE, who Chaired the Gala, gave an impassioned speech to the 600 strong gathering that included Baroness Doreen Lawrence, CBE, Gurinder Chadha (Bend It Like Beckham, Director), Rochelle Humes (singer in The Saturdays), Stephen K. Amos (British Comedian), Adrian Lester, OBE (British Actor), Lolita Chakrabarti (Actress and Playwright), Nitin Ganatra (Kenyan born British actor - Eastenders), Jamelia (singer), Ade Adepitan MBE (Paralympic medalist and TV presenter), E.L James (’50 Shades of Grey’ author), Duncan Kenworthy, OBE (Producer).

Baroness Benjamin read out a letter of support from HRH The Prince of Wales, which praised the School for its long standing commitment  to training of the highest standard, and she said: “We are here tonight at the NFTS Gala, which has the support of HRH The Prince of Wales, the Prime Minister David Cameron, the Deputy Prime Minister Nick Clegg and Labour leader Ed Miliband, to celebrate the delights of Diversity Nirvana and to show that there is no need to be afraid of the wonders it can bring to our society and to revel in that glorious feeling of inclusion.”

Sajid Javid MP, the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport addressed the Gala, which was attended by all of the major British TV broadcasters, film studios, production companies and industry organisations, saying: “We are here not only to celebrate diversity in the industry but also to recognise that more needs to be done not just in developing new talent from BME backgrounds but also in promoting diversity across the whole industry.” 

Javid added that young people need to be inspired by what they see on screen and said: “Role models are incredibly important for all young people but perhaps doubly so for someone from a BME background looking to get into the arts. They make the impossible seem possible.

“Kids need to see people they identify with at the top and making it on their own terms. Role models help draw a line between where you are and where you want to be. It’s vital that film and television is truly open to all people from all backgrounds, something that the NFTS and Government is working on together to make a reality.”

Comedian and actor Lenny Henry entertained the audience while driving home the serious message that enforcing BAME quotas on broadcasters was the way forward: “The fact is, television is full of quotas. The BBC has a quota that 25% of all its programmes should be produced by independent companies. There are quotas for how much children’s television they produce. Isn’t reflecting Britain’s diverse communities just as important to the social fabric of our society as children’s TV? I want the same breaks as Peppa Pig, dammit!”

Henry spoke about the importance of capturing the experiences of black people in news and documentary as well as in TV entertainment shows such as The Real McCoy or Goodness Gracious Me.

“So if television and film form a major part of our national memory, then we have a responsibility to document today’s stories for the historians of tomorrow. And it is essential that there is diversity in the media both in front of and behind the camera.

“It’s within your power to change things in this industry. And this goes for all of you, whether you’re an NFTS student, casting director, a lighting cameraman, an agent or a Director General – I urge you from this day forward -whatever you do –whether it’s the stories you’re telling or the people you’re employing –have diversity at the forefront of your mind...”

“There is a wealth of talent to be tapped. There are writers, producers, executive producers, directors, script editors, skilled technicians who just want to work. That is something to be celebrated. That is why the NFTS is important.”

The school already provides £650,000 a year in scholarships to UK students and the Toledo Scholarship, established by Producer Duncan Kenworthy (Four Weddings and a Funeral, Notting Hill) has awarded £150,000 to enable talented newcomers from the UK’s ethnic minorities to fast-track their ambitions and join the British film industry.

View our gallery of this and previous NFTS galas below:

NFTS Gala photos 2014 by Roy Morris Photography.