The 2019 WFTV Pat Llewellyn Bursary Fund, in memory of award-winning producer Pat Llewellyn, is now open for applications. The 2019 Fund will award four successful applicants £10,000 each to develop their factual entertainment or factual TV project, match them with an industry mentor to support them along the way, and offer the chance to meet with key decision-makers who have the potential to ‘greenlight’ their idea. The Fund is a joint collaboration between WFTV, BBC, ITV, Channel 4, All3Media and The Welsh Government.
Who Should Apply
Applications are open to any woman with a unique project and a passion for TV. You don’t need to have academic qualifications or industry contacts, just an exciting idea that would be suitable for commission by a UK TV broadcaster. Your project could be a one-off documentary or a factual series or format. It cannot be a drama project. Once you have honed your idea, the online application form to submit it is simple and quick to complete.
To celebrate Pat Llewellyn’s Welsh roots, and to encourage other women from Wales to follow in her creative footsteps, two places this year will be held specifically for any woman either born in or living in Wales, or with a Welsh parent. The other winner can come from anywhere in the UK.
How to apply
Please make sure you read ALL of the below information carefully before submitting an application. Applications must be submitted via THIS ONLINE FORM.
It is free to apply, but you may only submit ONE application with ONE idea. If you submit more than one application, or more than one idea in a single application, ONLY your first submission/idea will be considered.
For more information about submitting an application to the Fund, please read our FAQs-document, which includes information about what is classified as a factual entertainment or factual TV project, as well as tips for completing the application.
Applications open: Tuesday 11 June 2019
Applications close: Monday 30 September.
Shortlisted candidates will be interviewed by members of the awarding committee in November, and the Bursary winners will be announced in November 2019.
If you have any queries, please e-mail: bursary@wftv.org.uk.
Eligibility
- To apply, you must be resident in the UK.
- All women or those who self-identify as women can apply.
- You do not need to be a member of WFTV to apply.
- If you are the owner of a production company, your annual turnover must be below £1m. In certain cases, verification of turnover may be required.
More about Pat Llewellyn and the Bursary Fund
Pat Llewellyn was a multi-award winning producer and renowned for discovering and developing new talent. During her career, she created BBC2’s Two Fat Ladies, discovered Jamie Oliver and christened him The Naked Chef, made Gordon Ramsay famous with Ramsay’s Kitchen Nightmares, and launched the career of Mary Portas with Mary Queen of Shops.
Pat ran Optomen, a production company with offices in London, New York and LA, which under her leadership grew from a turnover of £5m to £55m. She died of metastatic breast cancer in October 2017, and the Bursary Fund was created to remember her and honour the huge contribution she made to TV programming worldwide.
The Bursary is funded by BBC, ITV, Channel 4, the Welsh Government and AllThreeMedia and managed by WFTV. The inaugural recipients in 2018 were Megan Jenkins, Victoria Mapplebeck and Cheryl Richardson.
To find out more about how the Bursary Fund is run, click here.
Source: wftv.org.uk
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