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A filmmaker is celebrating winning an award for his work that’s been compared to Charlie Brooker’s Black Mirror. Luke Collins was born and raised in Bedworth and studied at Coventry University before going on to win critical acclaim.

His short film, Swiped, has won a Royal Television Society award in the Breakthrough (off screen) category. The film examines the modern dating conundrum and Luke explained how he wanted to disconcert people by showing how their online behaviour could be construed if the interaction was face-to-face.

“When you’re using an app, people often act in certain ways that would be quite bizarre in real life,” he said. “I wanted to visualise that process – swiping people – by using VR.”

Luke, 28, said online dating has its positives. “It’s harder to meet people now, people work so much and it can be difficult,” he said. “It has its positives. I think it’s just perhaps when people use it in different ways, not everyone goes online with the same kind of intentions. That’s when conflict can happen.”

Luke, who has recently moved to Leamington Spa, watched the award ceremony live online. He said he was “really chuffed and surprised” that he had won. Describing himself as a “massive film nerd” growing up, Luke said he had no clear idea of what he wanted to do for a career.

“I picked media production at Coventry University and it was there that I really fell in love with writing and making films,” he said.

His passion grew and since graduating in 2014 he has gone on to win critical acclaim.

The coronavirus pandemic has proven a challenge this year, but some filming for his more recent projects was carried out in between lockdowns, when restrictions were eased. He is hoping to move into producing longer form work for television and dreams of working on feature films. He is currently trying to find funding for a feature documentary on organised crime in Europe, and he has some advice for those who dream of working in the industry.

“The best advice I can give is just make films,” he said, “It doesn’t matter what kit you have got – Smartphones now are so good. It’s about making your film, you only get better through doing it.”

He estimates that he has worked on about 20 short films ‘of which three or four have been decent’.

“You learn things with every film,” he added. “That’s how you keep improving.”

Source: www.coventrytelegraph.net

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JOB VACANCY: Film Birmingham Assistant

£20,903 – £27,041

Various Locations

Permanent

Working 36.5 hours per week

Film Birmingham is Birmingham City Council’s Film and Television Office and founding member of the UK’s network of film offices – Film Offices UK (FO:UK). Our team who handle over 1,500 film enquiries a year from domestic and international productions and we are committed to making filmmaking as easy and efficient as possible by providing a comprehensive, one-stop-shop for filmmakers.

In recent years the West Midlands have played host to award-winning directors including Steven Spielberg and Steve McQueen and attracted a host of high-profile film productions including Ready Player One, Kingsman: The Golden Circle, The Girl With All the Gifts and Stan and Ollie, as well as long-running TV shows like Peaky Blinders, Man Like Mobeen and daytime drama, Doctors.

Film Birmingham is looking for an Assistant to join our dedicated team full-time. The job role requires knowledge of the current screen industries sector and previous experience of working in production is essential. To be successful, you will be an effective communicator and have strong administrative and organisational skills. Daily tasks will include facilitating filming, issuing permits, scouting locations and helping to promote the region as a destination for film and TV.

The role will also require you to attend production shoots, meetings and events during evenings, weekends and Bank Holidays as necessary, along with the ability to travel across the region in order to scout and/or be on set for filming locations and productions. A full driving licence is essential. We welcome applications from people with caring responsibilities and flexible working options will be considered.

Read more about this role and apply here.

Essential Skills:

• Previous film/TV production experience
• Knowledge of the screen sector
• Excellent planning, organisational and administrative skills
• Experience of creating and managing online content

Person Specification:

• Enthusiastic, proactive and hard-working
• Excellent attention to detail
• The ability to work well as part of a team
• Able to work evenings and weekends at events, where necessary

Previous applicants need not apply.

Interviews for this post will take place virtually via video conferencing. Shortlisted candidates will be provided with further information.

For informal enquires please contact Sindy Campbell, Head of Film Birmingham on 0121 464 9305 and email sindy.campbell@birmingham.gov.uk

Read more about this role and apply here.

Film Birmingham: Festive Opening Hours

The Film Birmingham office will be closed for the festive break from 23rd December – 5th Jan (inclusive). No filming applications will be processed during this time.

Filming request forms can still be submitted online here. We will process your request as soon as we return in the new year.

Resources

Please keep up-to-date with national guidance for filming here.

If you are searching for filming locations, view our online location database here. You can also register your property as a filming location.

To search for local crew, visit our crew database, or register yourself as crew here.

To view current industry opportunities, view our news page.

We wish you a safe and enjoyable holiday season, and may your 2021 be prosperous!

Film Birmingham Team

Netflix is launching a Documentary Talent Fund to identify and support emerging documentary filmmakers from the U.K.

Working from the brief “Britain’s Not Boring And Here’s A Story,” 10 filmmakers and their teams will get the opportunity to make a short documentary film. The budget is between £20,000 ($27,000) and £40,000 ($54,000) each. All teams will be under the guidance of Netflix and other filmmaking professionals, to ensure that filmmakers and everyone involved in the production are fairly paid. This is done with the view to open doors to those most under-represented in the industry.

In their finished forms, each documentary must be between 8-12 minutes long and will be available on Netflix U.K.’s social channels, with the potential for further development in the future. Entries will be open Jan. 4-31, here for U.K. residents.

Kate Townsend, director of original documentaries at the streaming giant, said: “We’re really excited to open up this opportunity to ambitious documentary filmmakers in the U.K. It doesn’t matter if you’ve never picked up a camera before, we want to encourage anyone with a great story to tell, to go for it. We are on the hunt for the bravest, wittiest, most surprising stories out there and we can’t wait to see what you’ve got.”

The initiative is part of Netflix’s Hardship Fund, which aims to support creatives hardest hit by COVID-19 in the TV and film industry around the world. So far, the fund has donated £2.25 million ($3 million) in the U.K. to the Film and TV Charity’s Emergency Relief Fund and the Theatre Artists Fund led by Sam Mendes. Netflix recently doubled its U.K. production budget to $1 billion.

Read more and apply here.

Source: variety.com

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ScreenSkills is the industry-led skills body for the screen industries – film, television (including children’s, unscripted and high-end), VFX (visual effects), animation and games.  

They are supporting economic recovery and future innovation and growth across the whole of the UK by investing in the skilled and inclusive workforce who are critical to the global success of the  screen sector. For the latest training, including free online learning on issues including COVID-19 and addressing bullying and harassment, visit their Opportunities directory. You can find more resources, including masterclasses and the stories of others who have benefited from training, bursaries and mentoring, on the Resources pages.

ScreenSkills is funded by industry contributions to our Skills Funds and with National Lottery funds awarded by the BFI as part of its Future Film Skills strategy to help people get into the industry and progress within it. 

Visit the ScreenSkills Opportunities directory

Principal photography will commence at locations in and around Birmingham in December for upcoming feature “Footprints on Water.”. Indian thespian Adil Hussain (“Star Trek: Discovery, “Life of Pi”) and British actor Antonio Aakeel (“Eaten By Lions,” “Tomb Raider”) will headline the British Indian film.

Written by Neetha Syam (“Thaara”) and to be directed by Nathalia Syam, “Footprints on Water” will tell the story of an illegal immigrant father in the U.K. who is frantically searching for his missing daughter while trying to avoid the police radar. Through this search, the film will portray the lives of immigrants of various nationalities who arrive in the U.K. hoping to turn their lives around.

Hussain will play the father, and Indian actor Lena Kumar (“Anveshanam”) will portray his wife, who is the missing girl’s stepmother. Another Indian actor, Nimisha Sajayan, who was the lead in 2019 Venice Film Festival title “Shadow of Water,” will play the daughter. Aakeel plays the role of an Afghani refugee.

The film is produced by Mohaan Nadaar’s London-based outfit The Production Headquarters, whose credits include several U.K.-India features, including the upcoming, Scotland-shot “Rat on a Highway” featuring Bollywood star Randeep Hooda (“A Suitable Boy,” “Extraction”).

“This story is written by two sisters and it feels like its their first-hand experience that they have painted in words,” Hussain told Variety. “I trust that they will be able to transform words into intense and moving visuals. I feel the truthfulness in their endeavor. The dreams, the hope, demolition of the dreams, the realization as to what are the most important aspects in life, are very engagingly interwoven in the narrative. As immigrants of Indian origin brought up in Britain, we’ve had a ringside view into the lives of various people, their cultures and ethnicities,” Nathalia Syam told Variety. “Neetha’s script will be visually approached by elements of realism. Through the plot of an illegal immigrant father’s search for his missing daughter, we raise the question of what happens, when the invisibles go missing.”

Source: variety.com

This BFI Network short film funding programme supports fiction projects with directors based in England and is run in partnership with the BFI NETWORK Talent Executives who work with filmmakers on the delivery of funded projects. For directors based outside England or for filmmakers looking for documentary funding opportunities, please see our Funding Finder.

This fund supports the production costs of fiction shorts, in both live action and animation. BFI Network wants to support short films that respond to our core objectives which are to support:

• The early careers of ambitious filmmakers;
• Filmmaking that takes risks on talent, form and content;
• Work that recognises the quality of difference – in perspective, in talent, in recruitment;
• Work with cultural relevance or progressive ideas;
• Work from filmmakers based throughout the nation, not just in traditional industry centres.

BFI Network supports standalone short films and this can include projects that have the potential, further down the line, to be developed into other forms or formats (e.g. a feature film, content in serial form). The fund is intended to stimulate new ideas and stories, so it doesn’t support adaptations of existing material. We welcome applications for amounts throughout the available budget range up to a maximum of £15,000. We are seeking applications for films of any length up to a maximum of 15 minutes.

BFI Network funding is accompanied by creative oversight of the short film by a BFI NETWORK Talent Executive. As well as working with filmmakers prior to and during production, the Talent Executives may be able to advise you on:

• finding screening opportunities regionally and further afield;
• ways to meet potential collaborators for your project;
• festival strategy for your film;
• other means to gain industry exposure for your work.

APPLICATION TIMELINES

Changes are being made to the way that we manage and assess applications to the Short Film fund in England. From October 2020 onwards the fund will open for two six-week application windows in the Spring and Autumn of each year. From 2021 onwards we will publish the application dates six months in advance so that filmmakers can plan their applications, polish their draft scripts and find collaborators in good time.

The dates for the next two application windows are as follows:

Autumn 2020

Spring 2021

BFI reserves the right to amend any of these dates where necessary.

GUIDELINES

Please read the full funding guidelines before you complete the application form.

READ GUIDELINES

AUDIO GUIDELINES

The Short Film Fund audio guidelines are in the process of being updated, please check back soon for the revised guidelines.

APPLYING

Before you proceed to the application form via the link below you will be asked to create an account. Following submission of the application to the BFI, applicants will be sent a unique application reference number for their records.

If you have already submitted an application and would like to review it at any point, you can log into your account here.

You will need to submit a budget for your short film using our budget template which you can download here.

Preview the BFI NETWORK Short Film Fund application here.

APPLY NOW

ASSISTANCE DURING THE APPLICATION PROCESS

We can provide assistance to applicants who are D/deaf, hard-of-hearing, Disabled or neurodiverse people, and people with sight loss, where this support is needed in order for someone to make an application to the Film Fund. Visit Access support for BFI Film Fund applicants for information.

FINDING COLLABORATORS FOR YOUR PROJECT

If you are looking a writer, director or producer to work with on your project, click here for some ideas on how to do this.

Source: filmhubmidlands.org

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The British government has formally announced the creation of a Global Screen Fund aimed at partially replacing Creative Europe’s MEDIA funding following the completion of the Brexit transition period at the end of the year. The $9.4 million fund was confirmed as part of a major spending review setting out Britain’s post-Brexit economic plans as it deals with the COVID-19 pandemic.

As part of a major spending review on Wednesday, which set out plans for the British economy post-Brexit as it deals with the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, chancellor Rishi Sunak confirmed an initial pot of £7 million ($9.4 million) for the Global Screen Fund, which was first proposed over the summer.

In 2018, the U.K. received $14.5 million in MEDIA funding.

The British Film Institute, which has been calling for $22.8 million, highlighting how MEDIA funding has aided both U.K. exhibition and distribution and British films in Europe for more than a decade, is set to administer the fund. It argued that the sector would likely shrink by 10 percent, costing up to 1,200 jobs, with no replacement arranged.

“Today’s £7 million for a pilot Global Screen Fund announced as part of the Government’s Spending Review is a positive result for the independent screen sector in what we appreciate is a challenging fiscal climate,” said BFI CEO Ben Roberts. “Given the significant contribution of film, TV and video games to the UK economy and our position in the global market, we welcome this new funding which will enable the industry to further grow international partnerships, build on export opportunities and increase our return on investment.”

Simon Crowe, chair of Film Export U.K., added: “Well-reasoned arguments do not always prevail but, thanks to detailed understanding within BFI and receptiveness at [the culture ministry], the case for this support has been compelling. We were really grateful to see other sectors of the film industry endorse our view that independent films are incubators for the talents of the future. These films need nurturing to develop and to reach audiences around the globe.”

Caroline Norbury, CEO of the Creative Industries Federation, said: “Confirmation of a Global Screen Fund to replace Creative Europe MEDIA is welcome news, but urgent clarity is needed on what will replace Creative Europe Culture and other EU-funded programmes.”

Source: www.hollywoodreporter.com

University Hospitals Birmingham NHS Foundation Trust (UHB), one of the largest NHS Trusts in the country, is currently recruiting workers for the Covid-19 vaccine programme.

Local people from across Birmingham and Solihull are being sought to take on the job of a lifetime. Birmingham and Solihull has been one of the hardest hit areas in the country, and Covid-19 has had a devastating impact on lives, health and the economy. The UK Government and its medical and scientific advisors have been clear that the only safe and sustainable way out of the Covid-19 pandemic is through a vaccine. The Covid-19 vaccine programme is going to be the single-most important activity we can take part in to restore our health, economy and livelihoods and it is going to require a workforce dedicated to the vaccine programme to help us recover fast in all areas of our lives. As well as seeking people with recent clinical experience to return to practice as vaccinators, those vaccinators will not be able to do their job without an army of non-clinical supporters behind them who will come from all walks of life with differing ranges of skills, but with a common life-saving purpose of recovering our community from this pandemic. We will need, to name but a few:

•         Drivers

•         Administrators

•         First-aiders

•         Coordinators

•         Organisers

•         Care workers

•         Marshalls

•         Logistical movers and handlers.

We will be providing full training and induction so a commitment to the programme is the main essential criteria, and from there we will work with individuals to identify where their skills and experience can best be put to use.

Duration :                 Mid December  – March 2021

Venues:                    There are planned to be 5 venues ;Millennium Point, Aston Villa Football Club, Edgbaston Cricket Ground, Birmingham Airport and the NEC.

How to Apply:          If you are interested in applying please email the inbox;  covidvaccineworkforce@uhb.nhs.uk  stating the following:

• The position you are interested in applying for (max of 3),
• Your preferred venue (max of 3)
• The hours  per week you would are available and the days that you would be available to work ( vaccination centres will be open 7 days a week for 12 hours per day)
• Within your expression of interest you need to provide details of the skills and experience you have that would be applicable to the roles you are applying for.
• Please can you also provide details of how you found out about the vacancy  ( was it through a referral from an organisation you’re working with)

On submission of your email  a member of the recruitment team will then contact you to discuss the information you have provided.

Source: www.solihullforsuccess.com

Here are the nominees for the RTS Midlands Awards 2020. The RTS Midlands will be celebrating the TV and broadcasting industry across the Midlands. Categories include Award for Best Animation, Best Popular Factual Series, Best Drama (sponsored by Film Birmingham) and Best On-Screen Personality. 

The ceremony will be streamed live on Wednesday 25th November. Register here.

Acting Performance – Female

Acting Performance – Male

Animation

Breakthrough (Off Screen)

Breakthrough (On Screen)

Craft – Post Production

Digital Creativity

Documentary

Craft – Production (sponsored by Create Central)

Drama (sponsored by Film Birmingham)

Factual and Specialist Factual

Factual Entertainment / Popular Factual Series

Journalist of the Year

News Programme of the Year

On Screen Personality

Promotional

Short Form

Writer

Register here to view the awards on November 25th at 8pm!

Source: www.rts.org.uk