In this session, Thomas Wightman (BFI NETWORK’s Talent Executive for the South East) will talk about what BFI NETWORK is and how emerging filmmakers can access funding, support and mentoring to develop their careers in the industry. Thomas will be interviewed by Duncan Kennedy, a founder and film programmer at Open House Film Club, and the session will be hosted by BFI NETWORK Officer Nicole Davies.
BFI NETWORK exists to support, develop and champion new filmmakers looking to kick-start their career. They collaborate with film organisations and leading cultural venues across the UK to provide short film and early feature development funding, industry-backed professional development and networking support to producers, writers and directors of all ages.
About BFI Film Academy Labs
BFI Film Academy Labs are online events for 16-25 year olds to gain industry insight and get professional advice and support to develop their own film programming and film making practices. Programmed by the Young Film Programmers’ Network (South East) they are delivered as practical masterclasses, workshops and networking sessions.
This session will be live-captioned, we will provide instructions on how to access the captions at the beginning of the event. If you have any questions about the event please get in touch at: info@independentcinemaoffice.org.uk
You can watch recordings of some of our previous Labs on the ICO YouTube channel.
Speakers
Thomas Wightman
BFI NETWORK Talent Executive @Independent Cinema Office
Thomas Wightman joined the Independent Cinema Office from the Institute of Contemporary Arts (ICA) where he managed STOP PLAY RECORD, a London wide commissioning programme for emerging filmmakers. STOP PLAY RECORD ran from 2015 to 2018 and during this time Thomas commissioned, developed and exec produced 72 short films made by filmmakers aged 16-24 for the Channel 4 Random Acts series. Thomas now works as the BFI NETWORK Talent Executive in the South East. Supporting and developing talent and exec produced a further 50 films.