As debut film releases go, Celeste Bell’s was about as good as she could have possibly hoped for. The South London filmmaker wrote, directed and narrated the acclaimed 2021 documentary Poly Styrene: I Am a Cliché which went on a run of festivals and awards that culminated in winning the best documentary and discovery categories at the British Independent Film Awards (BIFAs).
It was following this success that she joined the Springboard BIFA mentoring programme, part of ScreenSkills mentoring network and supported by the Film Skills Fund. The initiative is designed to support writers, directors and producers to continue and develop their careers by pairing them with experienced industry professionals from their field.
Celeste was paired with film producer and co-founder of Tigerlily Film, Natasha Dack-Ojumu, and, sensing a compatible personality connection, the two struck up a beneficial relationship from the start. “I was just lucky that my mentor is a producer, so she really been actively helping me as a producer would with my next project and helping me to develop it.”
The two would meet up regularly, both in-person and online, to discuss topics around what plans Celeste had for the future and issues Celeste would raise around next steps and best practices. Natasha offered guidance and advice on how to write a good treatment, pitching projects and how to produce an archive reel. Speaking of their conversations, Celeste said: “I would ask her for guidance about next steps. She would also give insight into the industry and process what production companies might be looking for”.
It soon became a relationship that helped Celeste accelerate plans for her next project. “It took me from an idea to early stages of development”. She was able to start pitching her idea to Natasha and leaned on her experience to help it take shape, something she recognises would not have been possible without the mentoring programme. “If I hadn’t had a mentor, it would have taken much longer”.
Read more about ScreenSkills' mentoring network
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