ScreenSkills bursaries are cash grants of up to £3,000 designed to remove financial barriers to career progression. They are open to anyone and can be used to cover travel, driving lessons, accommodation, access costs, equipment or training fees.
Midnight Memphis, a disabled and neurodivergent artist from North-East England, applied for a bursary to help them upskill as an editor. Alongside working in film exhibition and production, Midnight runs Daydream Cinema, which works to make film more accessible for neurodivergent and disabled people.
We spoke to Midnight to hear about their experience with the ScreenSkills bursary, including how it has helped them progress in their career.
Have you always wanted to work in screen? What inspired you?
I’ve worked in the film sector for many years, primarily in exhibition - working on accessible screenings and promoting disabled representation on screen and behind the camera - but I’ve increasingly worked on creating films over the last few years.
As a working class disabled person, I had felt like filmmaking was out of reach to me. But working with community filmmaking groups helped me to realise that creating my own work was something I could achieve. I was exposed to a wide range of films whilst working in an independent cinema and I was inspired by the idea of telling my own authentic stories.
Tell us a bit about your work in screen so far
I started work in film exhibition over 20 years ago and became aware of the crossover between filmmaking and exhibition. For example, creating marketing videos, editing trailers and adding captions to films that don’t have them. But seeing and programming a wide range of films also helped me realise what is missing: lots of films don’t have accessible formats available from their distributors, or the film content itself can present accessibility barriers. There is no “one-size fits all” when it comes to how a film is presented. In the long term, I’m interested in creating work with less dialogue for a wider range of audiences, including neurodivergent people and people who speak different languages.
For the accessible screenings offered through Daydream Cinema, I’ve created animated indents, added voiceovers, captions and audio description to films and created walkthrough videos to help audiences feel comfortable at screening venues. I’ve learned a lot working on these and my confidence has grown as a result.
How did you hear about the ScreenSkills bursaries?
I heard about ScreenSkills through the community filmmaking groups and filmmakers I worked with. I was impressed by the support offered and it occurred to me that I would really benefit from a bursary that allowed me to access mentoring for editing.
What did you use the bursary for?
I used the bursary to access mentoring for editing. I learned about captioning and subtitling, creating indents and animation. I worked with a local filmmaker I feel comfortable with and who could tailor their support to my needs. I was given hands-on support while I got to grips with software I hadn’t used before.
How did the bursary help develop your screen career? How have you been able to use your new skills?
With the editing sessions I accessed through the bursary, I learned how to use DaVinci Resolve. During the same period, I was part of an artist project where I had to create a video about my work. I was able to edit it to be included in group exhibitions and events. I wouldn’t have been able to do this without these tailored sessions.
This gave me the confidence to access other filmmaking opportunities, and I’ve recently worked on a project with CrewGal. I’m now working towards my first short film with an online LGBTQ group organised by E.D.E.N Film Productions.
As well as giving me the confidence to get involved in community filmmaking projects and start work on my own films, I've also been able to use these skills with my business, Daydream Cinema. With Daydream Cinema, I work to make film more accessible to neurodivergent and disabled people, and part of that is making sure that more films have closed caption files, for example.
Why do you think it’s important to have things like bursaries available to those working in – or looking to join – the screen industries?
I’m really pleased to have had a bursary from ScreenSkills. They’re a great way of supporting people who don’t have financial means to access equipment, or who need tailored mentoring and support that they couldn’t afford otherwise. This support also means diverse groups of people can access filmmaking and consider it as a career in a way they might not be able to otherwise.
What's next for you?
I'm currently part of an online filmmaking group with E.D.E.N. Film Productions, developing ideas for the first short film I'll write and direct. The film will explore the experience of navigating workplace issues as a disabled person. It will be an experimental film utilising live action, mask-work and puppetry. I'm excited to get this into production and start collaborating with my team.