The programme aims to give professionals the tools to progress to a more senior level in their careers by matching participants with at least three years’ of relevant experience with paid placements.
Film Forward is part of ScreenSkills Film Skills Fund's wider commitment to increasing and improving diversity and inclusion at every level of the film industry across the UK.
Meet the 2025/26 Film Forward cohort
- Daniel Templeton - stepping up from edit assistant to colour assistant
- Inka Ritola - stepping up from lead assistant editor to post production manager
- Graham Oliver - stepping up from technical artist to Unreal Engine operator
- Sara Missaghian-Schirazi - stepping up from development producer/director to team support in virtual production
- Sophie Bramley - stepping up from video design and environment artist to Unreal Engine artist in virtual production
Developed in partnership with The Adobe Foundation and based on the existing Film Skills Fund Film Forward programme, the new 2025 iteration has been designed specifically to support Deaf, Disabled and/or Neurodivergent mid-level film professionals working in post-production departments.
Five candidates have been welcomed onto the new Film Forward programme ready to start their four-week placements across post-production, virtual production and VFX.
The programme will match the five candidates, each with three or more years’ experience, with paid placements and provide them with tailored career coaching to support them to step-up to a more senior role.
Each member of the cohort has now had their four-week placement confirmed with one of four supporting companies; Final Pixel, Bild Studios, Molinare and Framestore, and will receive vital on-the-job learning, on-site experience and the opportunity to further develop their skills in a working environment.
Emma Turner, Head of Film, Animation and Future Skills, ScreenSkills, said: “It’s incredibly exciting to welcome a cohort of film professionals to this new iteration of the hugely successful Film Forward programme. We are grateful to be partnering with The Adobe Foundation to deliver the programme which underlines the Film Skills Fund’s commitment to providing accessible pathways for progression and improving the diversity of our industry’s workforce.”
Kerry Shreeve, Chief Operating Officer for Molinare Creative Group, who are providing placements to two candidates on the programme said: "Nurturing new talent and supporting career progression is vital for the future of our industry. Through our collaboration with ScreenSkills and participation in the Film Forward programme, we’re proud to help create real opportunities across post-production. By opening up pathways, sharing industry knowledge, and offering hands-on learning, we can support professionals in taking that next step. The programme’s commitment to accessibility and inclusion is a great step toward a more diverse and representative workforce."
Sara Missaghian-Schirazi, one of the five-strong cohort, said: “Navigating a career in the creative industries is difficult for all freelancers, even more so for those of us facing barriers to progression due to inaccessible workplaces - as we know from data showing the stark underrepresentation of disabled people in the UK screen industries. Film Forward is an essential stepping stone towards equity, facilitating collaboration between outstanding companies and disabled talent to dismantle the mid-level career ceiling.”
Daniel Templeton has received a four-week placement with post-production company Molinare through the programme. He said: “Programmes like Film Forward are important and fantastic springboards for the workforce because its gives people hope and confidence that their neurodiverse traits and styles of thinking can become invaluable skills and assets to a team and allows them to grow and develop their talents as well as develop the company and to feel they have a purpose and be part of something meaningful.”
Graham Oliver, who will have a placement as Unreal Engine Operator at Bild Studios, said: “Working alongside Bild's team on a commercial LED volume that's hosted major Netflix and HBO productions gives me access to industry connections and workflows that would be impossible to get otherwise. I'll be learning directly from professionals who are at the cutting edge of virtual production, seeing how they manage real-world challenges and create solutions on major projects.”
Previous Film Forward cohorts
Previous Film Forward cohorts were designed to create change in the UK film industry by supporting experienced Black and Asian professionals to advance to more senior roles.
- Merv Lewis – stepping up to production manager in film
- Tobi Kyeremateng – stepping up to production manager in film
- Venita Singh-Warner – stepping up to production manager in film
- Charanprite Dhami – stepping up to 3rd/2nd crowd and 2nd assistant director in film
- Abigail Alexander – stepping up to hair and make-up supervisor in film
- Jin Ong – stepping up from hair and make-up supervisor in film
- Collette Creary-Myers – stepping up to art director in film
- Leon Seth – stepping up to supervising locations manager in film
Abid Kahn – stepping up from editor (across sectors) to editor (film)
Adrienne Taylor – stepping up from boom operator to sound recordist 2nd unit
Akhilesh Patel – stepping up from Steadicam to B-camera operator
Angela Effanga – stepping up from production coordinator to production manager
Carmen Poulton – stepping up from costume supervisor to costume designer
Chad Orororo – stepping up from sound designer (in-house) to assistant sound editor/designer (feature film)
Harfun Li – stepping up from Avid offline editor (TV) to assembly editor/1st assistant editor (film)
Jenny Stimpson – stepping up from production coordinator to production manager
Karen Lau – stepping up from production designer (outside the UK) to production coordinators/assistant designer
Lorene Dewett – stepping up from assistant editor to editor
M Aamir Riaz – stepping up from LX rigger/design (live events) to LX design (film)
Mari Yamamura – stepping up from director of photography (returning drama/commercial) to DP 2nd unit/camera operator (features)
Riaz Meer – stepping up from editor (feature docs/television) to editor (film)
For Manchester-born Lorene Dewett, the chance to apply came at exactly the right time. She read about the opportunity just as she was about to graduate from a two-year master’s degree in editing at the National Film and Television School (NFTS): “Trying to step up to the editor role is difficult to do for most people in general, but being from a Black ethnic identity background, such as I am, makes it almost impossible. I’ve seen, from working in cutting rooms, that Black and other ethnic minority people are rarely hired to cut major studio feature films.”
She said Film Forward “not only recognises the barriers to progress, but also provides a mechanism to address them by assisting film productions to make more ethnically inclusive hiring decisions by looking beyond their usual hiring network”.
Fresh from winning a top award at Spain’s Premios Lorca film festival for his debut feature Granada Nights, editor and director Abid Khan has his sights set on even bigger things.
Joining the programme in 2021, he said: “Because of my background and not having gone to a traditional film school, I felt I was lacking a bit of support. Knowing I have Film Forward behind me, as well as the success of Granada Nights, has allowed me to move away from the design and ad industry and more into film, which I’ve been trying to do all my life.”
Sound designer Chad Orororo said: “What appealed to me about Film Forward was that it’s tailored to people from under-represented backgrounds. In post-production it’s phenomenal how disproportionate it still is. I’ve seen more diversification recently but in lower-level positions – not heads of department.
“I’ve thought to myself, I could be one of the only people of colour doing the job of sound supervisor. It can feel a bit lonely so Film Forward has given me a sense of belonging; they’re basically saying ‘we acknowledge that it’s been difficult for you and we are here to facilitate and help you’.”
We welcome discussions with productions that are interested in working with any of our Film Forward participants. For more information please contact Naomi Joseph.