The Film Skills Fund held a ScreenSkills Filmmakers Forum in London’s Hoxton Hotel this week. The exclusive event was delivered by Fund partners Reclaim The Frame and offered alumni of Fund supported programmes a day of panel sessions, round-tables, and networking opportunities, designed to upskill, make new connections and develop existing relationships among peers.
A fireside chat with producer Rebecca O’Brien, Producer & Managing Director, Sixteen Films, kicked off the event, with the BAFTA-winning producer joined in conversation by ScreenSkills Head of Film, Animation and Future Skills, Emma Turner.
In the wide-ranging conversation, Rebecca shared stories from her decades-long career, her journey from location manager on the groundbreaking My Beautiful laundrette to her hugely successful collaborations with director Ken Loach across 17 films.
She spoke about how she sees her role as a producer, creating positive working environments and fostering happy sets and productive working relationships and building a lasting, sustainable career.
As the subject moved towards the of financing projects, it led into the next panel, hosted by producer and co-founder of Story Compound, Tolu Stedford. For Financing in Today’s Market, she was joined by Jacqueline Hurt, Partner, Sheridans, Phil Hunt, co-founder Bankside, co-founder & CEO Head Gear Films and Michelle Stein, producer, co-founder The Fold. The panel discussed the realities and challenges of securing financing in a conversation that explored routes to investment, unlocking tax incentives, and what your project needs in place to reach green light.
The first of two afternoon sessions centred on crewing up inclusively. Touching upon the legal and ethical responsibilities in hiring practices, Valeria Bullo, Chair at Reclaim, The Frame, EDI & Wellbeing Consultant, moderated a conversation around the practical realities and the pitfalls of crewing up. Offering their expertise were Lisa Balderson: People & HR Consultant, Philippa Childs, Head of Bectu, Shelley Gill, Talent Manager, ThinkBigger!, and Joy Gharoro-Akpojotor: Producer, Founder Joi Productions who offered insight on working with agents and unions, creative leadership and a shared best practice to provide participants with clear, actionable approaches to make crewing fairer, safer, and more transparent.
That was followed by Positioning matters: how to think of audience at every point in the value chain, moderated by journalist, podcaster & film festival consultant, Wendy Mitchell. Experts in commissioning, funding and sales - Eva Yates, Director, BBC Film; Shanida Scotland Head of Film UK, Doc Society; Emma Norton, Producer, Element Pictures; Luane Gauer SVP International, Production & Acquisitions, Black Bear - shared advice for finding the best route to every unique film's potential audience. They looked at current streaming and at the box office successes, and how can to think about audience at every step in the process, from development and packaging to production to release.
The event also gave attendees the opportunity to join separate deep dive sessions and explore more about financing and crewing up, led by industry leaders and designed to provide more guided advice and insight.