“Diversity behind the camera is just as important as it is in front of it. Film Forward is a vital step in the right direction to help improve our industry from within.”
ScreenSkills and the Film Skills Fund have announced the second cohort of its Film Forward programme. The eight strong group will now be matched with productions for paid placement as part of the flagship inclusion programme funded and developed by the Film Skills Fund.
The initiative, launched in 2021, is designed to create real change in the industry by supporting Black and ethnic minority professionals to advance into more senior roles. In addition to receiving placements on matched productions, candidates will be granted bursaries to help cover expenses entailed within career progression.
From 74 applicants, eight professionals with at least five years of experience in a range of behind the camera roles were selected to take part in the programme. Each candidate will use their time on the programme to step up to a more senior position within their department with the assistance of job shadowing, mentoring and networking opportunities.
Chad Orororo was part of the programme’s first cohort in 2021 and has since seen his career blossom with Emmy nominated roles on feature documentary The Tinder Swindler and Wes Anderson’s Roal Dahl adaptation, The Wonderful Life of Henry Sugar.
Speaking about how the programme enabled him to develop, he said: “Film Forward has been great and it made me feel like I had people that had my best interests at heart. The best way you make the programme work is not to limit yourself and just enjoy it. It's a really enjoyable process when all the people that were running the programme come in and then bang, within a couple of months, you're on the very thing that you'd been waiting years for. Just be ready, be ready for the greatness to hopefully come from such a programme.”
Merv Lewis is one of those selected for the new cohort, hoping to further develop his career in the production department. He said: “The exposure to industry and networking opportunities offered by Film Forward can, I hope, significantly contribute to my professional development, not only broadening my perspectives but also potentially opening doors to future collaborations and projects.”
Fellow candidate Abigail Alexander is excited about how the programme can help highlight existing talent, saying: “Programmes like this force the screen industry to open up, see and recognise just how much talent there is outside of their familiar groups and they can also experience what positives we, the ‘under-represented’ can bring to the table.”
The eight selected for the programme are:
- Merv Lewis – stepping up from 2nd assistant director to production manager
- Tobi Kyeremateng – stepping up from producer (short form drama, unscripted) to production manager
- Venita Singh-Warner – stepping up from line producer to production manager
- Charanprite Dhami – stepping up from 3rd assistant director to 2nd AD
- Abigail Alexander – stepping up from make-up arts, crowd to make-up supervisor
- Jin Jin Ong – stepping up from hair and make-up artist to hair and make-up supervisor
- Collette Creary-Myers – stepping up from production designer to art director
- Leon Seth – stepping up from locations manager to supervising locations manager
We welcome discussions with productions that are interested in working with any of the participants. Go to Film Forward for more information or please contact Naomi Joseph.