Women in Film and TV has launched its 2019 Mentoring Scheme and named the participants and mentors of the annual training scheme.
Mentors this year include Jay Hunt, Creative Director, Europe, Worldwide Video, Apple; Peter Fincham, Co-CEO, Expectation Entertainment; Sarah Gavron, film director and Danny Cohen, President, Access Entertainment.
Twenty women have been selected from hundreds of applicants for the mid-career scheme from industry sectors from OB multi-camera operating to directing, producing, script editing and comedy writing.
Each WFTV candidate is paired with a highly experienced mentor and will undergo a comprehensive six month programme of training. The scheme is financed with the help of a number of partners, UKTV are already confirmed as a sponsor and other sponsorship arrangements are currently being finalised.
Heading up the scheme is WFTV’s mentoring producer Tracy Forsyth who is also a Creative Mentor at Channel 4 Indie Growth Fund. She takes over the scheme from Nicola Lees, who had run it for eight years.
Forsyth said: “I want to build on all the incredible work that Nicola has done, taking the very best of the scheme and stretching it even further to help our mentees realise there is truly no limit to their ambitions or what they can achieve. There is no scheme like this anywhere else in the industry that combines both peer-to-peer training and mentoring from industry leaders to help women develop their careers to their full potential.”
WFTV Chair Liz Tucker added: “And we only have to look at the career paths of previous mentees to know our scheme really works. Over 160 women have now taken part in the scheme and previous mentees have landed jobs at Amazon, Universal Pictures, Studio Hamburg UK, BBC Studios and Barcroft Productions, to name just a few. Our scheme genuinely changes lives and careers.”
The Scheme runs for six months, during which time the 20 participants receive six hours of mentoring contact with an experienced industry figure alongside an intensive programme of exclusive peer-to-peer training and seminars, WFTV member events and wider industry networking opportunities.
The full list of mentors
Jay Hunt
Creative Director, Europe
Danny Cohen
President, Access Entertainment
Sarah Gavron
Film Director
Peter Fincham
Co-CEO, Expectation Entertainment
Kim Shillinglaw
Director of Factual, Endemol Shine UK
Pat Younge
MD Sugar Films
Sara Putt
MD and Agent, Sara Putt Associates
Julia Knowles
Multi-camera Director
Liz McIntyre
Film and Television Executive
Saskia Schuster
Comedy Entertainment Commissioner, ITV
Sam Anstiss
Creative Director, Unscripted, Wonderhood Studios
Hilary Rosen
Deputy Director of Commissioning, UKTV
Tamsyn Zietsman
Director of Publicity, Originals Netflix
Sam Jukes-Adams
Executive Coach & TV Production Consultant
Maureen Murray
Film Producer, Foxtrot Films
Tom McDonald
Head of Specialist Factual Commissioning, BBC
Judy Ironside
Founder and President, UK Jewish Film Festival.
Cinders Forshaw
Cinematographer
Catherine Morshead
TV Director
Olwyn Silvester
Managing Director, Bedlam Productions
The full list of mentees
Afia Nkrumah
Writer/Director
Alison Cain
Producer and Edit Producer
Caroline Bridges
Cinematographer
Caroline O’Neill
Development Producer and Producer/Director
Colette Hooper
Producer and Edit Producer
Coralie Rose
Casting Director and Founder, Road Casting
Daisy Aitkens
Writer/Director
Dawn Beresford
Head of Talent, CPL Productions; Talent Executive, Arrow International Media; Trainer and Writer
Emma Yuille
Supervising Producer, VICE Media
Gem Pinkney
Publicity Manager, UKTV
Gwenda Carnie
Group Commercial Director, Flame Media Group
Kathy May
Head of Legal, October Films
Lynne Davison
Writer/Director
Malinda Kaur
Writer/Director
Meryl O’ Rourke
Comedy Writer
Roua Alazzawi
Writer/Director
Sally Smith
Director and Camera Operator
Samantha Warham
Production Accountant for High End TV
Sara Sehdev
Talent Manager and Founder, Core MGMT
Sarah Wyatt
Development Executive, BBC Studios Drama London
Staff Reporter
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