Mentoring: Why Young Filmmakers Need Our Help
Producer, writer and director Gavin Knight talks about his experiences with mentoring, and how it’s vital to the future of the film industry.
In Alan Yentob’s latest documentary for the BBC Imagine series, ‘2021: We’ll be Back?’, he looks at the impact the Covid19 pandemic has had on the UK’s performing arts industry. He explores all forms of theatre, live music, festivals, comedy & other live events and the picture is bleak.
Yentob estimates 70% of the people who work in these industries are freelance, and are worth around £12 Billion to the UK economy.
Who will discover the next Phoebe Waller-Bridge or Michael Kiwanuka if there are no pub venues left to hone their crafts? The crossover impact on our world-renowned Film & Television industry will be devastating. He fears many talented people will choose other, ‘safer’ careers.
Now imagine you’re a student studying Film & TV — what are your chances of finding work this year or next when the majority of experienced freelancers have done very little for the best part of a year?
One thing you can do to help is become a Mentor — because the next generation of filmmakers are going to need all the help they can get. Mentoring has come a long way since I first started helping Film & TV students at Bath Spa University. It can be a rewarding two-way experience.
The students want you to help them find jobs or work experience, so it’s about you pointing them in the right direction, making suggestions & tailoring their CV.
In the early days ,when you were matched with a student it was up to the Mentor to make all the running — arranging meetings, setting objectives etc., based on guidance provided by Bath Spa. This year, Bath Spa have moved the whole programme to an online Mentoring Platform hosted by PushFar which makes the process a lot easier & less time-consuming. They anticipate participants having just 4–6 meetings or calls per Mentee a year.
While Bath Spa’s program is specifically for their students, the MAMA Youth Project has a further reach. Although I’ve only just joined them, and I haven’t mentored anyone yet, it is clearly a valuable scheme — helping more disadvantaged youth get into media production. Film is a difficult industry to get into at the best of times, but can seem entirely impossible for young people from disadvantaged backgrounds.
The MAMA youth programme aims to go further because it helps disadvantaged people who are not in University-level education. It seeks to open your eyes to issues not normally associated with mentoring by:
- Exchanging perspectives around improving and understanding Diversity and Inclusion within teams, offices, and the overall industry
- Closing the knowledge gap on both sides
- Creating a better understanding of Unconscious Bias
These points serve to not only help the individual mentees, but educate each and every Mentor in how they can improve the industry, outside of their allotted zoom calls.
If you’ve had a rewarding career in our sector, I’d recommend getting involved with programmes like these. Not only is it giving back to the community, but it can boost your own perspective & professional development.
Pushfar claims Mentors experience an increase in self-confidence too, as their Mentee’s success reaffirms their abilities. It also keeps them up to date with the latest trends & technology in our ever-changing industry.
I used one of my Mentees as an editor on a project a few years ago. Not only did he learn a lot about delivering a film to a specific brief, but I realised how & why crew roles were changing & overlapping. He is now an established Self-Shooting Director. Similarly, an established production company can raise awareness of its services and recruit future talent through mentoring.
The process gives you the opportunity to understand the unique challenges and circumstances facing young people today. It’s a simple way to give something back & pass on your knowledge, wisdom & guidance.
There are many Schools, Universities and organisations around the country who are looking for Mentors in our sector. The advice you give may seem obvious, but if a student doesn’t have another adult to talk to in our industry, then the practical answer to a basic question may escape them.
I wish I’d had a Mentor when I was a student — I didn’t understand the world of work. I kept applying for similar jobs at the BBC to no avail. Eventually the BBC gave me an interview. Not to employ me, but to give me a list of independent production companies to write to because I’d been persistent! I had no idea all these ‘independents’ existed, but one of them gave me my first job.
These mentorship programs are an opportunity for established creatives to be that person for someone who really needs it — to point them in the right direction, and help them get over hurdles (covid and otherwise).
