Yesterday I received some fantastic news that I’d been selected by the National Youth Film Academy to be a director on their upcoming Easter Course! In terms of numbers I’m 1 of 4 directors in the north of the country on the 60 person course taking place in Manchester with the other 60 studying in London. Overall there were 3,000 total applicants across the country for varying film production and acting roles and out of those 120 16-25 year olds are accepted to go on to study on the course so I’m in a really good place. I’ll be working with actors and other crew members whilst learning and making a short film in April next year. I’m excited to say the least as this will no doubt be a really good opportunity that will hopefully open more doors for the future as I head towards finishing my time at university.

The NYFA is supported by BFI ‘Future In Film’ with the objective of locating, supporting and developing the talents of young filmmakers in the UK. I’ll be spending 10 day in Manchester training, learning and making a film in my role as director whilst working with industry professionals. Whilst this in itself is a brilliant opportunity, there’s a chance to move on from there to a 3-week course in London over Summer to further develop my skills and potentially screen a film at the BFI. Getting onto the NYFA Easter course is in itself a big step so I’m just grateful for that right now though!

To get onto the course I had to apply and attend an interview in Manchester at the end of November with many other filmmakers and actors. I’d taken along a portfolio but didn’t have much of an idea of what I’d be asked and after a long and restless 3-hour wait I was called in for an interview that lasted all of a minute or two. Before I knew it I was back on the train to Derby with no idea how things had gone but clearly they’ve turned out for the best!

Over the next few weeks and months I’ve been encouraged by the NYFA to begin trying to raise funds to support myself for the course and accommodation during my stay in Manchester. I’ll be looking into ways that I can do this and if anyone has any suggestions, please get in touch! For more information on the NYFA visit www.nyfa.org.uk or head over to their Facebook page here.