The Film Factory

Wallace and Gromit, The Curse of the Wererabbit

With the London Film Festival starting next week, Vera Brozzoni discovered where Brit cinema's Bright Young Things are being trained and nurtured into tomorrow's stars.

London’s where it’s at! London is the capital of cinema!

That’s the buzz right now, and if you take a stroll through Soho or keep an eye on the cinema listings, you can’t help but agree.
But where do tomorrow’s film talents (who will ensure that London remains the capital of cool ) learn their craft?

One of the most  successful ‘film factories’  is in the unlikely setting of Beaconsfield, Buckinghamshire, 25miles west of London, at the renowned National Film and Television School,  directed since 2003 by Nik Powell ( co-founder of Virgin Records with Richard Branson and producer of films including The Crying Game and Ladies In Lavender)

Over the years, the School has nurtured talents including animation director Nick Park (Wallace And Gromit: The Curse Of The Wererabbit), directors Beeban Kidron (Bridget Jones: The Edge Of Reason) and Michael Radford (Il Postino), and documentary guru Nick Broomfield (Biggie And Tupac, Ghosts)

The idea for the school began in 1967, when the Department of Educaiton and Science encouraged the creation of a film school for the UK.
But the project wasn’t realised until Colin Young, from the University of California, bought the old Beaconsfield Film Studios in 1970.
The following year, the newborn National Film School welcomed its first group of selected students.

Now, the  NTFS counts roughly 200 students and offers practical courses  - costing £ 7,500 a year for a full time, two year course; £500 to £2000 for short courses,  with scholarships and grants available - in every aspect of filmmaking.
The place is a hub of excitement and creativity.
“I switched from the record business because I wanted to be involved in a three-dimensional business, not a two-dimensional one like music,” says Powell.

And how has the School changed since he arrived?
 “My first job was to have the School properly financed and bring it back up to the high level of its origins.
I think it worked because now our directors get Oscar nominations and have their films selected in major film festivals. I acted like a catalyst, but of course I also had to give new blood to the School.”

His strategy has worked, and every year there’s fierce competition for a coveted place.

With only six openings per course, but hundreds of applications the selection process is long and complex.

Potential students are first assessed by a panel of NFTS tutors ( who include Stephen Frears, director of My Beautiful Launderette, Dirty, Pretty Things  and The Queen ) and industry professionals, who choose a shortlist of candidates to attend an interview.

For some courses there will be a three or five-day workshop a few weeks later, then the final decision is made.
Admittedly, students are selected if they produce an impressive portfolio.
Age, nationality and professional or educational background are not issues as long as the student is gifted with an original voice and plenty of creativity.   

From the eyes of a young overseas student Lorenzo Gangarossa, from Italy, who is studying for an MA in Producing the NFTS is “Like a big family.”
“You work extremely hard but in a friendly environment.
Like every course here, mine is very practice-orientated. You get to produce two big-budget short films and one animation film. Our tutors teach us a wide range of subjects including finance, marketing, distribution. At the end you feel grounded in your job and you can manage both small projects and blockbusters.”

 In fact, when the new graduates leave the School, the Bridges To The Industry programme includes development deals with broadcasters and production companies to help them establish themselves.

It sounds like filmmaker’s heaven.

Yet Powell says, “A school must always be changing, never settle. Every time your students change, you have to adjust. In fact, the NFTS is in a permanent revolution.
Cinema is changing too: the progress in technology has changed both what can be made and how it can be made.
Also, it has changed the way people can see it and the way the industry gets the film to an audience.”

So where is the most creative filmmaking happening nowadays?

 “I would say the Far East, especially China and South Korea, and Central and South America, especially Mexico and Argentina.”
Be ahead of the game and check these countries’ films out at the London Film Festival.
And you’re bound to spot a few NFTS alumni on the red carpet!

 More info at www.nfts.co.uk.

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