Marlow Film Studios holds inaugural education summit with RTS and NFTS

Marlow Film Studios held its inaugural education summit in collaboration with the Royal Television Society and the National Film and Television School in early March.

This event enabled Buckinghamshire’s leading education providers to meet with internationally acclaimed filmmakers and policymakers to discuss how we work together to build a pipeline of Buckinghamshire-based talent to meet the overwhelming demand the film industry is experiencing and retain the economic benefits it brings.

A specially filmed video address for the event by Julia Lopez, Creative Industries Minister in the Department for Culture, Media and Sport welcomed the event and reiterated that £6.3 billion was spent on film and high-end TV production in the UK last year. She went on to say that an estimated 20,000 additional full-time employees will be needed in the industry in the next few years.

The audience also heard from film industry leaders:

• Gareth Ellis-Unwin, Oscar-winning producer of the acclaimed film The King’s Speech and now head of ScreenSkills;
• Dame Pippa Harris, Bafta-award winning producer of productions including 1917 and Call The Midwife, also vice president of Television for BAFTA; and
• Jen Sobol, senior manager for programmes at Warner Brothers Discovery, leader of its creative talent development efforts internationally.

Marlow Film Studios’ planning application with Buckinghamshire Council is due to be determined in the coming months. At the heart of the Marlow Film Studios’ proposal are expansive and inclusive plans for the training of future generations to continue South Buckinghamshire’s rich 90-year history of filmmaking.

Watch Dame Pippa Harris and Robert Laycock discuss the people and places that form the frontline of the industry on BCinePlayer!