The Women in Film and TV (UK) launched its 2022 Four Nations Mentoring Scheme on Monday 14 March 2022, designed for mid-career women working in film, television and creative media looking to take a significant step in their career.
In an intensely competitive process, 41 mentees have been selected from hundreds of applicants from across England, Northern Ireland, Scotland and Wales to take part in the 2022 programme. The scheme will run for seven months, during which time each of the participants are paired up with senior industry professionals for one-to-one mentoring alongside peer-to-peer training and bespoke career and personal development workshops.
This year, the scheme has attracted many of the country’s leading TV and film experts to mentor the candidates, including Channel 4’s Head of Drama Caroline Hollick, Director Gurinder Chadha, Global Head of Factual at Fremantle Mandy Chang, Actress, Writer and Producer Sharon Horgan, Jonny Taylor and Zainab Ali Khan from commissioning, Original Documentaries, Netflix, Creative Director and Co-Founder of ENVY Post-Production Natascha Cadle, DOP Seamus McGarvey, Talent Executive at BBC Studios Jane Zurakowski, Composer Nainita Desai, Founder of British Blacklist Akua Gyamfi, and Chief Marketing Officer at BBC Studios Nicki Sheard.
The England scheme is made possible by the support of the BBC, Channel 4, EON Productions, Indigo Talent, Panalux and Panavision, Pinewood Studios, Sara Putt Associates, the Women’s Network at NBC Universal and UKTV. Netflix continues its support of the schemes in Northern Ireland, Scotland and Wales.
Katie Bailiff, CEO of WFTV, said
The WFTV mentoring scheme is going from strength to strength, and past outcomes show us that the scheme’s carefully curated ingredients successfully unlock our mentees’ potential - enabling them to become the next generation of leaders. It’s an absolute thrill to witness.
Heading up the scheme is WFTV’s Director of Mentoring Tracy Forsyth, who is also the Board Advisor to Channel 4’s Indie Growth Fund. Mentoring Producers Karen Kelly in Scotland, Hannah Corneck in Wales, and Sarah McCaffrey in Northern Ireland will continue to run the scheme in their dedicated nations.
Tracy Forsyth said
It’s thrilling to put together this group of talented women across all aspects of the film and TV industry from producers and screenwriters, to composers and cinematographers, to acquisitions, marketing and business affairs leads. Together they will form a powerful cohort and, with the help of their mentors and all the WFTV scheme offers, I have no doubt they will make a huge impact on the industry.
You can view our full list of 2022 WFTV Mentees and Mentors here.