Launch of Natural History Mentorship Scheme with ScreenSkills

Wildscreen is thrilled to announce its ScreenSkills and Wildscreen Emerging Talent Mentorship Scheme is back for a second year. Following the success of the inaugural 2021 programme, this year’s scheme will focus on pre-production roles, with particular focus on supporting individuals from groups which are currently underrepresented within the UK natural history industry. 

The initiative, which is being supported by ScreenSkills as part of the BFI Future Film Skills programme using funds from the National Lottery, confronts and eliminates systematic barriers to entry into the natural history industry, which disproportionately impact groups which are already underrepresented including ethnically diverse individuals, LGBTQIA individuals, those living with disability, womxn, individuals who identify as neurodiverse, individuals from low socio-economic backgrounds and people who are returning to the industry after a break.  

The partnership with ScreenSkills enables Wildscreen to deliver the programme over 4-months, supporting talent from entry-level and early-level career stages. The programme, running from September 2022 – December 2022, will support 26 individuals aged 18-30 based in the South-West, Wales and West Midlands. Mentees will benefit from a range of support, including one-to-one sessions with a paired industry mentor, career and skill development training and workshops, networking opportunities and tailored guidance from industry experts. 

Lucie Muir, Wildscreen’s CEO said: “We are so excited to be running the ScreenSkills and Wildscreen Emerging Talent Mentorship Scheme for a second time. Building on the success of last year’s programme we’re thrilled to be taking real and tangible steps to support the UK natural history TV and film industry to become more representative, inclusive and diverse.” 

Barbara Chapman, ScreenSkills mentoring manager, said: “We are delighted to work with Wildscreen again on the next stage of this exciting initiative. Mentoring had a significant impact on the first cohort, providing emerging talent from under-represented groups, access to the wildlife film and natural history screen sector and supporting diverse new talent to develop a career in this area of the screen industries. It’s great to offer this opportunity to another group and build the network.” 

The programme will be delivered both virtually and in person. 

Mentee applications will open at 12am on Wednesday 6th July 2022 and close at 23.59pm BST on Sunday 17th July 2022. 

Find out more about The ScreenSkills and Wildscreen Emerging Talent Mentorship Scheme here.