BBC Studios Productions and Directors U.K. have teamed up to launch a mentorship scheme with the goal of supporting underrepresented voices in the British entertainment industry. Designed to deliver training opportunities to those who already have some experience, whether that be short films, pilots, features, or television, the scheme will see mentees getting the opportunity to work in BBC Studios productions such as “EastEnders,” “Holby City,” “Casualty,” and “Doctors.”
“The mentees will experience dealing with the challenges of prepping, shooting, and editing in a multicamera environment, and will also be introduced to different aspects of the specific requirements needed to shoot each of BBC Studios’ continuing drama productions,” the BBC details.
Opportunities will include an ‘Eastenders’ workshop for four directors, plus mentoring for others; a “Holby City” workshop for four directors; a “Casualty” workshop for four directors; and a trainee opportunity for directors on “Doctors.”
“I’m delighted that ‘EastEnders,’ ‘Holby,’ ‘Casualty,’ and ‘Doctors’ are opening up their doors to provide opportunity to train a new generation of directors on our sets. We know that both the trainee directors and the shows will mutually benefit from the scheme. So many careers have started on the production floors of these shows and we are excited to welcome our next generation of directors,” said Deborah Sathe, Senior Executive Producer at BBC Studios.
Andrea Corbett, Head of Career Development and Skills at Directors U.K. , added, “Directors U.K. is delighted to be partnering with BBC Studios in this unique training and mentoring scheme that is genuinely seeking to not only source diverse directing talent but offer real opportunities for work and career progression. We look forward to working together to grow and nurture directors.”’
Applications for the “EastEnders” scheme are launching first. Send an email to directorscheme.eastenders@bbc.co.uk and you will be sent a link to the application form. For all other shows contact Lorraine.Brown@bbc.co.uk.
