BAFTA and BFI have announced the cohort of the 2024 BFI Flare x BAFTA professional development programme, run in partnership with BFI NETWORK. Six emerging LGBTQ+ creatives working towards their debuts in film and television have been selected for the prestigious talent initiative, now in its 10th year.
BFI FLARE x BAFTA, which is funded by National Lottery via BFI NETWORK, supports emerging talent to develop their LGBTQ+ stories for the screen in the UK and internationally. Participants benefit from industry mentorship, bespoke events and workshops at BAFTA and BFI, networking opportunities during BFI FLARE: London LGBTQIA+ Film Festival (13-24 March), wellbeing and career coaching, and access to BAFTA Connect, the academy’s membership programme for emerging and mid-level talent.
This year saw a record number of applicants with an increase of 40% on last year. This year’s cohort was selected based on the quality of their existing work and the potential of the exciting, challenging and original work they are developing. The 2024 cohort comprises: Travis Alabanza, Isabella Bassett, Zak Ghazi-Torbati, Cherish Oteka, Miles Sloman and Charlie Tidmas.
Savannah James-Bayly, 2017 alumna and producer of Layla, a film featuring a drag queen longing for love, said: “The BFI Flare x BAFTA mentorship had a profound impact on my career and, honestly, my life! The scheme and continued relationship to the festival has birthed innumerous friendships, a business venture, and was where I first met writer/director Amrou Al-Kadhi, forming a longstanding collaboration that led to our debut feature Layla, which we’re delighted to bring home to open this year’s festival. The BFI Flare x BAFTA mentorship was the perfect incubator to hatch that relationship.
“Over the course of the programme we watched the latest queer cinema had to offer and realised we had similar tastes and ambitions for our own work; in between industry meetings we discussed the change we wanted to see and be in the industry; and on the dance floor we cemented a friendship which has become the backbone of our partnership. I could not recommend the experience more highly.”
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