Tim Hunter - Director of Learning & New Talent

Tim Hunter - Director of Learning & New Talent

Tim Hunter is the Director of Learning and New Talent at BAFTA. Here are some of his thoughts on why the redevelopment of 195 Piccadilly is so important: 

For me the new headquarters is about far more than bricks and mortar. For the first time we will have a floor purpose built for learning and new talent activity which will launch a greatly expanded programme, reaching every corner of the UK and internationally. The activity will be focussed on driving a more inclusive industry and help all those with talent to achieve their potential.

We’re committed to the new HQ being a centre of excellence for the whole nation, not just London. All of our new initiatives will be national and many will culminate in a celebratory event in London. This is how BAFTA Young Game Designers (YGD) works – it’s a national initiative that any young person can enter. We see how powerful it is for the young people to be invited to BAFTA's headquarters for the YGD Awards and how it’s valued as an endorsement of their talent. 

I’m particularly excited about the activity we’re developing with partners to help identify young people with talent and support them into entry level positions. The industry tells us how hard it is to find new entrants who have the talent and commitment to take up entry-level positions, but there are hundreds of amazing organisations who are training young people in industry skills. We believe we can harness the power of this amazing network, support talented young people with employability skills training and introduce a network of amazingly talented and diverse young people who are work-ready.

One of the most interesting projects we’re working on at the moment is a project with Screenskills, looking at ‘employability skills’ – those soft skills, like networking, presentation, resilience, which success in the industry is based on. These skills come more easily for some than for others and we want to make sure everyone is able to take advantage of the opportunities BAFTA can offer.

Some of the most striking stories come from our BAFTA Kids activity – children with severe autism and learning difficulties who, following workshops in their schools led by BAFTA-nominated presenters, have presented to the whole school where previously they had struggled to speak in class. These examples illustrate the power of film, television and games to inspire learning and raise aspirations.

What is your favourite film, TV programme and game?

This changes all the time, but for now I’ll say Double Indemnity. I love how every inch of the frame tells a story and how the snappy dialogue weaves in and out of the censorship rules at the time, leaving you in no doubt about all the risqué things which are being said between the lines.

My So Called Life - It perfectly captures how it was being a teenager in the 90s. Ricky was the first gay character I remember seeing who was flamboyant and camp but who wasn’t ridiculed for it – and the power of seeing that as a teenager is something which perfectly illustrates the impact film, TV and games can have.

Monument Valley – It’s so visually pleasing and so damn clever. I love the fact that it’s not massively competitive and how it plays with perspective. It makes me marvel at the creative brains who came up with it.