Press information for immediate release: Tuesday 23 March 2010.

The British Academy of Film and Television Arts (BAFTA) and BBC Blast are delighted to announce the four young finalists for a new BBC Blast & BAFTA Screen-Skills Award to be presented at this year’s British Academy Television Craft Awards on Sunday 23 May 2010 at the London Hilton on Park Lane.

The four finalists are Screenwriter Harriet Beaney and Director of Photography, Sam Shetabi, Editor Jack Croker and Composer Joe Reed, all hoping to make their careers in television.

Created for young talent between the ages of 16 and 19 years old, the BBC Blast & BAFTA Screen-Skills TV Craft Bursary scheme is an amazing opportunity for young people to showcase their talent and to get that all-important foot in the door.

The initiative has already successfully linked the nominees with many other young film makers and professionals to encourage them with their work.

The four nominees will each have an inspirational session with BAFTA winners and experts in their chosen field. Category mentors: Writer – Peter Moffat (2009 BAFTA winner for Criminal Justice); Director Of Photography – Neville Kidd (2009 BAFTA winner for Photography Factual for A History of Scotland); Editor – Joby Gee (2009 BAFTA winner for Editing Factual for The Fallen); and Composer – David Arnold (BAFTA Council member, Composer of the Little Britain theme tune and BAFTA nominee for Casino Royale). The eventual winner of the Award will be mentored by BAFTA for a further six months.

The nominees are four of 8 young people to have been granted Screen-Skills bursaries of £3,000 each to produce new pieces of work; and to help them do that, they will undertake a six-month period of working with the BBC and external production companies. Their final pieces will be showcased at a special Screen-Skills event at BAFTA in November.

The youngest nominee is 16 year old A-Level student Harriet Beaney from Sheffield, who was nominated for her script, Goodbye Goblin. She has started initial work with the BBC writersroom (Kate Rowland and Paul Ashton) on her bursary project and will meet with BAFTA’s Peter Moffat. “I’ve always been a big film-watcher because I am inherently a couch potato – my big ambition is to write successful feature films and television series”.

Londoner Sam Shetabi is in his second year of a BA Honours course studying TV Production at Bournemouth University. His nominated work is his music video, The Cubicle. Sam will be working with the London Film Academy and The Guild of British Camera Technicians on his bursary project and will meet with BAFTA’s Neville Kidd. “For as long as I can remember, I’ve wanted to work in telly. I’ve gone through phases of what I want to do when I graduate, but I see myself working in production roles, hopefully one day climbing the ladder to Exec Producer and maybe even Channel Controller when I’m old and grey!”

Editor Jack Crocker was nominated for his short film, From Choice To Change. He is currently studying for his A-Levels in his home city of Bath. He wrote, filmed and directed his entry, and randomly met his composer, fellow nominee Joe Reed, at a party in a forest last summer. They immediately started working together on From Choice To Change. Jack will be working with post-production company Envy on his bursary project and will meet with BAFTA’s Joby Gee. “I’ve been making films since I was 14 and the dream is to become a director one day. Winning the Editing bursary has given me the chance to tidy up my storytelling ability, obviously a key part of directing – and will make me a better filmmaker all-round”.

Joe Reed also comes from Bath and, alongside Jack Croker, was nominated for the short film, From Choice To Change, for which he composed the music. He is currently studying for a BTEC in Music. Joe will be working with composer and music producer Tim Saul on his bursary project and will meet with BAFTA’s David Arnold. “Composing on From Choice To Change was the first time I had composed for the moving image and it was the most creative and fun time I’ve ever had with composition, realising the power of music when written for a scene. My ideal job would be composing for an independent film: working with the director from very early on so all the elements of the film can be shown in my score”.

The nominees will attend the British Academy Television Craft Awards on 23 May, joining an all-star line-up to support the talent behind the camera.

John Willis, Chair of BAFTA’s Television Committee, said: “The high standard of our four finalists is testament to the young talent out there, which BAFTA aims to support and nurture. As Chair of the final jury, I was delighted to see the effort that all the short-listed candidates put into their submissions. This bodes very well for the future of British television”.

To view clips of the four finalists’ films please go to www.bbc.co.uk/blast or via the BAFTA website (www.bafta.org).

The full list of nominations for the BAFTA Television Craft Awards will be announced on Monday 26 April 2010.

*For further information, interviews and photography please contact
Deborah Goodman
at DGPR on 020 8959 9980 or [email protected]*

Notes to Editor

BBC Blast
BBC Blast is the BBC’s creative learning initiative for young people interested in a career in film, fashion, music, dance, writing, art or design. It provides access to industry professionals and mentors, both online and in free events and workshops across the UK, and also offers over 400 media industry work placement opportunities each year.

The BBC Blast on-line service provides fantastic video resources that inspire, teach and help develop young people’s creative skills. Films on-line feature expert interviews from rappers, designers, TV presenters, all designed to help build users creative confidence.

For more information, please visit www.bbc.co.uk/blast

The BBC is committed to education and BBC Blast is just one of the many unique and varied offerings from BBC Learning. For more information on all other learning programmes offered for Adults, Teachers, Parents and Students, visit www.bbc.co.uk/learning.

BAFTA
BAFTA is the leading independent charity which exists to support, develop and promote the art forms of the moving image, by identifying and rewarding excellence, inspiring practitioners and benefiting the public.

Screen-Skills has been developed as part of BAFTA’s Learning and Events programme, which aims to reach diverse public audiences through nationwide events and activities recognising and celebrating achievement and sharing knowledge. For a full programme of BAFTA events that are open to the public, please visit www.bafta.org.

For more information about the British Academy Television Craft Awards, visit www.bafta.org/awards/television-craft.