We are delighted that Alice Cabañas has been appointed as the new BFI NETWORK Talent Executive for the South West.  Alice will provide vital support to new and aspiring talent in the region, delivering on a commitment outlined in the BFI’s five year strategy BFI2022. Alice joins new BFI NETWORK Talent Executives appointed throughout England in a major new programme to connect with and support local talent to find the next generation of filmmakers.

Alice Cabañas, BFI NETWORK Talent Executive for Film Hub South West, said:

I’m delighted to be joining Film Hub South West in this new role.  Discovering new voices, helping engage and nurture new talent in filmmaking and supporting creative networks  – it’s an exciting opportunity to take this forward with the South West Hub, at the beginning of the BFI’s new strategy 2022.”

Supported by National Lottery funding, this new role aims to ensure that everyone in the South West can access expertise along with funding for short film and early development work.  The Talent Executive will also work to create opportunities for talent to connect with the local industry, providing networks between established professionals and emerging creatives.

This role is one of six BFI NETWORK Talent Executive appointments made across the UK, all of whom will work closely with BFI Talent Development Manager Matimba Kabalika and the BFI Film Fund team. They also join the existing talent development executives in Northern Ireland Screen, Ffilm Cymru Wales and the Scottish Film Talent Network who all help to deliver BFI NETWORK.

Matimba Kabalika, Talent Development Manager, BFI, said:

We’re really pleased to be extending the reach and accessibility of BFI NETWORK support through the appointment of these six Talent Executives in the regions. The range of expertise of the individuals involved, as well as the opportunities represented by them being embedded in leading film venues across the country is really exciting.”

In addition to providing access to BFI National Lottery funding, the Executives will offer editorial expertise on funded projects and professional development to help the progression from making shorts to developing long-form stories, including features. As regional Executives who are also part of a national framework, they will also offer signposting to the full scope of funding and training opportunities available to develop careers across the screen industries, and broker professional and creative relationships with peers.

What is BFI NETWORK?

BFI NETWORK exists to discover and support talented writers, directors and producers at the start of their careers and these new Talent Executives will be based in leading film organisations and venues around the country. Joining the five English Film Hubs, which are part of the UK-wide BFI Film Audience Network (FAN), the Executives are Alice Cabanas for Film Hub South West (which spans from Bristol to Southampton and Plymouth), Thomas Wightman for Film Hub South East (which spans from Chichester to Norwich and Canterbury), Jessica Loveland and Alice Ramsey for Film Hub North (which spans from Liverpool to Hull and Berwick-upon-Tweed), Alexzandra Jackson for Film Hub Midlands (which spans from Nottingham to Birmingham and Hereford) and Josic Cadoret for Film Hub London.

What support is available?

There are two current stranding funds available: short film funding and early development funding.

The Short Film Fund is for fiction shorts, in both live action and animation. We want to support short films that:

• bring exciting new voices and bold narratives to the screen
• provide space for experimentation and idea-testing
• advance the careers of the filmmakers involved through showcasing their abilities to the industry and the public

The Early Development funding programme supports projects with writers. If you’re a new writer with an exciting, bold idea – particularly if you’ve not yet teamed up with a producer – this is the fund for you.

‘New writers’ are people who have not yet have written a feature film script that has been produced and distributed. This fund is also for producers and directors working with new writers.

Find out more about the funding available and BFI NETWORK here.