GUIDING LIGHTS the flagship mentoring scheme announces 12 Talented Participants for 2013
Lighthouse and Creative Skillset, in partnership with Bord Scannán na hÉireann/the Irish Film Board and ScreenTraining Ireland, today reveal the twelve candidates including two from the Irish film industry, selected for Guiding Lights 2013.
The two Irish participants are writer/director Carmel Winters and writer Thomas Martin, both of whom have established themselves as exciting talents to watch. Carmel Winters, also a successful playwright, made her debut feature, Snap, with funding from the Irish Film Board. The film went on to pick up a host of awards at international A-list festivals and attracted great critical acclaim.
Thomas Martin, who is also developing a successful writing career in TV, has a number of feature projects in development. His Africa"set psychological thriller All That Way for Love was named by CBS as one of the top five films to see at the Tribeca Film Festival in 2012.
James Hickey, Chief Executive, Bord Scannán na hÉireann/the Irish Film Board says: "Guiding Lights I believe will be a wonderful experience for Carmel and Thomas. Through mentoring from some of the industry's top talent, the scheme offers a great opportunity to both to add to their skillset and develop their career."
Underscoring Guiding Lights' commitment to promoting diversity within the film industry, the new mentees hail from across the UK and Ireland, and have worked across a range of creative disciplines including TV, theatre, animation, documentary, music videos and commercials.
The 12 participants are:
Directors: Henry Darke, Afarin Eghbal, Andrew Lang, Laura Smith, and Carmel Winters (Ireland).
Writers: Thomas Martin (Ireland), Lucy Moore, Martin Wallace, and Andrew Yerlett
Producers: Jessica Levick, Alexa Seligman, and Rob Watson.
Lighthouse Artistic Director, Honor Harger comments: "We had a phenomenal response to our call for applications with over 310 submissions received from emerging writers, producers and directors. The standard of applicants was exceptionally high and it was a tough process to whittle them down to the final dozen. This year's mentees promise to be one of the strongest groups yet. Among their achievements so far are an Emmy award, a Grierson award, a Microwave greenlit feature, and two BAFTA nominations to name just a few. We're certain that this year's cohort will go on to shape an exciting and assured British film landscape of the future."
For the first time, Lighthouse this year invited UK film journalists and critics to help in the final stages of the assessment process. The journalists who participated were: Tim Robey (Daily Telegraph), Wendy Ide (The Times), Nikki Baughan (movieScope), Nick Bradshaw (Sight & Sound) and Amy Raphael (The Guardian)
Says The Times film critic Wendy Ide: "As a film critic, I tend to encounter directors who are further along their career path. So it was genuinely enlightening for me to serve on the panel for Guiding Lights and to get a glimpse of the talent which is set to shape the British film industry over the next few years. The standard is exceptionally high. It's an exciting time to be an audience member."
The industry professionals who will act as mentors will be announced in the coming weeks. Previous mentors on the scheme include Sam Mendes, Barbara Broccoli, Danny Boyle, John Hillcoat, Abi Morgan, Paul Greengrass, Julian Fellowes, Tim Bevan, Alison Owen, Christopher Hampton and James Marsh.
GUIDING LIGHTS BACKGROUND
The successful mentees will follow in the footsteps of an impressive list of 88 Guiding Lights alumni which includes 2013 BAFTA ‘Best Debut' nominee Tina Gharavi (I AM NASRINE), Laura Hastings"Smith, producer of Steve McQueen's HUNGER, award"winning playwright Ursula Rani Sarma, and Sundance 2013 selected filmmaker Andy Heathcote (THE MOO MAN).
Between them, previous mentees have produced over 25 features and been involved in more than 15 collaborations with other Guiding Lights participants.
Guiding Lights is run by Lighthouse, and majority funded by the Creative Skillset Film Skills Fund as part of ‘A Bigger Future 2', the UK film skills strategy. The Creative Skillset Film Skills Fund is supported by the National Lottery through the BFI, and the film industry through the Skills Investment Fund.