Professionals from Netflix’s Sex Education set to share behind-the-scenes secrets with budding young Sheffield creatives

The free event is part of the BFI Film Academy North ‘Lab’ series, and will take place online on Thursday, December 9.

The BFI Film Academy North project is led by HOME (Manchester) & Showroom Workstation (Sheffield) in partnership with Film Hub North (part of the BFI Film Audience Network) and venues across the North; it is part of the BFI Venue Education Fund, funded by BFI & National Lottery, and offers 16-25-year-old film and TV fans from the North the chance to meet experienced industry professionals.

BFI Film Academy North producer Lisa Laws said: “Without understanding the many different aspects of film and TV it’s difficult to confidently pursue a career in the industry.

“We all know about writers, actors and directors – but there’s a diverse and highly skilled team behind every film or programme all playing a specialist role.

“We also know that there’s a ton of untapped talent in the North and we’d love to find, connect and support them!

“There’s an opportunity to ask questions but no pressure for participants to speak – anyone joining the events can simply sit back and listen to panel members while getting a really unique behind the scenes perspective of the industry.”

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Oli Julian is a composer, producer and arranger of TV, film and commercial music, and in the workshop, he will share his career journey, creative practice and collaborations and give participants insight into scoring music for comedic and dramatic moments in shows like Sex Education.

Oli’s work was nominated in the Best TV Score category at the Ivor Novello Awards 2021, he has scored independent feature, How to Build a Girl, based on the novel by Caitlin Moran, as well as a wide range of shows including Catastrophe (C4), Cuckoo (BBC3) and Plebs (ITV2), as well as Josh (BBC3), Cockroaches (ITV2), GapYear (C4), Crashing (C4) and Year Of The Rabbit (C4).

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This free event comes hot on the heels of another with BAFTA-nominated designer, Samantha Harley, sharing her experiences of creating unique and distinctive worlds for shows including Sex Education, Year of the Rabbit and Catastrophe.

Together the events are part of the BFI Film Academy’s Break Into Film programme; they aim to broaden understanding of the whole life cycle of a film, engaging more young people in a wide range of activities.

Lisa added: “While media, film and music students, as well as young industry professionals, will benefit hugely from these events, we also welcome anyone who simply loves film and TV and wants to learn more about it.

“It really is a phenomenal opportunity to hear first hand how the industry ticks, and, if appropriate, take your first or next steps towards a truly exciting and rewarding career that knows no bounds.”

All events in the programme are entry level, non selective and no prior industry experience or study is necessary.

To book your place on Thursday’s workshop, make sure to visit the website 12 hours prior at homemcr.org/event/lab-3-post-production/