A PROJECT to get people into the film and TV industry is creating 300 new job and training places in Newport.

This spring, 300 places are available for training and employment opportunities in the screen sector thanks to a collaboration between Ffilm Cymru Wales and Newport City Council.

Funding has been secured from the UK Community Renewal Fund.

Foot in the Door is a training programme which finds and creates opportunities for people to transfer skills such as carpentry, catering, hairdressing, make-up and more onto film and TV productions in Wales.

Since 2016, the scheme has supported people not in education, employment and training across Wales into paid placements on sets for productions by Netflix, BBC, Sky, Lucasfilm, Disney and S4C.

Now, in a first for the Welsh screen sector, Newport is to become the base for a pilot project to increase opportunities and access to develop a more inclusive screen sector.

From March to May this year, Foot in the Door will create 230 training and career development places, 50 new entrant training places and 20 employment placements for people from Newport.

Resources and support to help with things like childcare, transport and equipment are available to help widen access to the most diverse group of participants as possible.

Tasters and workshops on topics as diverse as make-up to special effects, costume design to catering and production will be taking place in locations across the city.

Individuals with existing skills already in demand on film and TV sets will be trained on how to adapt existing knowledge for use in these new environments.

Placements will be on a series of big and small screen productions across Wales.

Ffilm Cymru are working with partners including  Sgil Cymru, Cult Cymru the Bectu led joint union learning programme, Screen Alliance Wales, Coleg Gwent and Pobl Housing to offer people from the Newport area the chance to kickstart their creative careers with training and employment opportunities in film and TV.

Faye Hannah, head of skills and training at Ffilm Cymru Wales said: “The make-up of Newport - its culture, its creativity, its communities - make it the perfect place to continue to build an inclusive film industry in Wales.

"We truly believe a strong and sustainable Welsh film industry needs to be representative of all communities and ensures individuals can get a ‘Foot in the Door’.” 

“Screen sets aren’t just the domain of actors and directors. They need a whole range of behind-the- scenes skills to make them tick.

"Quite simply, this creates opportunities for people in Newport and has the potential to be transformational”

The city already has a rich history of film and TV talent.

Actor Michael Sheen was born in the city, while Academy Award winning director of Senna, Amy and Diego Maradona Asif Kapadia studied at Newport Film School. Joanna Quinn is nominated for an Oscar this year for her film Affairs of the Art, which includes animation of Clarence Place as the film’s art school.

Unlike many other schemes, there is no upper age limit to this scheme. 

Cllr Jane Mudd, leader of Newport City Council, said: “The development of the creative industries in Newport is very important to us.

"There is an abundance of natural talent locally, a fact corroborated by so many incredibly successful individuals and organisations.

“The coming together of cultures through music and the arts, sharing our stories and experiences, is also a key feature of Welsh life.

“We are very pleased to be working in partnership with such fantastic organisations to provide exciting opportunities for people in Newport while also furthering the reputation of our city as a leader in the creative sector.”

For more information about Foot in the Door, visit ffilmcymruwales.com/funding-and-training/foot-door