Swindon & Wiltshire News
Next generation of Swindon creatives get opportunity boost from BFI
The next generation of creative professionals in Swindon have been given a boost, thanks to a £164,000 grant from the British Film Institute.
The BFI has awarded the funding to Create Studios through its National Lottery Places Fund.
The funding will be used to launch Create Traction, an initiative designed to support and develop the next generation of creative professionals in Swindon, Wiltshire, and Gloucestershire.
The scheme will offer practical, hands-on training and on-set experience for 48 emerging production participants in high-demand film roles, including Digital Imaging Technician,
Camera Assistant, Production Coordinator, and Lighting Technician.
“This isn’t just about training — it’s about building a sustainable, inclusive industry pipeline that nurtures and retains talent right here in Swindon,” said Create Studios’ CEO, Shahina Johnson.
“Our mission has always been to uplift, empower, and invest in the next generation of digital creatives, and this initiative takes that commitment to the next level.”
“We are incredibly grateful to the BFI Places Fund for believing in our vision and investing in our creative community.
“Their support allows us to bring the groundbreaking Create Traction programme to life and expand career pathways for emerging talent in film and TV.”
Sara Whybrew, director of skills and workforce development at the BFI, said: “Here we are providing modest but very targeted funding in select areas where we can see there is real potential for growth in addition to places where we already have BFI Skills Clusters.
“We believe this funding can provide a vital building block in a region to help it become a viable production centre.
“By supporting organisations to forge partnerships which reach across local government, education, industry, local communities and beyond, we hope they can create capacity for growth, and ultimately long term benefits for these local areas, not least the realisation of a screen workforce that is representative of the local population.”
Create Studios – whose alumni include Harry Potter director David Yates – is one of three projects to receive BFI funding. The others are Bristol City Council’s All Set West initiative, as reported by Business Biscuit last week, and Production Ready Pathways in Cornwall.
