Reel FilmmakinG

Reel Filmmaking is the film skills training arm of Reel Solutions, providing opportunities for young people to have fun with filmmaking processes, gain confidence, new skills and learn more about careers in the UK screen industries. We believe in the next generation, their enthusiasm, their talent and their ambitions and feel hugely privileged to be able to help support and play a role in enabling their dreams, and expanding their horizons and gaining experience. We have been running filmmaking courses since 2012 in partnership with organisations such as British Film Institute (BFI) and Into Film and local partners in order to connect young people with their local film networks.

We continue to deliver film schools to young people in Yorkshire for the British Film Institute (BFI)  since becoming a delivery partner at the start of both the BFI Film Academy (since 2011) and BFI Film Club (since 2020) schemes which support young people to develop skills and build careers in the UK film industry. We are delivering a BFI Film Academy Short Course in Scarborough, North Yorkshire in 2024/25 after having delivered BFI Film Club's there since 2020. We extended our reach to Cheshire from 2016-2023 and delivered  BFI Film Academy Short Courses in partnership with the Storyhouse in Chester, the first in the UK to focus on Virtual Reality (VR), Virtual Production and 360° filmmaking. We ran an Academy in Bradford in partnership with the University of Bradford  from 2015 - 2023 and BFI Film Clubs in Bradford from 2020 - 2023 enabling us to extend filmmaking opportunities and training to a younger age group of 12 - 15 year olds.

Reel Solutions are working in partnership with the Showroom, Sheffield and Leeds Young Film to deliver BFI Film Academy Short Courses across Yorkshire and the Humber in 2024/25 including Sheffield, Bradford and Leeds - all courses will be additionally supported by Film Hub North who work with exhibitors, filmmakers and young people to develop creative talent, introduce exciting new voices, grow audiences for film, games and TV and help great films get made, screened and seen in the North of England. For more information about courses in Yorkshire and Humber please visit https://www.showroomworkstation.org.uk/cinema/bfi-academy-north and for the North of England please visit https://filmhubnorth.org.uk/young-person/bfi-film-academy-short-courses.

Reel Solutions is a cultural agency based in Yorkshire predominantly working with partners and clients in the screen industries. As well as our education work and practical filmmaking courses, we provide guidance and support to a range of local, national and international creative businesses and organisations such as film and arts festivals, commercial and independent cinema venues. We offer a range of services including programming advice, a film booking service, resource packs for teachers and cinemas and CPD training. Other services include evaluation, bid writing, project management services and support with strategic planning. Our clients have included Into Film, Independent Cinema Office, The Junction in Goole, Stephen Joseph Theatre in Scarborough, British Film Institute and Cambridge Film Festival.

We have developed, and continue to run, our own and partner projects such as the Manchester Animation Festival, the UK’s largest animation festival; Reel Solutions Day Schools, a specialised cultural cinema education programme running in venues in Bradford and online for those who enjoy watching and talking about film; and previous projects such as Screenwaves, a rural cinema pilot on the Yorkshire coast which took the big screen to small community venues. 

Delivered at over 50 locations across the UK and supported by the Department for Education, National Lottery, Screen Scotland and Northern Ireland Screen these introductory hands-on filmmaking courses help train and inspire the next generation of UK filmmakers, supporting talented and committed young people aged 16 to 19 to develop the commercial and cultural knowledge and skills to help make a career in film. 

We currently run a BFI Film Academy  Short Course in Scarborough and have an excellent track record of inspiring the next generation of filmmakers, whether you want to take your first steps in film or improve existing skills. As a participant of one of our courses, you’ll gain hands-on filmmaking experience working alongside industry professionals to help develop practical knowledge and skills and learn about the different pathways into the industry. You'll also get the opportunity to work towards gaining a NCFE Level 2 award in Preparing to Work in the Film Industry.   

No previous filmmaking experience is necessary to attend the BFI Film Academy Short Course. 

Reel Solutions are proud to support and inspire the next generation of filmmakers and crew. Many of our former participants are now working in a range of roles in film, TV and XR. Participants can join the growing BFI Film Academy alumni with opportunities to access more courses and training opportunities throughout the UK helping boost their chances of breaking into the screen industries. What’s more, our alumni can apply to attend the BFI Film Academy’s intensive specialist courses after completing our courses. These last between one and two weeks and are designed to develop more specialist filmmaking skills. 

Take a look at some of the great short films made by previous participants of our BFI Film Academy Short Courses on YouTube

BFI Film Club is a filmmaking course aimed at young people aged 12-15 years old from the British Film Institute (BFI) in limited towns and cities throughout England in locations identified as 'Opportunity Areas' by the Department for Education (DfE) owing to social and economic challenges. We were part of the original UK wide pilot for the BFI Film Clubs in Bradford and Scarborough from 2020 - 2023. Building on the success of the BFI Film Academy for 16-19 year olds, the new course was made possible by funding from BFI, National Lottery and the DCMS Youth Accelerator Fund. 

Our Scarborough BFI Film Club supported teenagers aged 12 -15 who wanted to find out more about film, careers in the film industry, develop their skills or try filmmaking for the first time.

The course focused on, and encouraged filmmaking activities such as model making; scriptwriting and creating a storyboard; working with sound to make a soundtrack; learning about shot types, camera movements and angles; watching and discussing films and creating mini films in a day and will be delivered by industry professionals, filmmakers and animators.

Leigh Adams, Director of Education and Skills at the BFI, said:

'Through these new BFI Film Clubs we want to inspire the next generation of filmmakers, giving young people who might feel that it's not for them, or that it's an impossible dream, the chance to explore a range of films and other screen-based media, gain a real understanding of what goes into making them, the breadth of job roles available, and the pathways to other BFI programmes where they could learn more. We're delighted to be working with providers across England to offer subsidised opportunities outside of school hours in underserved areas, as well as tailored provision within PRUs. We're grateful to National Lottery players for helping to enable this activity.'