Between 2023 and 2026, the Independent Cinema Office’s Young Film Network South East (YFNSE) delivered BFI Film Academy Plus, supported by National Lottery funding. Designed to help 16 to 25-year-olds break into the film industry, the programme focused on developing skills in filmmaking and exhibition while opening doors to new opportunities. We invited programme alumna Maddie Lock to reflect on their journey and share how BFI Film Academy Plus provided that crucial first step into the industry, and the path they’ve taken since.
I grew up in Eastbourne, a small seaside town in Sussex, and was home educated until the age of 14, then went to school to do GCSEs and took Photography A-Level at college. This sparked an interest in moving image and encouraged me to study BA Film Studies and History at the University of Southampton. Although this was useful in its knowledge of film through a theoretical and historical lens, it didn’t include any practical elements and was impacted by the COVID pandemic, meaning I didn’t get a real sense of working in the film industry.
BFI NETWORK at Brighton Rocks International Film Festival 2025 (Image by Iaroslava Ri)
Having graduated from university with an interest in queer theory, horror and documentary, I was struggling to find work in the film industry, so I decided to make my own no-budget short, with support from my Creative Mentor Network mentor, Alex Kalymnios. This resulted in the creation of Monsters (2023), a 10-minute experimental documentary exploring queerness, gender identity, family and belonging, inspired by the political moment and attack on trans identities.
Although Monsters did well at film festivals, I still struggled to get onto film sets or find work in the industry due to a lack of contacts and on-set knowledge. Whilst attending Sunrise Film Festival (a Film Hub South East funding recipient, and member of Young Film Network South East) in autumn of 2023, I was inspired to apply for the Short Cut Film Fund, as I resonated with the purpose of the fund being to open up the industry to people who hadn’t studied filmmaking and didn’t have professional credits. The YFNSE team and my mentor, BFI NETWORK filmmaker Astrid Goldsmith, supported me in creating Welcome to the Puppet Show: A Day at the Circus (2024), a surreal musical short film showcasing neurodiversity in a fun and positive light.
Still from Welcome to the Puppet Show: A Day at the Circus (2024)
Through the mentoring and online sessions delivered as part of the Short Cut Film Fund, I received support with scriptwriting, pre-production, location scouting, casting, directing, and editing, with additional support from Homespun. My mentor Astrid Goldsmith gave additional advice, sharing her knowledge as an animator on production design, set building on a budget, and making miniatures to create immersive worlds on a smaller scale. Amy Cresswell and Tia Ali, who led the programme, also offered extra advice and guidance outside of the sessions, and Amy kindly spoke to me about film programming and exhibition work, which was an area of working in the film industry that I hadn’t previously considered. One of the highlights of the programme was having my film screened at the Film Hub South East ‘Member Forum’ at BFI Southbank in 2024 to the exhibition community within the region.
Very shortly after finishing the programme, I was selected to take part in Watersprite Hubs 2024, which was an incredible day-long training programme including travel and accommodation. This experience allowed me to meet other young filmmakers and industry professionals, hugely expanding my network and aspirations. I was invited back to be a judge for Wastersprite in 2025 on the Production Design award and gratefully received a bursary from BFI Film Academy Plus, which enabled me to attend the festival, as I otherwise wouldn’t have been able to afford the travel and accommodation.
In May 2024, I was also funded through the ScreenSkills fund, which allowed me to buy my own camera, empowering me to make films without the restrictions of funding. Then in June 2024, I was shortlisted and pitched for the Iris Prize Documentary Film Fund. Although not selected, this again expanded my network, and the short film I pitched, Family Tides (2026), recently had a preview at Margate Pride 2026 as part of their Pride Art Map, and is due to have a wider festival release in Autumn 2026. The experience of working with the Iris Prize team to develop the short pitch helped me to gain an understanding of why short films are often selected for funding and the key things that festivals and funders look out for.
Later that year, I was invited by my mentor Astrid Goldsmith to work on her BFI Network funded project, The Folkestone Elephant. I was a Camera Assistant on the film shoot, working with cinematographer Sapphire Goss on 16mm and 8mm cameras. This would not have been possible without the connection made through the Film Academy Plus supported Short Cut Film Fund.
More recently, I worked as 1st Assistant Director on a short film with my fellow Short Cut Film Fund alumni, Mojola Akintyemi, who directed the project. Having attended the online sessions with Mojola and seen each other at events such as Watersprite over the last few years, it was an incredible full circle moment to finally be on set working together. The film, Playing Mermaid (2026), was a complex short film with lots of underwater camera filming. The project was funded by Roundhouse and had its premiere at Roundhouse in June 2026.
On the set of Playing Mermaid (Image by Xhuliana Shehu)
By the end of 2024, I started my own community-run events, screening and production company, Worm Factory. The inspiration behind this was to create a space that supports people who have overlaps in their marginalised identities, spotlighting LGBTQ+, neurodivergent and working-class films and stories, through an accessible and welcoming environment. I have continued connections with the ICO through Worm Factory, and have worked on programming for BFI: Art of Action at Towner Cinema in Eastbourne (a BFI Film Audience Network initiative) and programmed a night of shorts with a feature film at Crab Museum for Margate Film Festival 2025 (also supported through Film Hub South East).
In the summer of 2025, I was supported by BAFTA through their Prince William BAFTA Bursary. This funded me to take a camera training course at the National Film and Television School and buy my own kit, including mics, lights, and heavy-duty tripods and camera gear. With the new network and knowledge of filmmaking that I developed by working with BFI and ICO, this kit allowed me to begin working with clients and turning my filmmaking passion into a paid career. Since then, I’ve been commissioned by art galleries such as De La Warr Pavilion and Flatland Projects in Bexhill, and the National Trust through their Changing Chalk programme.
Without the support of YFNSE, ICO and BFI, I don’t think I’d be where I am today. It was a real honour to be funded by the Short Cut Film Fund back in 2023 despite having little filmmaking experience, and it really boosted my confidence knowing that they believed in me and my work. I feel very lucky to have had this support, and I will always be grateful to the whole team for opening the door for me to begin working in the film industry.
Having no network or knowledge of how this industry worked, and coming from a low socio-economic background in a small seaside town, I never imagined I could work in film, or that I would be supported and championed by BFI and BAFTA. I want to say a massive thank you to Amy, Tia, Kat, David, Lily and everyone at ICO. I genuinely wouldn’t be here without their support, and I will always be a huge advocate and champion for this incredibly kind and welcoming team.
See more of Maddie’s work on Instagram via their film page, @MaddieLockFilm, and their community screenings and production company, @Worm.Factory.