BFI NETWORK Slate Coordinator

Salary: £160 per day (maximum of 40 days)

Film Hub Midlands is seeking a BFI NETWORK Slate Coordinator to provide coordination and administration of the Midlands BFI NETWORK slate of funded short films and early development projects.

About Film Hub Midlands

Film Hub Midlands is a partnership between Broadway Cinema, Nottingham and Flatpack, Birmingham and is a driving force behind film culture in the Midlands. By providing funding and training, we aim to help more people in the region watch, make, and show films.   We are part of the BFI Film Audience Network (FAN), which was set up in 2012, using funds from the National Lottery to support a stronger and more connected approach to growing audiences for British and international film on the big screen.  Since 2018 Film Hub Midlands has led on BFI Major Programmes, delivering UK-wide film seasons and programmes.

About BFI NETWORK

Made possible through National Lottery funding, BFI NETWORK exists to discover and support talented writers, directors and producers at the start of their careers. We collaborate with film organisations and leading cultural venues across the UK to provide funding for short films, support for the development of first features, as well as a range of professional and creative development programmes.

About Broadway

Broadway is the Hub Lead Organisation for Film Hub Midlands, part of the BFI Film Audience Network, and an Arts Council England National Portfolio Organisation, providing support for our Near Now studio for arts, design and innovation. With the only auditoria in the world designed by Sir Paul Smith and based in the heart of Nottingham’s Creative Quarter http://www.broadway.org.uk it is one of the leading independent cinemas and creative media centres in the UK. Attracting around 200,000 admissions each year to a diverse programme of independent British and international film, screen heritage, festivals and special events Broadway also offers a range of activities that support the development of talent, artistic and creative practice. It is home to a number of filmmakers, receiving international recognition for their work, who share their professional experience, training participants of Broadway’s BFI Film Academy course for 16-19 year olds.

Purpose of role

To provide coordination and administration of the Midlands BFI NETWORK slate of funded short films and early development projects. Working closely with the BFI NETWORK Talent Executive to ensure project timelines allow for editorial feedback, safety management, contracting and delivery.

For funded shorts, the role will include liaising with producers to ensure all project timelines are agreed and understood, ensure pre-production paperwork (e.g., contracts, budgets, and production schedules) are returned and viable and to support producers in delivering their completed project.

For funded early development projects, the Slate Coordinator will organise resources and capacity in relation to story development and alert the Talent Executive to new drafts and the handing in of materials.

Key responsibilities

• Being a point of contact for teams with awarded projects based in the Midlands
• Project tracking and compliance – following up on awarded projects, ensuring adherence to BFI guidelines in relation to the two BFI NETWORK funds
• Liaising with awarded teams, the regional Talent Executive and BFI to agree on project timelines
• Analysing short film production schedules, budgets and risk assessments highlighting any areas of concern to the Talent Executive
• Ensuring the final version of scripts, budgets and production schedules are available to BFI when drawing up Production Finance Agreements (PFAs)
• Coordinate script/story development support between talent and external script editors when requested by the Talent Executive
• Coordinate the needs of talent and the diary of the Talent Executive to enable swift editorial feedback to be given on funded projects, including on short film cuts, samples and other material submitted
• Update the Talent Executive on a weekly basis of any developments across the slate
• Support funded talent to deliver large and enhanced access files
• Organising and archiving deliverables
• Ensuring funded talent submit their finance drawdown requests to the BFI Production Finance team
• Collating and inputting evaluation data from teams with awarded projects for BFI quarterly reporting
• Uploading details of projects to Cinando and other relevant industry platforms
• Liaising with the regional BFI NETWORK Talent Coordinator, highlighting worthy topics to be publicly communicated regarding awarded projects i.e., innovative production techniques, notable casting etc

Success indicators

• BFI receive all needed information and documentation for contracting
• Funded talent doesn’t experience delays in editorial feedback and payments
• The BFI NETWORK team are aware and informed of all relevant challenges and successes of each project in order to refine processes or amplify good news
• BFI NETWORK can easily call on an archive of assets related to the slate
• Good working relationships with talent who feel supported and well-informed of their responsibilities

Person specification

Essential:

• A passion for film
• Experience of short film production with a thorough understanding of the roles and responsibilities of above and below the line team members
• Experience of budgeting (ideally in relation to short films)
• Experience of production scheduling (ideally in relation to short films)
• Experience of on-set risk assessing (ideally in relation to short films)
• A demonstrable knowledge of the deliverables associated with a short film including the management of large files
• A demonstrable knowledge of the film scene for new and emerging talent in the Midlands
• A demonstrable commitment to the principles of diversity and inclusion and their practical application and integration in the work environment
• Be able to demonstrate a commitment to meet BFI Diversity Standards
• A high level of organisational skills with the proven ability to meet deadlines and targets while working in a busy environment
• An ability to plan in relation to moving timelines and schedule meetings with multiple attendees
• An excellent attention to detail and ability to be consistent in quality of work
• Excellent communication skills and ability to deal effectively with people at all levels
• Advanced IT skills, to include Microsoft Office
• The ability to develop and maintain good collegiate working relationships with talent, contacts, partners, and stakeholders

Desirable

• A knowledge of the debut feature landscape in the UK
• A qualification in Covid Supervising
• An understanding of safeguarding on set for children and adults at risk
• An understanding of the possible legal issues which can arise in film production including those regarding copyright legislation
• An understanding of enhanced access materials in relation to film files

Additional information

• The post-holder will need to able to have some flexibility in days worked dependent on busy points in the slate production calendar
• Negotiable 1-3 days per week up until end of November 2021. The days can be increased or decreased over the term to respond to workflow of busy points in the season
• In line with IR35 (off-payroll) legislation, Broadway will require a Tax Status Determination Statement to verify that freelance working applies, and reserve the right to confirm status with HMRC
• We anticipate the post-holder will be based remotely at their own office or working space, with occasional supervision and access to resources at Broadway, Nottingham
• Broadway is proud to be an equal opportunities employer, and is committed to supporting the BFI’s Diversity Standards

To apply

Send a CV containing relevant information and a covering letter that addresses the key deliverables and accountabilities of the role and shows how you fit the candidate profile (not more than 2 sides of A4) to alexzandra@filmhubmidlands.org before the application deadline.

We will retain your personal information for not more than six months, in line with GDPR legislation and Broadway’s privacy policy.

Start date: Preferred start date: ASAP / w/c 16 August 21

The closing date for this position is 09/08/2021 at 12:00