Sean Connery Talent Lab

The Sean Connery Talent Lab aims to be additive and complimentary to the great work already taking place in Scotland by a wide variety of organisations. We hope to provide a next step for talent who have already completed a degree programme, or participated in other schemes / talent and skills development programmes or received short film funding but still have further to go in their development.

The Lab uniquely supports talent across disciplines including often neglected creative roles such as editing and production design and places an emphasis on building the craft skills and collaborative relationships between departments.

This is not an opportunity for beginners - we are looking for participants who have begun to make their way in their chosen discipline but need further help and support to get further, faster.

• 29 February 2024 – Close for applications
• February – March 2024 – In-person interviews and participants selected
• April 2024 – Programme begins 
• May/June/July 2024 – Professional Development seminars and workshops, and craft tuition
• August / September 2024 – Pre-production 
• October / November 2024 - Principal Photography 
• December/January/February/March 2024/2025 – Post-production
• April 2025 – Professional Preparation and Meet the Industry

The films made as part of the Lab will be the culmination of all the participants have learnt during the Lab and provide the participants with a ‘calling card’ on completion of the programme. By April 2025, we expect to have created six distinct narrative shorts of no more than 20 minutes in length, that will be submitted to festivals internationally. We will also arrange for the work to be sent to major talent agents and production companies in the UK.
 

To ensure that the course is accessible to as many people as possible, the £10,000 course fee is 70% underwritten by the Sean Connery Foundation. Due to this, successful applicants will pay £3,000 for the course.

The NFTS is committed to ensuring it is open to students of genuine ability, no matter what their background or financial circumstances are, which is why we award more scholarships and bursaries to British students, relative to the size of our student body, than almost any other educational institution in the UK.

If the £3,000 is still a barrier to participation, please do still apply. You may apply for further, more limited means-tested, financial support provided by our other industry partners.

In addition to fees support, there is a bursary fund where participants, particularly those from beyond the central belt, such as the Highlands and Islands, can apply for support with out-of-pocket expenses.

In order to qualify for the Sean Connery Talent Lab, applicants must meet the criteria below. For further information please visit the FAQs. You must:

• Either be from Scotland [meaning place of birth], or reside in Scotland [and have lived there for at least the last three years] or a UK national from somewhere else in the UK but able to commit to the programme and base themselves in Scotland for the duration of the programme. We expect a minimum of 75% of the places in the Lab to go to Scottish talent
• Have the right to work in the UK. If you are shortlisted you will need to provide proof of your right to work in the UK
• Be at least twenty years of age, as of November 2023
• Have completed other short film projects and received a credit in the same area as your application. For example, if you are applying as a Producer we would expect credits as a Producer or Production Manager. This is not an entry level opportunity - we are looking to work with filmmakers with some experience who are ready to take the next step; and
• Be available to participate in the programme from April 2024

We particularly welcome applications from under-represented groups.

You are NOT eligible to apply if you have done any of the following:

• Written or directed a theatrically-distributed, scripted, non-documentary feature film; or
• Written or directed one or more scripted, non-documentary episodes of television (excluding BBC Alba), or premium streaming series [which has aired or otherwise made commercially available for general public viewing (other than on a “free” platform such as Instagram or YouTube)

We are looking for both Writer/Directors and Writer and Director teams. We will not accept a director applying without a writer who cannot themselves write, or a writer who is applying without a director who does not wish to direct their own work. If you are applying with a writer or director partner, please make one application. In the case of joint applications, both “partners” will need to meet the eligibility criteria.

Beyond possible writer and director teams, everyone else accepted onto the Talent Lab will join as an individual and should be willing to work collaboratively with other members of the Lab to undertake project work.
 

After applications close on Thursday 29th February, the selection process will take place as follows:  

Stage 1

A panel from the NFTS will read all eligible applications and watch all submitted material by the end of February.

We will be looking for applications who are at the appropriate stage in their filmmaking careers to benefit from this opportunity, whose work shows real promise and whose submitted idea (if applying as a writer/director) meets the brief and excites the panel.

The NFTS panel will shortlist around a dozen people for each specialism with a view to choosing six people in each specialism.

Stage 2

Applicants will be invited to attend an in-person interview to discuss their application with the NFTS. You will be notified by the end of February 2024 if you have progressed to this stage.

Stage 2 in-person interviews will take place in early March.

Bursaries are available to help those in need of financial support to meet the out-of-pocket expenses of attending the interview.

The deadline for applications for Writers and Directors for the 2024 Sean Connery Talent Lab has now passed. The information below is for general reference should you wish to apply next year. Please visit back towards the end of 2024 for details of the 2025 intake. 

How to apply

To apply, please send the following four (six if applying as a writer/director) elements, in one email, to scftalentlab@nfts.co.uk  

• 1. A one page CV detailing your professional work, education and filmography. Please indicate which of the following specialisms you are applying for:
  Writing/Directing
  Producing
  Cinematography
  Editing
  Production Design
  If you are applying as a writer/director team then please submit a one page CV for each member, and a short statement about how you have come together to work collaboratively.   
• 2. A sample of up to 20 minutes in length in total, and not less than five minutes, that showcases your unique tone and cinematic style. The sample must be a scripted, live action, narrative work with dialogue. The work will be reviewed differently depending on which specialism you apply for. For example, if applying for Cinematography the reel should demonstrate your strengths in visual narrative and show your ability to tell a story with images. Please provide the samples via YouTube or Vimeo links with a password that is active until at least March 31st 2024.
• 3. A PDF of no more than five pages that explains your passion for your chosen discipline. This may be a mixture of text and images, but however you choose to present it, the document must communicate your experience, influences and ambitions.
• 4. A completed Equality Monitoring Form

If applying as a writer /director, please also submit:

• 5. An original, narrative script for a short film you would like to make as part of the Sean Connery Talent Lab, comprising no fewer than eight and no more than fifteen pages. The script must be in an industry-standard format and submitted as a PDF. (Projects submitted must be achievable within the permitted budget [and solely and exclusively owned and controlled by the applicant with no actual or potential third-party claims or obligations not specifically detailed in the submission, for example, a co-writer or underlying material]).
• 6.  A treatment / director’s statement relating to the submitted script (max five pages)

The NFTS adheres to the BFI diversity guidelines and projects will be considered in light of how they meet those guidelines. 

Please contact scftalentlab@nfts.co.uk or call 0141 729 8190 if you have any application access requirements.