Introducing A New Wave Of Creative Business Execs: Fani Ntavelou-Baum

At the National Film and Television School (NFTS), our Creative Business MA develops talented creative executives in film, TV and games, who go on to shape the industry with new unique and exciting ventures. In this series we will be sharing insights from a number of recent graduates from the MA uncovering the paths they have taken since leaving the School and how their time on the course prepared them with the knowledge, skills and confidence to pursue their dream careers.

Already a successful business strategy consultant, Fani Ntavelou-Baum wondered how she could combine her love for film and her business acumen. A calling towards her dream career in the entertainment industry led her to study our 2-year Creative Business MA.

“Before coming to the NFTS, I was working as a business strategy consultant in Copenhagen. My clients ranged from banks and governments, to car manufacturers and pharmaceutical companies, but I never had the chance to work with an entertainment or media company.

I've always loved film and wanted to explore a career in the film industry, so I took a leap of faith in 2020 and applied to the Creative Business Master's. It was a mad experience moving to London and becoming a student again in the middle of the pandemic, but I was lucky to find a really supportive community at the NFTS and the course.

I did an internship at film financing and production company, Anton, in the summer of my second year, working with fellow Creative Business alum, Callum Grant. I was lucky to be thrown into a creative role immediately. I then started working there part-time while I was finishing my Master's. The end of the course was totally hectic, but also the best case scenario of what I was hoping for: I got to attend American Film Market (AFM) in LA and got introduced to the sales process, but we also ended up producing Jamie Child's (His Dark Materials, The Sandman) directorial debut, Jackdaw, starring Oliver Jackson-Cohen and Jenna Coleman. I was fortunate to be involved in all aspects of production: from script development and greenlighting, all the way to being on set in Hartlepool and seeing the film through post and delivery.

I was lucky to find a really supportive community at the NFTS.

After I graduated in March 2023, I started working at Anton full-time as a Creative Executive. I work across their European film slate, which is built around commercial genre films, with a big focus on action. The next project I worked on was The End We Start From, fellow NFTS alumni Mahalia Belo's directorial debut, with Jodie Comer in the lead. It was an incredible experience getting the film through post and being part of the sales process in Cannes.

We went straight into pre-production for Cleaner, an action film directed by legendary action director Martin Campbell (Casino Royale), with Daisy Ridley starring, which is currently in post production and we're about to go into prep for our next film, a heist thriller called Fuze, with David Mackenzie (Hell or High Water) directing and Aaron Taylor-Johnson in the lead.

My day-to-day as a Creative Exec is roughly split into development, acquisitions and production. I spend a lot of time meeting producers, directors and writers and getting pitches of projects in various stages of development. One of my projects at Anton has been spearheading a fund for action films written by female and gender-non-conforming writers - a lot is being done to address gender representation in front of the camera, but men are overrepresented in arguably the most profitable film genre. Then, there's always a lot to be done to get our existing slate ready for production (i.e. writing and delivering script notes, packaging, or planning the production). Finally, I'm involved in our films in all stages of production, so I split my time between being on set and London when in production - there are always new things to tackle everyday while in production and post, which is a really exciting side to the role.

Read more from our Creative Business graduates here: nfts.co.uk/article/introducing-new-wave-creative-business-execs-jonny-mccausland

If you’re interested in a successful career as an executive in film, TV and games and are considering applying to the Creative Business MA course, visit nfts.co.uk/creative-business to learn more.

Places available to start January 2025, apply today!
Funding available.