A Blackburn based film company has secured £750,000 so it can develop talent in the area following the success of their pilot project.

Pixeleyed Pictures had run a project with aims to bridge the gap between the film industry and educational organisations.

The company is led by Rizwan Wadan, known for his work on productions such as Star Wars: Rogue One, Oscar-Winning The Favourite and BBC drama Luther.

He had moved to the area at the beginning of lockdown looking to showcase film talent from across local communities.

The company had announced the successful launch of the ‘Futures In Film Initiative’ supported by Blackburn with Darwen council and leading partners from the UK film industry.

Pixeleyed's Futures in Film project launched in 2021 as a pilot with the aim of providing creative young people from across the region with the opportunity to learn more about the film industry.

Pixeleyed's social impact value of the projects was said to be over £1.1m and verified by the Social Value Portal.

They secured the £750,000 from the Shared Prosperity Fund (SPF) to develop Screen Strategy for the region and develop a specialist social impact rental house.

Rizwan and his team have been working closely with Blackburn with Darwen Council and engaged private sector businesses such as EG Group to develop their production simulations which would provide opportunities to allow young people to understand the variety of jobs on high-end productions with the ability to gain practical experience with industry-standard technologies which are required on-set.

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EG Group challenged Pixeleyed to create a series of videos, with teams working on storyboarding right the way through to post-production.

Ilyas Munshi, Group Commercial Director at EG Group, said: “Given the breadth of our global business operations, we have always wanted to develop professional media content that we could develop and use for our websites, social media and corporate presentations.

“Working with Pixeleyed we have been able to give young people an opportunity to undertake ‘real’ media projects and learn from the professionals. This is a true partnership approach and one which will be attractive to many stakeholders.”

In mid-2021, the media company put the call out to invite young people to take up available opportunities. 277 responded to the call and were provided career guidance from senior members of the Pixeleyed team.

Rizwan Wadan said: “With the BBC, Channel 4 and ITV having a significant presence in the North West it is important that future talent for the industry is locally nurtured now.

“We wanted to create a practical approach to both the technical and creative knowledge transfer to support the region’s demand for technical and creative professionals to help address the shortage of skilled people within the industry.

“Personally, I also felt that it was important to nurture talent from underrepresented communities, and after spending time during the Covid documentation of the Pandemic in Blackburn I felt it’s important to develop the Futures in Film project from here.”

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Amir Raja a Blackburn College second-year Creative Media Production student said: “The Futures in Film initiative is offering us the unique opportunity to work with industry-standard equipment and the opportunity to work on high-end projects to help gain on-set experience. This is not available anywhere else in the region.”

Councillor Phil Riley, Leader of BwD Council said: “We’ve been really pleased to work with Rizwan and his team to bring new skills and opportunities to young people in the Blackburn with Darwen area. There are now young people in the borough who have a realistic chance to plan a career in the film industry and that’s a great addition to the creative opportunities on offer.

“Rizwan has shown great tenacity in putting this programme together and we look forward to working with him to develop even more exciting opportunities.

The film industry in the UK is growing rapidly and we want to make sure that the borough can take advantage of this expanding market.”

The project was supported by Pixeleyed’s industry partners such as RED Digital Cinema who supplied their expertise, equipment and cameras which were used on productions such as Dr Strange and the Multiverse of Madness, The Hobbit and Captain Marvel amongst many others.

Alan Piper, Managing Director of RED Europe said: “Pixeleyed Pictures acknowledged the shortage of technical skills in the film and broadcast industry, and more specifically the shortage in the North of England along with a lack of technologies and direct training.

“There is a clear need for academia in general, to connect more directly with the film and broadcast industry in order to provide appropriate training and links to employment thereafter.”

ARRI, a leading designer and manufacturer of camera and lighting systems for the film and broadcast industry also supported the project.

David Levy, the Business Development Director at ARRI said: “ARRI would like to thank Pixeleyed for inviting us to engage with consultation and support for the development of their educational initiatives last year.

“The work Rizwan and his team are doing provides the Northwest of England with a unique opportunity to support the broader creative arts industry with the next generation of creatives.

“Pixeleyed’s focus last year on providing the hands-on practical skills needed for linear and nonlinear storytelling is essential and desperately needed. Forming a bridge between industry and Academia, Pixeleyed’s work will inform higher education and universities in how they develop new courses, as well as established ones.”