The Online Week

The online week was led by Documentary Producer and Senior Development Executive, Debbie Lowe, who took the trainees through the building blocks of development via talks, exercises and workshops.

The trainees reflect on getting to know one another, and the sessions…

• “The week started with a round of introductions from everyone in the group, our lead trainer, Debbie Lowe, ran through some helpful tips and tricks for staying up to date with the world of documentary… great preparation for our afternoon session with Netflix’s Nelesh Dhand.” – Iona Macdonald

• “Meeting our fellow trainees, it was interesting to hear our varied backgrounds: my cohort includes a trained teacher, people who've worked in development alongside production, and people like me who've worked in TV and development as well as other roles in branded content and corporate.” – Chloe Bingham

• “Our intensive online training week equipped me with skills, confidence and a deeper insight into every stage of the documentary development process - from uncovering what makes a compelling story, to utilising archive, to legal considerations, to using AI in development, to exploring a variety of pitching styles.” – Laila Edwy

With industry speaker stand-outs including…

• “Emily Barber (media lawyer – Creators Counsel) gave us some examples of scenarios to work through, so that we could discuss the legal aspects that would need to be considered and how we’d go about doing so. I found it really helpful to have a chance to think about some of these things ahead of time and plan how to deal with them.” – Jenna Green

• “Willard Foxton from Novel’s blend of passion, pragmatism, and an effervescent optimism (that has no off button) hit exactly the right note and reminded us that the search for stories is a craft and to be enjoyed. He offered invaluable insight into the art of story-finding. Ross and Johnny from Raw TV’s experience in pinpointing those approaches reminded us that big stories often hinge on smart, precise decisions made early in the process.” – Jehan Jeffrie

• “An inspiring talk by Miles Coleman from Ventureland, which fundamentally shifted how I approached developing and pitching ideas. My biggest lightbulb moment came when I learned to identify the central question at the heart of a documentary, digging deep into what the story is really about and who is best placed to tell it. Thinking about ideas in a more holistic way gave the stories I pitched a distinctive identity and helped me position them strategically for the current market and their intended audiences. The session with the Dart Centre for Journalism and Trauma led by Juliana Ruhfus, was equally transformative.” – Laila

• “Naomi Benson, VP of Global Formats and UK Development at Dorothy St Pictures spoke about her process, the collaborative energy of her team, and the vision that underpins their productions. Hearing how she approaches crafting stories that could be scripted dramas left me thinking bigger about the possibilities for our own ideas.” – Yasmin Bowen

• “Each speaker came with a different perspective, offering a well-rounded view of development from idea origination to how creative decisions shift in response to archive, access, talent, and commissioner demands.” – Holly Bennett

With just a weeks’ break in between, the trainees were busy digesting all they had learned from the online week, ready to build on their new skillset with the in-person training in London.

In-person training at Netflix HQ

A plethora of incredibly talented and well-established industry speakers lent their time and expertise to the group.

Some highlights were…

• “From the moment we’d met Nel (Netflix), he was warm, encouraging and shared a real interest in supporting us in our experience, both on the training programme and beyond. We whittled our pitches down to quick summaries and one by one he gave us his initial thoughts, some minor tweaks and bags of encouragement.” – Jenna

• “David Glover from 72 Films’ session served as a real reminder that whatever we're developing should be something we want to watch, with spectacle and surprises along the way.” – Kate Samways

• “Jess Watts, Head of Development at 22 Summers gave us an honest look at the pitching process. Hearing how she balances creativity with a focused brief made me think differently about how I approach my own ideas.” – Yasmin

• “Nikalas Catlow’s sizzle editing workshop reframed the way I view sizzles and opened my eyes to the types of pitches that sizzles would, and would not work for… Each talk left me feeling inspired and eager to apply new skills, especially as we prepared to pitch a premium documentary idea to a panel of commissioners and heads of development.” – Laila

• “Becky Ford and Eleanor Wright, Head of Development and Senior Documentary Development Producer at Candour Productions delivered an eye-opening session. It was great to learn from Candour – industry trailblazers in their own right – their tiny but mighty development team has secured 10 commissions in the past year alone.” – Chloe

And a stellar line up of industry representatives came along to watch, consider and feedback on the group’s joint pitches.

• “Pitch done and happy with our delivery, the floor was opened for questions. Sophie Jones (Minnow Films) asked us about our ethical considerations surrounding our lead protagonist, Miles Coleman (Ventureland) asked us about who we thought would watch our film, Tom Pullen (BBC) and Tom Barry (Netflix) asked us about our entry point and act structure. We were able to give confident and considered answers from the heart and were met with a round of heartfelt congratulations along with encouragement to pursue our idea in the real world.” – Jenna

Reflecting on the week and looking ahead to their mentorship matches, production company placements and more, trainees said…

• “Yen helped us shift our focus from the training room to what comes next. With characteristic clarity and care, she guided us through key questions about our future: Who might mentor us? How should we shape our CVs? Where do we want to place ourselves, and how do we get there? It was the perfect end to a transformative two weeks. I haven’t felt this confident or inspired about working in documentaries since leaving the NFTS.” – Jehan