BAFTA has joined forces with UK cinema advertising company Digital Cinema Media (DCM) to inspire the creative talent of tomorrow to pursue a career in the screen industries.
The 90-second advert, titled Follow Your Spark, will be on screen in cinemas across the UK from today until 17th January.
The campaign follows BAFTA’s ‘Behind every BAFTA’ ad which it launched in August 2022.
This year’s campaign was conceived by director Jeaniq Amihyia around the concept of following your creative spark. It is fronted by EE Rising Star Award winner Michael Ward.
Several alumni of BAFTA’s Prince William Bursary, scholarship and talent programmes contributed to making the advert, including camera assistant Ada Urbaniak and lighting assistant Marta Vitola.
Speaking about the importance of BAFTA’s support at the start of her career, Urbaniak said: “It’s so great to be working alongside people who are happy and willing to train you as well.
“All the schemes [available] for people who haven’t been represented behind the camera are all so important, but it’s also important that we hold on to them. It’s not just: ‘give them a job, and see you later’. It’s important to have that ongoing support for them as well. BAFTA, through their bursary, and through their BFI Film Academy Mentor Scheme, has been so helpful. The bursary’s more than just the money, I’ve gotten to go to BAFTA Guru, and work opportunities as well.”
Vittola added: “I think it’s really important that new people can enter the industry, especially from working-class backgrounds, people who usually have a bit more barriers stand in their way because that’s the only way we can get to represent a large variety of voices.”
