boomsatsuma appoints Freya Billington as programme lead

Bristol creative education provider, boomsatsuma, launches its new Filmmaking (pathways) Pre and Post Production BA (Hons) degree and welcomes Freya Billington as Film Production programme leader, September 2020.

Building on the success of its Film & TV level 3 extended National Diploma college course, boomsatsuma’s new degree gives aspirational students progression into higher education. Accredited by Bath Spa University, the production focused course content has been steered by industry partners, and will be based centrally at Bristol’s Paintworks in September 2021.

Mark Curtis, boomsatsuma co-founder, states:

“We’re very excited to be welcoming Freya to our team to launch our new degree. I’m sure her combined experience, energy and enthusiasm for filmmaking and education will inspire our students to qualifications and careers within the sector. Her #TeaAt3WithMamFromage informal vodcasts with film professionals encapsulate her strong ties and passion for engaging students directly with the industry.

“We are launching this series of creative degrees that provide industry curated content, teaching the skills that best prepare graduates for a career in an expanding, dynamic industry. Nationally the creative industries are worth £111.7 billion, which is 5.8% of the UK’s GDP. Bristol’s creative industry sector has expanded year on year, with around 6,000 companies currently employing almost 25,000 people.

“All of our partners are screaming out for new talent to underpin expansion and we aim to provide a focused education pathway for young people in the region to enable that.”

In keeping with boomsatsuma’s ethos of placing students within professional settings, the degree students will benefit from close ties, spending time with key industry partners in Bristol, all of who have helped shape the course content. These include the Bottle Yard Studios, where shows such as Sherlock, Poldark, The Crystal Maze and Fortitude are filmed; BAFTA award-winning Films at 59, which is one of the UK’s largest pre and post-production facilities, and BBC Bristol Unscripted Productions (factual).

Freya comments:

“Having worked within filmmaking and education all my working life, I am proud to be heading up this course that is so closely linked to Bristol’s key industry providers. The film and TV professionals have identified the ‘real world skills’ they want from future employees, boomsatsuma has listened and shaped this new degree to match those criteria.

“I am particularly excited by the collaborative teaching structure, with student numbers capped at 40 per year, to allow enhanced contact time. That will give myself and colleagues the opportunity to mentor students through relevant projects and implement practical, fun projects and teaching techniques. I teach a holistic approach to filmmaking that empowers students to discover who they are and where they’ll best fit into the industry, working at the expected professional standard.”

The new degrees will welcome students in September 2021 and applications open from now through to January 2021. Click here to view open days: https://www.boomsatsuma.education/opendays