OUR STORY
The Film & TV Academy (FTA) was launched in September 2021 by Gabriel Steele & Jamie Coe, and to date has seen over 200 students develop their skills both on camera and off.
Gabriel & Jamie founded FTA after having taught filmmaking & acting at other schools and academies for several years. Through FTA, they created a place where kids can learn to create professional films & see them screened at a red carpet Odeon event.
Hence the creation of FTA.
Gabriel and Jamie have been making films together since the age of 10. Gabriel was a child actor, starring as the lead role in the SyFy feature film “Boogeyman” when he was just 13, whilst also working alongside the likes of Sir Ian McKellen and Patrick Stewart.
Jamie was a young entrepreneur with a thriving iphone repair business at aged 13. Together, they used the money they had earnt to invest in filmmaking equipment, and began creating professional short films.
When they were 16 and 17 years old, their short film “The Question” was screened at BAFTA and won an award at the Reed Short Film Competition.
In 2018, they collaborated with Jason Farries, of Black Elk Productions on several short film projects. Jason then became part of the birth of FTA, and has been with us since day one. A huge part of the success of FTA has been down to Jason’s teaching – his expertise and attention to detail is incredible, and his students know how much value he brings.
In general, FTA has had the great fortune of being able to bring on excellent staff whose dedication to the students ideas and development is outstanding. FTA’s team is built up of professional filmmakers & actors who spend their weekend giving back to the next generation of creators in this industry.
Every year, FTA hosts the Annual Cinema Screening & Awards Ceremony, in collaboration with Odeon.
This is a red carpet event to showcase the films made by students at FTA over the year. After the screening, there is an awards ceremony and students are celebrated for their hard work and creativity.
Odeon has been a huge supporter of FTA, and we continue to work in collaboration with them to inspire the next generation of filmmakers.
The Film & TV Academy started in Aylesbury in 2021, and now currently runs from Aylesbury, Beaconsfield, Milton Keynes & St Albans.
