A five-day film-making week for 11 to 17 year olds is proposed for the October half term, with 30 free places paid for out of the council's filming income.

Update, 28 September: applications are now open, with a £50 refundable deposit and a closing date of 5pm on 19 October. Read the latest.

Hertsmere Borough Council wants to spend the money it earns from film crews on teaching local teenagers how to make films. A five-day programme over the October half term, free to those who get a place, goes to Cabinet on Wednesday 9 September.

The pilot is aimed at 11 to 17 year olds living in Hertsmere, with a capacity of 20 to 30 and a stated ambition of “30 fully-funded places”. The council is being asked to approve £13,000 for the October group, and a further £13,000 for a second group in February 2027 if the first one works.

The money comes from a source that only really exists in this borough. The council’s Filming in Hertsmere function, which handles requests to film on council land, has generated an income stream of about £30,000 over 18 to 20 months, according to the proposal. The report calls the programme a way of turning that into “tangible community benefit”.

What the week involves

The programme would be delivered by Brilliant Film Academy, a Hertfordshire company that runs weekend filmmaking clubs for 11 to 19 year olds. Its two current weekly bases are Kings Langley Secondary School on Saturdays and Sandringham School in St Albans on Sundays, neither of them in Hertsmere. The proposal gives the pilot’s location only as “Hertsmere”.

The five days are structured as:

  • Day 1, Discover: an introduction to Film and TV careers, on-screen and off, and meeting industry professionals
  • Day 2, Develop: story development, script, production planning, production design and locations
  • Day 3, Create: filming on location, camera, sound, directing and production management
  • Day 4, Post-production: editing, marketing, distribution, and careers guidance
  • Day 5, Celebrate: a final screening, industry feedback, certificates and a showcase for parents

Participants would come out with one original short film. The council’s stated outcomes include exposure to more than 20 career pathways in the sector.

Places would be allocated through an online application run by Brilliant Film Academy, with a bursary system on its own website. Priority would go to young people who face barriers to taking part, and the proposal names them: those from low-income households, neurodiverse young people, SEND learners, young carers and those identified by schools. The recommendation is that the programme is free, though the appendix also refers to a “possible refundable sign up fee to ensure placement”.

Where the money goes

How Hertsmere Borough Council proposes to fund its Creative Futures film pilot Flow diagram. The Filming in Hertsmere function has generated about 30,000 pounds of income over 18 to 20 months. Two cohorts are proposed, each costing 12,950 pounds: 9,950 pounds to Brilliant Film Academy and a 3,000 pound council buffer for venues, food and tools. The indicative total across both cohorts is 25,900 pounds, against a maximum council allocation of 26,000 pounds. Filming income in, two half-term courses out Indicative figures from the council's own funding proposal. Nothing is committed until Cabinet and Council agree. Filming in Hertsmere £30,000 income over 18 to 20 months October 2026 pilot £9,950 to Brilliant Film Academy £3,000 council buffer for venues, food and tools February 2027 cohort Same again, but only if the pilot is judged a success Indicative total £25,900, against a maximum council allocation of £26,000 from reserves and contingency in 2026/27 Cabinet recommends £13,000 for the October group, and £13,000 more for February only if the pilot succeeds. Source: Hertsmere Borough Council report CAB/26/131 and its appendix, 9 September 2026. Graphic by The Borehamwood Post
The two cohorts add up to just under the £26,000 the council would set aside.

The indicative cost of one cohort is £9,950 to Brilliant Film Academy, covering programme design, the delivery team, equipment, safeguarding, marketing and guest speakers. The council adds a £3,000 buffer for venues and for food and tools for participants on free school meals. Two cohorts come to £25,900, against a maximum allocation of £26,000 from reserves and contingency in the 2026/27 budget.

The partners are not confirmed

The proposal lists potential industry partners under the heading “to be defined”: Elstree Film Studios for a visit, tour and talk, the Wyllyotts Theatre or Reel Cinema in Potters Bar for a possible screening, practitioners from Sky, Fairbanks and ESTU, and the Hertfordshire Film Office. None of that is agreed. The document itself is marked as a draft and its programme framework is labelled “tbc”.

Brilliant Film Academy’s own track record, as set out in the appendix, includes 11 years of youth film programmes, more than 180 current students, and partnerships with BBC Studios, Sky Studios and Goldfinch. All its practitioners are described as enhanced DBS checked, first aid, mental health first aid, safeguarding, GDPR and online safety trained.

The timetable has the course running before the vote

The report’s own timetable reads: Cabinet on 9 September, the programme pilot in October, and full Council on 25 November, marked “tbc”. The recommendation to Cabinet is that it recommends the funding to Council, not that it approves it outright.

On the face of the document, then, the half-term course would run about six weeks before the full Council meeting listed as approving it. The council’s next ordinary full Council meeting is on 16 September, and the report does not say which meeting the item will reach.

What it means for you

  • You cannot apply yet. No application page has opened, and the funding is not approved. The first decision is Cabinet on Wednesday 9 September at 6pm at the Civic Offices on Elstree Way.
  • If it is approved, applications run through Brilliant Film Academy, not the council, with a bursary route on the academy’s own site.
  • Eligibility as drafted is age 11 to 17 and living in Hertsmere. That covers Borehamwood, Elstree, Bushey, Potters Bar, Radlett, Shenley and the villages.
  • Watch the dates. The pilot is for the October half term. If your child would want a place, the application window will be short.
  • Cabinet meetings are public. Papers are on the council’s website and the meeting is at the Civic Offices, whose car park details are on our parking page.

Sources