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NFTS in 2011 | |
| Motto | Our Credits Tell The Story |
|---|---|
| Type | Educational Charity |
| Established | 1971; 54 years ago (1971) |
Academic affiliation | CILECT |
| President | Lord Puttnam |
| Director | Jon Wardle |
| Postgraduates | 500 |
Other students | 100 |
| Location | ,, England 51°36′19″N0°38′15″W / 51.6054°N 0.6374°W /51.6054; -0.6374 |
| Campus | Beaconsfield Film Studios |
| Website | nfts |
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TheNational Film and Television School (NFTS) is afilm, television and games school established in 1971 and based atBeaconsfield Studios inBeaconsfield,Buckinghamshire,England. It is featured in the 2024 ranking byThe Hollywood Reporter of the top 15 international film schools.[1]
As of 2021 it had over 500 students and about fifteen hundred a year on its short courses delivered in Beaconsfield and at its hubs in Glasgow, Leeds, and Cardiff. Beaconsfield Studios consists of film and television stages, animation, and production design studios, edit suites, sound post-production facilities, a music recording studio, and four dubbing theatres. The school completed an expansion in early 2017, adding a third cinema and a Television Studio.
TheBBC stated that the NFTS was the "leading centre of excellence for education in film and television programme making", and noted that it was "relevant to the industry's present and future needs".[2] British Film Magazine once described the NFTS as being one of the few schools to come "very, very close" to guaranteeing a job in the film industry, and named its leader (Powell) a "maverick".[3] Filmmaking.net named it one of two films schools outside the U.S. which had such a high international reputation.[4]
NFTS student films have been nominated for an Oscar three times in the last six years. Additionally, in 2017 NFTS graduation film,A Love Story, directed and co-written by Anushka Naanayakkara, won the British Short Animation BAFTA at the EE British Academy Film Awards, making it the fourth year in a row that NFTS students have picked up this accolade.[5] This is the second consecutive year that two of NFTS students' graduation films competed for the same prize, withA Love Story up againstThe Alan Dimension directed and co-written by Jac Clinch.[6] NFTS student films are regularly selected for the top film festivals around the world. In 2016–17 highlights included selections atCannes andAnnecy Animation Festival and top prizes in nearly all theRoyal Television Society categories for which they are eligible.[7]
In 2018, the school was the recipient of theBAFTA Outstanding British Contribution to Cinema Award at the71st British Academy Film Awards.[8][9]

The National Film School opened in 1971, the work of four years of planning to create an institution to train personnel for the British film industry. TheDepartment of Education and Science had in 1967 recommended the creation of a national film school for the UK, and in 1969 an inquiry led byLord Lloyd of Hampstead began to develop plans.Colin YoungCBE became the founding director in 1971, a post he held for more than 2 decades, at a time when the school produced alumni includingBill Forsyth,Terence Davies,Julien Temple,Beeban Kidron, andNick Park.
In 2016, the NFTS announced it had received funding to increase the capacity of its site in Beaconsfield including a '4K Digital Content Production Training Studio' (a refit of the 1960s TV studio) and the addition of a number of new MA and diploma courses including Directing & Producing Natural History & Science; Production Technology; Marketing for Film, TV & Games; Graphics & Titles for Television & Film and Creative Business for Entrepreneurs & Executives. In April 2017, it was announced that Nik Powell was to step down as Director of the school,[10] with Jon Wardle succeeding him in the role.
The NFTS holds yearly graduation shows at thePicturehouse Central in Soho,[11] and they were previously held at theBFI Southbank (formerly known as the National Film Theatre). These are highly selective and invite-only events which showcase the students' projects to scouts and industry professionals, ensuring that the students receive maximum exposure.

Alumni of the National Film and Television School have gone on to winOscars,BAFTAs andEmmys as well as film festival prizes from around the world. In the last 6 years student filmsThe Confession (2011),Head Over Heels (2013),The Bigger Picture (2015) have gone on to be nominated for threeOscars, and the graduation filmA Love Story won the 2017BAFTA forBest Short Animation, the fourth year in a row an NFTS animation has won the category.[12][13]
In 2013, the NFTS graduation film "Miss Todd" won theStudent Academy Award for Best Foreign Film presented byAcademy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences. This marked for the sixth time the NFTS had won in this category, more than any other Film School outside of the United States of America. In 2016, The National Film and Television School once again affirmed its place as the number one international film school by winning accolades in all three categories in the CILECT Prize, the global film school awards. The NFTS won "Best Documentary" forThe Archipelago, "Best Animation" forEdmond and was awarded second prize in the "Fiction" category forPatriot.

The school's facilities were expanded in 2008 with the addition of new teaching spaces, public spaces and a new cinema, designed by Glenn Howells Architects. Upon its completion in 2008, the strikingly modern three-story building (see photo above) won a covetedRIBA prize.[14][15] In June 2009, it was formally named The Oswald Morris Building in honour of veteran cinematographerOssie Morris.
Two new buildings and one refurbished building opened in January 2017. This included the refurbishment of the 4K Digital Content Production Training Studio, located in the original 1960s TV studio which was completely refurbished with state-of-the-art equipment. In July 2017, this building was named the"Sky Studios at the NFTS" building,[16] with the Production Galleries named"TheSony Gallery".[17] This studio is primarily used by theCamera, Sound & Vision Mixing for Television Production diploma course and theDirecting and Producing Television Entertainment MA course.
Inside the"Channel 4 Rose Building",[16] there are new facilities for theGames Design & Development andDigital Effects MA courses, as well as an extra cinema, café and incubation space to enable graduates to start new businesses and accommodate new ground-breaking courses, enhancing the NFTS's already diverse programme.
A new teaching block on the north of the site houses a new studio, edit suites, dedicated suites for theSound Design MA andGraphics and Titles for Film and Television diploma courses, as well as multi-purpose teaching spaces.
There are four dedicated stages on site:[18]
There are also a number of dedicated spaces for animation and music recording.
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Until its repeal in 1986, the school was funded partly through a tax on cinema ticket sales known as theEady Levy, named after thenUK Treasury official Sir Wilfred Eady. The NFTS has since been funded by the UK Government, via (today) theDepartment for Culture, Media and Sport, and the television and film industries.
Key Partner Sponsors include the Film Distributors' Association and the UK Cinema Association in addition to the main UKterrestrial andsatellite broadcasting companiesBBC,Channel 4,Sky, andITV. In addition, a large number of public and private donors fund scholarships to assist British students.
Postgraduate students from the UK can now apply for a loan to help with their studies at any UK university including the NFTS via theStudent Loans Company.
Full-time MA courses[edit]validated by theRoyal College of Art:
Diploma courses[edit]
| Certificate courses[edit]
Short courses[edit]Shortcourses@NFTS regularly run short courses for professionals working in the film and television industries – covering the following areas:
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The school has[when?] around 110 full-time staff as well as many top tutors from within the industry.
Board[edit]
| Partners[edit]
| Key tutors[edit]
Chairs[edit]
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The National Film and Television School has named more than 30 honorary fellows.[22] The programme was founded in 1981, and ceremonies take place at the NTFS graduation ceremony each year. Honorary Fellows are recognised for their "outstanding contribution to the British film and television industry".[22]
The following are the Fellows, as of March 2020, where alumni of the NTFS are indicated by an asterisk (*):
Other past fellow have includedLord Birkett,[citation needed] who died in April 2015.[24]
This article's list of alumnimay not follow Wikipedia'sverifiability policy. Pleaseimprove this article by removing names that do not have independentreliable sources showing they merit inclusion in this articleand are alumni, or by incorporating the relevant publications into the body of the article through appropriatecitations.(August 2013) (Learn how and when to remove this message) |