BFI Film Academy Training Course: Film Curation and Archiving 2027

BFI Film Academy Training Course – Film Curation and Archiving 2027

See yourself in the credits!

Our free training course is open to 18–22-year-olds from across the UK and takes place for one week in person (22-28 February 2027) at Showroom Cinema in Sheffield, with food and accommodation all provided.

With on-site visits to leading moving image archives and cinema venues alongside in-person sessions at the Showroom from film industry experts, the course provides the chance to learn about the wide-ranging roles in the film archive world across film preservation, film restoration, moving image curation, film festival programming, film journalism and documentary production.

By the end of the course, the participants will have nurtured skills from the week's workshops, screenings, technical training and masterclasses to curate and edit an archive short film and present it to a panel of industry professionals.

Applications are now open. Deadline: midnight, Saturday 9 January 2027.

Scroll down for key details and application form.

What can you expect from the course?

Showroom Cinema, Sheffield, one of the largest independent cinemas in Europe, will be your base for the week. You’ll spend your days learning, watching films and working with your team in a busy, working cinema.

By taking part, you will gain:

Industry insight: Explore the film archive and exhibition sectors through a range of industry voices and skillsets.
Practical skills: Discover the world of film preservation, curation and exhibition. Build the skills you need to become part of our future film industry.
Behind-the-scenes access: Spend a dedicated day at the Yorkshire and North East Film Archive in York, our course partner. Enjoy technical demos, tours, practical activities and discussions.
Cinema visit: Visit Pictureville Cinema at the National Science and Media Museum, Bradford, and meet the programming team.
Expand your watchlist: Watch a range of films. Learn from archivists, exhibitors, curators, festival programmers, digital film restorers, film journalists, archive producers and documentary filmmakers.
Mentoring: Be mentored throughout the residential. Meet industry professionals every day and get tips on kick-starting your career.
Create a film project: Work in a team to curate an archive short film. Present it to a panel at Showroom Cinema, Sheffield.
BFI Film Academy Hub Membership: Join the BFI Film Academy Alumni. Access exclusive opportunities, advice and professional development after the course ends.

Where could it lead?

Alumni success: Previous alumni have gone on to work at Warner Brothers, Sheffield DocFest, production companies and post-production facilities. Others have joined schemes and apprenticeships with the National Film and Television School and Pinewood Studios.
Future opportunities: We see future alumni working with archive and exhibition partners. These include regional, national and broadcast archives, footage licence libraries, documentary production companies, museums, galleries, independent cinemas and film festivals.

"[the course] opened up my eyes to career opportunities, further fuelled my passion to work in the film industry and gave me the confidence and some introductory experience to follow this dream"

Will Pedrick

"The BFI Film Academy residential massively helped with getting my confidence back with film production after dropping out of university. I am very thankful for the BFI Film Academy course as it was great fun and beneficial to launching my creative career this year."

BFI Film Academy Alumni, 2026

In order to apply for this opportunity you must:

Be 18-22 years old on the first day of the course (or 22-25 and in receipt of an EHC plan or equivalent).
Be a UK resident
Not be enrolled at University or at University when the course starts
Be able to commit to the duration of the course.
Have a passion to begin a career in the film archive and exhibition sector.

Places are limited and all applicants will be required to complete an application form as part of the selection process.

The course is completely free to attend and includes:

Tutorage and discussions with industry professionals.
Accommodation in Sheffield.
Meals throughout the residency.

Additional financial support is available to cover other costs, such as travel, if necessary.

Email BFI.Academy@srws.org.uk for more information or to organise an informal chat on how we can support you to attend this course.

Financial Support:

Bursaries: As part of our commitment to equity, diversity and inclusion, we offer bursaries to support young people from lower socio-economic backgrounds.
Leverhulme places: This year, we also offer a small number of fully funded Leverhulme places on each training course for young people aged 18.

We will do our best to support any access requirements to remove barriers that may stop you attending this course.

Email BFI.Academy@srws.org.uk for more information or to organise an informal chat on how we can support you to attend.

This isn’t a barrier: if you are passionate about arts, heritage and/or archival practice and want to gain skills in this area of the film industry, we welcome you to apply. You don’t have to have studied film, for example, interest in subjects such as English, Music, History, Politics, Sociology and Geography can all offer valuable perspectives when it comes to archive work.

As a week-long intensive residential course, you’ll be based in Sheffield, learning something different every day that will be important for helping you to complete the group project. Therefore, it will be beneficial to you and your project group to be here for the entirety of the course. Exemptions may be made in exceptional circumstances: please make these known on the form when you apply.

Key dates and information

Webinar date: Tuesday 8 December 2026 (Time TBC)
Course dates: Monday 22 February - Sunday 28 February 2027
Location: Accommodation will be in Sheffield. Course base each day will be at Showroom Cinema, Paternoster Row, Sheffield, S1 2BX, with day trips to Yorkshire and North East Film Archive in York, and Pictureville Cinema at the National Science and Media Museum, Bradford.
Application deadline: Midnight, Saturday 9 January 2027.

Application Guidance

Find out more in our webinar

Interested in learning more before you apply? We'll be hosting a webinar on Tuesday 8 December from 6pm - 6.45pm to talk through what you can expect from the course in more detail and there'll be the opportunity for you to ask questions.

Sign up to the webinar here

Application FAQs

How long should my responses be?

The suggested word count is 150-300 words for each answer. Using the whole word count doesn’t necessarily make for a better answer but it gives you space to tell us as much as you think is relevant to your application. If you are submitting an audio recording as your response, we recommend this to be around 2-3 minutes per question.

Can I submit audio responses instead?

Yes. Please upload them to a cloud-based storage service like Google Drive or Dropbox and paste the URL into the relevant response box.

Can I use ChatGPT?

Asking ChatGPT to write a response for you won’t give us what we are looking for, which is a personal response to the questions from you. Taking the time to write your own answers not only showcases who you are on a personal level but can also help make sure this is the right opportunity for you. A tool like ChatGPT can be helpful for ideas on structuring and checking readability of what you’ve written, but if you need help with your grammar and spelling, consider something like Grammarly, or the assistive writing features that are built into document editors like Microsoft Word or Google Docs.

Guidance for Question One

Question one:

"In 150-300 words, please tell us a bit about yourself and why you would like to take part in this BFI Film Academy Training Course specifically. What does film curation and archiving mean to you? What skills and qualities would you bring to the course, and how would you benefit?"

What are we looking for in your response?

We want to know that you have understood what the course is about and what you will gain from taking part. You can take a look at the BFI’s National Archives or the Archives for Education websites to explore the world of film archives and their uses. You can also download a recent resource which maps out lots of other archives from across the UK: Exhibiting the UK’s Hidden Moving Image Archive to explore further. We also want to know about you and the skills and perspectives you will bring to the group and activities.

Guidance for Question Two

Question two:

"In 150-300 words, please tell us about your experience of, and/or interest in, archive in the film and TV industry. This could include your favourite films or TV shows, any filmmaking projects you've worked on, or a relevant class you've taken at school or college. You can also share examples of your work (such as a film, photograph, piece of writing, website or animation) by including a link to YouTube, Vimeo or another platform in your response"

What are we looking for in your response?

This is where you can get creative! We really want to get a sense of your passion for how film archives can be used to tell stories. If you have experience in this area already, tell us about it here and share links to any work you’ve done. Maybe you’re a fan of classic cinema and preserving film history? Perhaps you’re passionate about community and home movies, and what they can say about the histories of our families and cultures? Has a gallery or museum you’ve visited used archive footage as part of an exhibition you’ve enjoyed or been moved by? Archive film is used in so many different ways - and we want to know what excites and interests you. As suggested above, check out the links to various archives and resources for insights into the world of archive and the work done to preserve, restore and present film.

Applications are now open!