The Leverhulme Arts Scholarship has awarded LFS a grant to fund two places; one for our MA Filmmaking and one for our MA Screenwriting degrees, starting in September 2023. The deadline for applications to the Leverhulme Arts Scholarship is closing soon – 7th April.
The Scholarships are designed for talented applicants who have the right to reside in the UK and have an unconditional offer for either our MA Filmmaking or MA Screenwriting courses for September 2023. It’s essential that talent has access to education and important to widen participation for the current generation of talented students so that they can participate and benefit from the School's culture and its full learning programme.
We spoke to some of the LFS Leverhulme scholars to find out what a difference it made to them.
Comfort Akintaro, Student
Being a student at LFS has been an incredible experience so far. I’m not exaggerating when I say that my growth as a writer has been exponential. The methods of teaching at LFS are very thorough and detailed. For me personally, learning how to create complex characters, how best to serve a story and how to nurture my own ideas are skills that had I not come to LFS, would have taken me much longer to cultivate.
I find my tutors to be encouraging and constructive all at the same time. I also find that LFS has an environment where we as students are comfortable to share our ideas, successes and pitfalls along the way in our journeys as writers.
My biggest take away from LFS will be the friends and connections that I have made along the way. To be surrounded by other talented and passionate storytellers and filmmakers every day, is not something I take for granted. I look forward to collaborating with my classmates as we all enter our professional careers.
I am also so grateful to have been the recipient of the Leverhulme scholarship for my cohort. Without it, coming to LFS would have been quite a stretch financially. The scholarship has helped me to hone my craft and to kickstart my career as a writer and a director. My dream of working in the film industry, which at one point felt very alien and at times even unattainable, is now something that excites me and is something that I am confident I can do.
Miguel Magalhães, Graduate
The opportunity to study at one of the best film schools, and move to London, the heart of Film and Television production in Europe, was only possible thanks to the Leverhulme Arts Scholarship.
As a 2019/2020 Screenwriting LFS alumnus, the programme structure and commitment not only to writing, but understanding and thinking story and characters in different genres, lengths, and formats was one of the most valuable lessons to my development as a writer/filmmaker. However, the opportunity to experience living as a screenwriter, from writer’s room to deadlines to networking and sharing these experiences with the friends you will meet and grow together moving forward, is the most invaluable reward you will gather from this period of your time.
Coming from Portugal, this scenario was a steep, financial impossibility for me – but thankfully, I received this opportunity, and it changed my life forever. Currently, working as an editor and producer assistant for production companies like Dirty Films, I also continue to write and stimulate habits cultivated during my time at the school – each month I, and other cohort members, keep making our own writer’s room, share our latest drafts and give feedback to each other. My latest film, The Perfect Gift, a stop-motion animation short film, is now being produced by Fantasmagorie Studio with the support of the Italian Ministry of Culture after winning the 1st prize fund from the competition “Contributi Selettivi”.
Fergus Burnand, Graduate
One of the reasons I applied to London Film School was because I was struggling to find properly paid work in the film industry and, when the pandemic hit, all the freelance jobs I relied on evaporated. Broke and feeling like I’d failed to gain any kind of professional foothold in the film world, I applied to LFS for the Screenwriting MA and sent in an application for the Leverhulme Scholarship. I was feeling pessimistic and like a lot of hard work had resulted in pitifully little.
When I got the scholarship, it felt like an incredible gift from above. Not only were my fees for the MA paid for but I also got a substantial chunk of money each term in order to help with maintenance costs. You cannot underestimate what it means to have that financial burden lifted. I was still working some freelance jobs during the MA, but I could now free up enough time to really focus on the work I wanted to do at LFS and enjoy getting to know the other students (which was tricky during the pandemic!). And it’s a gift that I still feel now because I am lucky enough to not have to worry about paying off the loans that most MA graduates carry with them.
By far, the most valuable thing that film school gave me was a group of people who wanted to write and make films. Late last year, I co-founded a production company called Donkey Tail (https://www.instagram.com/donkeytailproductions/) with four other young artists, two of whom are LFS alumni. We’re now making our third short film and last month we produced a play that I wrote, called Same Again, which sold out it’s run at the White Bear Theatre and then sold out again at the Golden Goose Theatre. As a company, we’re still at the early stages but six months in and we have produced a sell-out play and three short films! This isn’t meant as a brag. The point is, one of the things LFS gives you is a group of people who keep your ambitions and creativity alive and push you in new directions. Apart from producing films and plays, we also help each other with funding applications, job opportunities, and feedback on work we are developing. These relationships have been fundamental to my creative development after leaving LFS. And the Screenwriting MA is what gave us the confidence and the skills to make the company and develop a space that allows us to continue creating the work we want to make.
The Leverhulme Scholarship is a rare gift and absolutely worth applying for. I have benefitted hugely from it. Indirectly and directly, it has given me the freedom and confidence to continue making the kind of work I want to make, which something I do not take for granted. I feel incredibly lucky.
Joshua Willdigg, Graduate
The Leverhulme Scholarship gave me the space, time and education to take vital steps towards the dream I have pursued since I was a child. I grew up a two hour train away, but London couldn't be a more different world. The opportunities, the possibilities, the sheer wonder fuel.
Being able to write at the centre of it all, learning so much, both from the LFS staff and my classmates, going deeper and spending a previously unrivalled amount of time with a story and its characters... it taught me what was required to make this dream a reality in a way that was both pragmatic and inspiring.
I really couldn't have done it without the scholarship. I take great pride in being a Leverhulme Arts Scholar and LFS, along with The Leverhulme Trust will forever be a part of my own story, which I hope will be a good one!
Who can apply for the Scholarship?
- Applicants who receive an unconditional offer of a place on either the MA Filmmaking or MA Screenwriting programme starting in September 2023;
- Applicants who have the right to reside in the UK;
- Applicants who have the ability to demonstrate the need for financial assistance and do not have the funds to study;
- Applicants who can evidence the ability to be able to support themselves (and any dependents, if applicable) for the duration of the course).
When can I apply for the Scholarship?
You will need to have received an unconditional offer from LFS for either the MA Filmmaking or MA Screenwriting course starting in September 2023 by 7th April.
Find out more here:
The Leverhulme Trust Arts Scholarships at London Film School | London Film School (lfs.org.uk)