still from censor featuring niamh algar sitting in a small screening room watching a film

Job Opportunities: Freelance Assessors

Ffilm Cymru is developing a pool of freelancers to assist our team with the assessment of filmmaker funding applications - from shorts, to career development, to features.

Title: Freelance Assessor
Term: August 2023 to March 2024, with potential to extend beyond this period. 
Fee: Varied, in line with standard industry rates, on a per application basis. Examples of our current rates are between:

  • £15-30 for short films
  • £80 for feature development
  • up to £250 for feature production – inclusive of any VAT chargeable.

Deadline: Monday 31st July 2023 (for shorts) / Tuesday 15th August (for features & CPD).
Interviews: We will not be conducting formal interviews for this role. We may however ask to meet informally with candidates, or require further information or a test assessment.

One of our aims is to expand the range of lived experience that informs our decision-making. We particularly encourage expressions of interest from individuals who identify as women (whether assigned at birth or not), LGBTQI+, d/Deaf, disabled or neurodiverse, people of the Global Majority, as well as Welsh speakers and those from disadvantaged socio-economic backgrounds. 

We recognise the intersectionality of different characteristics and that people are always more than these descriptors, leading complex and nuanced lives that they draw-upon. Further information on our approach can be found in our Film for Everyone Action Plan.

Freelancers who are invited to join this pool will be offered paid assessing opportunities in line with their expertise across our Beacons Short Film Fund, Feature Development and Production Funds, and Career Development Fund during the period between August 2023 and March 2024, with potential to extend beyond this period.

Key Responsibilities 

Depending on the fund, freelance assessors may be asked to review any combination of the following materials:

  • Application forms completed in written, voice note or video format
  • Outlines, treatments, scripts
  • Source material where the project is an adaptation (e.g. a novel or play)
  • Pitch decks, mood boards, sketches, storyboards, reels, test footage
  • Previous screen work 
  • CVs / biographies
  • Budgets
  • Finance plans

Specific assessment criteria and further guidance will be provided. We will for example require assessors to familiarise themselves with Ffilm Cymru policies.

We may ask you for brief written notes or scores for each application. We may also ask you to join a more in-depth panel discussion of applications.

Assessing panels will always include members of the Ffilm Cymru team. Where we have a large volume of applications, there may also be more than one external freelancer on the panel.

Skills and Experience

  • Previous experience in film or in a related creative medium
  • Ability to engage critically with film projects at various stages of development, both creatively and in terms of their feasibility (budget, schedule, team) as well as potential for festivals and/or theatrical distribution
  • Awareness of talent progression routes within the film industry
  • Commitment to equality, diversity and inclusion 

Desirable

Expertise in any of the following: documentary, animation, Welsh language filmmaking, lead producing shorts or feature films, sales and distribution or film talent development.

How to Express your Interest  

Unless we’ve agreed an alternate format with you, you should email Ihsana Feldwick on ihsana@ffilmcymruwales.com with ‘Freelance Assessor – Expression of Interest’ in the subject line, including the following: 

  1. A CV or link to an online CV
  2. A note explaining why you’re interested in the role and how you meet the criteria (either up to 300 words max. written note, or up to 2-minute max. voice note or video)
  3. Which of the following applications you are available to assess:
  • Short films (August 2023 only)
  • Feature development and/or production (year-round)
  • Career development (year-round)

Please submit your Expression of Interest by Monday 31st July 2023 (for shorts) / Tuesday 15th August (for features & CPD).

Access Support

We believe in a sector that works for everyone and we are passionate about broadening access to the screen sector.

We will offer an automatic meeting to all candidates who meet our Minimum Criteria for the role and who identify as People of the Global Majority, as Black, Asian or Minority Ethnic or as D/deaf, hard-of-hearing, Disabled or neurodiverse. 

For applicants with access requirements, for example individuals who are D/deaf, hard-of-hearing, Disabled, neurodiverse, and people with sight loss, support is available to complete an expression of interest. Please contact us to let us know how we can help. For example, we can cover the costs of a BSL interpreter for a meeting with us prior to making an expression of interest or scribing support for dyslexic applicants. We’ll be guided by you. 
  
Please contact Ihsana Feldwick on ihsana@ffilmcymruwales.com to discuss your requirements in advance of submitting an expression of interest.