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2019 Oscars: MetFilm School graduates credited on six nominations!

By Jonny Persey

19 February 2019

In this blog, MetFilm School Director, Jonny Persey, recaps on a successful month for our graduates. 

In this year’s crop of 2019 Oscars nominations, MetFilm School graduates have worked on six films! I think that makes this a moment to shout proudly from the rooftops. Credits include Animation Co-ordinator on Ready Player One (BA graduate, Marta Baidek); 2nd Unit Director of Photography on Bohemian Rhapsody (BA graduate Rina Yang); Lighting Technician on Mary Poppins Returns (MA Cinematography graduate, Max Lovell); Visual Effects Assistant Co-ordinator on Solo: A Star Wars Story (Marta, again); Compositor on Isle of Dogs (BA graduate, Guy Lubin); and Crowd Costume Trainee on The Favourite (BA graduate, Jess Wilcock-Stow).

Proud as I am of each of these credits – everyone loves an Oscar nomination – I’m more proud of the stories of each of these graduates, for these credits represent just one moment in an ongoing journey.

Marta Baidek, BA Practical Filmmaking

Marta, 26, started off as an Assistant Director after graduating before moving into VFX. She also worked on Star Wars: The Force Awakens and Alien: Covenant, and she has since moved on to Tim Burton’s Dumbo. She joined MetFilm School focused on directing and producing, but learning more about cinematography and VFX widened her options and horizons. She is now co-directing her first feature film, a track she hopes to continue alongside her VFX and animation work. Marta got the Ready Player One gig because of her experience in motion capture, and the Solo job through a friend who recommended her. Gratifyingly, she reflects that female voices are being heard more and that the gender balance in the industry is shifting.

Max Lovell, MA Cinematography

Since Mary Poppins, Max, 29, has gone on to work on as a Lighting Technician on Artemis Fowl, Tolkien, Billie Piper’s directorial debut, Rare Beasts, and a couple of Netflix shows. Meanwhile, he is working as a gaffer on commercials and short films, and is hoping to start gaffering on feature films soon. “MetFilm School gave me so much in terms of being able to walk on to a set, and gave me the right mindset, skills and knowledge to carve my own path.”

Max and Marta at a MetFilm Futures masterclass, February 2019

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Guy Lubin, BA Practical Filmmaking

Guy, 30, started out as a runner after leaving MetFilm School and then was a VFX artist on ITV’s Thunderbirds are Go remake. “The MetFilm School BA was great for me. It was intense, practical and I also got to understand how different parts of the industry work together. In film, it’s really important to understand the whole process. I think MetFilm gets it right with their kit and their tutors – it’s all right up-to-date and you make great contacts.”

Jess Wilcock-Stow, BA Practical Filmmaking

Since graduating, Jess, 24, has worked on a huge variety of things from Game of Thrones to Disney. He was recommended for The Favourite by a friend, and was thrilled to be working with a designer he’d long admired. He’s now moving on to a Marvel project. He chose MetFilm because of its emphasis on practical learning and says he’s “really grateful for my time at MetFilm School, and the lessons it’s taught me, which I still use every day!”

Plus BAFTA / Berlinale awards…

It’s not just about the 2019 Oscars. February has been a good month for other MetFilm School graduates. I can’t tell you how proud I am of former Part-Time Producing student, Lauren Dark, who picked up the Outstanding Debut BAFTA for the magnificent film she produced, Beast. At Berlinale, MA Directing Graduate, Diarmaid Odhran, was Assistant Set Manager on German movie Ich war zuhause, aber (I Was At Home, But) by Angela Schanelec which just won the Silver Bear for Best Director.

We wish all our students the best of luck at the Oscars on Sunday, and look forward to seeing what you achieve next!

Huge congratulations to everyone in the MetFilm School community celebrating nominations from the 2019 Oscars!

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