What we cover
No fees. Travel paid into your account before you travel, not claimed back. Food, childcare, access costs and kit loans covered.
Money is the barrier, so we removed it
Our filed community interest statement commits us in writing: activities are fully funded, so participants face no cost barrier.
None of this is a bursary you compete for. Every participant gets all of it, paid for by what we earn from commissioned work.
What is covered, and how it reaches you
| What | How it works |
|---|---|
| Fees | None. No deposit, no registration fee, no materials charge, no membership. |
| Travel | By bank transfer before your first day, for the whole programme at once. No receipts and no claim form. |
| Food | Meals on studio days, from a vegetarian line everyone can eat from, with halal and kosher sourced separately. Iftar in Ramadan. |
| Prayer and quiet | A private prayer and quiet space is arranged for every session day, women-only during breaks, and the break goes on the call sheet at the time it falls. |
| Childcare | Paid in advance, to your provider or into your account. Nurseries, childminders and after-school clubs all qualify. |
| Caring responsibilities | Tell us the pattern and we build the day around it. If a school run makes a call time impossible, say so before you accept the place, not on the morning. |
| Accommodation | Booked and paid by us if you travel from outside London. Women-only where you ask. |
| Kit | A camera and lens, a sound bag, a lighting kit or a recording setup, loaned free and insured. Edit stations bookable free. |
| Access costs | BSL interpretation, a support worker, materials sent in advance, taxi transport, a quiet room to withdraw to. Booked and paid directly by us. |
| Hardship | A payment for anything that would otherwise stop you finishing. One conversation, and it stays between us. |
Why travel is paid in advance
Reimbursement is a hidden fee, charged to the people who can least afford it.
"Keep your receipts and claim it back" asks the participant to lend the organisation money for a month. Fronting weeks of fares is the reason a woman does not come, and it is the easiest barrier of the lot to remove.
How to ask
The application form has separate questions for access needs and caring responsibilities, and for faith and practice. A person reads both and nothing is scored.
You need no equipment of your own. If all you have is a phone, that is a working camera and we teach on it.