Women of Color Unite’s successful #StartWith8Hollywood mentorship program is now expanding across the pond to the UK thanks to help from The British Blacklist’s Akua Gyamfi and the British Film Institute.

The mentorship program, which originally began in 2020, will now allow women of color and non-binary people of color living in the UK and working in film and television to take part in industry mentorships. The British Film Institute will pay for part of the program’s initial setup expenses via the National Lottery, as well as provide introductions and advice to mentees. With a goal of including 600 people in its first cycle, the program is on a first-come, first-serve basis and is described as having “no fees, no trauma essays and no gatekeeping.”

Gyamfi will oversee the UK branch of the program, which includes an advisory board of industry professionals. Comprising the board are BFI’s industry inclusion exec Melanie Hoyes, Renaissance Studios’ creative director and executive producer Tamara Barton-Campbell, production team Ani and Bila Benassou, Emergence Films’ Sienna Beckman, #StartWith8 and Women of Color Unite’s business development strategist Manon de Reeper, Women of Color Unite’s director of events Jazmine Nichelle, and #StartWith8Hollywood and #TheBitchList founder Thuc Doan Nguyen.

The program is currently scouting mentors for the program. Prospective mentors can sign up at Airtable. Also, the Canadian branch of #StartWith8 is seeking advisory board members, who can apply by emailing advisory board leader Murry Peeters at murry@wocunite.com.

Learn more at WOCunite.org.

Women of Color Unite

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