The Oscar-winning director Sam Mendes, CBE — born and raised in Britain, a former artistic director of the Donmar Warehouse in London — has never made a film in this country. From American Beauty to Away We Go, all were made in the United States. His next film, though, is the 23rd James Bond, as yet untitled. The franchise will again use Pinewood Studios as its base, a British crew and the 007 production house Eon. Mendes is coming home. However, had Albert Broccoli (“Cubby”, to you) — the father of the current Bond producer, Barbara — not crossed the Atlantic 49 years ago to make Dr No, there would be no superspy for the prodigal director to return for.
Without Cubby’s success, too, there would be no First Light, a scheme headed by his daughter that offers young people from all backgrounds the chance to work with industry professionals. It is something she is passionate about, something her father’s career inspired her to be part of. “The talent is here — people really admire the craftsmanship and creativity that come out of this country,” she says, sitting alongside First Light’s chief executive, Leigh Thomas, at Eon’s Piccadilly headquarters. I am meeting them as this year’s competition gears up for its awards ceremony at the Odeon Leicester Square on Tuesday. “It’s why my father came here and stayed. We need to keep on developing and nurturing the talent, or it will dry up.”
Friendly, clearly more than just a figurehead, and perhaps a tad wary of journalists — “I thought you’d be scary. You’re not scary” — Broccoli became involved with First Light six years ago, after a lunch with the industry bigwig David Puttnam, producer of Chariots of Fire, Local Hero and The Killing Fields. “He seduced me,” she laughs. “It didn’t actually take a lot. This idea came from Alan Parker, and I worship Alan Parker — I think he’s a genius. So, Alan Parker and David Puttnam? How can you say no to them? I feel it’s so important for young people to be given a voice, and the technology over the years has meant they’ve been able to do that. The voice doesn’t come from the adults, it comes from the kids; the adults just enable them to use the visual medium to express themselves.”
Since First Light was launched in 2001, more than 30,000 youngsters have taken part. Awards categories this year include Best Animation, Best Drama, Young Voice, New Talent, Children’s Film of the Decade and, this year, our very own, inaugural Sunday Times Perfect Sunday Film-Making Award. The results are as diverse as you would expect from a bunch of disparate kids given a camera and an open remit. But what is encouraging and, indeed, affecting is the honesty of what they create. One such work from this year is Until My Heart’s, Like, Finished — a title as heartbreaking as a pop song, probably by Lily Allen. It is a documentary-style film by Bridgwater YMCA, in which interviews with young people, talking about how they cope with being turfed out on the streets, are intercut with shots of teenagers hanging precariously out of windows, their existence a foot away from failing.
“I’m not one of those people who subscribe to the theory that children should be seen and not heard. We don’t hear enough from young people about what’s going on and the challenges they face,” Broccoli says. “There are themes that come through, and this year there is a lot of fear. We need to know what’s going on with them. Also, they become interested in watching films. We’re about creating new audiences. What’s great is when you see films such as Until My Heart’s, Like, Finished, with visual references that remind me of Antony Gormley’s sculpture.”
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Thomas, who has been with First Light since it started, agrees that one of the scheme’s greatest assets is its broadening of the appetites of young filmgoers, to show them cinema isn’t all cartoons and action heroes. “We encourage them to think differently about films and how they’re made, and we’re creating an audience for indigenous cinema, because so many of the films fed to young people are American,” Thomas says. “We have some great film-makers in this country who produce great films that don’t get the distribution they deserve.”
Last year, First Light arranged for some of its trainees to visit Pinewood Studios to meet the industry people they will need to impress, should they want to continue in the business. Other First Lighters are out there for the new crop to emulate, such as Dionne South, now assistant producer on Five’s The Gadget Show, and Harvey Ascott, who became a production assistant on Channel 4’s Red Riding trilogy. Others have gone on to postproduction or to make more short films. Film used to be much more elitist, because of the limited access to the equipment, but now people can tell a story with their mobile phone, and the technology at least is more available.
Could any of the First Lighters get the chance to work on the next Bond? “Absolutely,” Broccoli says. “Absolutely. First Light is a way for them to open up the world and see things differently. First Light — it’s about a light being switched on for them.”