Six aspiring documentary filmmakers will get the chance to train - and get paid for it.

Running from January-June 2026 in the Dyfi area, a programme from Ffilm School, with the support of Ffilm Cymru Wales, will include two residential weeks in the Cambrian Mountains.

Founded by filmmaker James R Price, Ffilm School aims to make documentary making more accessible.

“Only about 10 per cent of UK filmmakers come from low-income, low-asset households,” said James.

“Add to that the way filmmaking clusters around Cardiff and London, and the employment crisis hitting doc-making hard, and it’s clear something needs to change.”

With £550 per week for the two residential weeks, Ffilm School challenges the unpaid-labour culture in screen jobs. James’s research at Aberystwyth University reimagines documentary education, partly inspired by the Well-being of Future Generations Act.

“What happens if we put wellbeing at the centre of doc-making? Most courses promise the ‘skills to succeed in industry’, but those jobs often don’t exist. We’re motivated by Ffilm Cymru Wales’ Film for Everyone plan, so we’re prioritising applicants from low income households, Welsh speakers, the Global Majority, and Disabled or neurodiverse people, people who rarely get the chance to tell their own stories.”

The residentials take place at Bwlch Corog and neighbouring Cefn Coch Farm. Coetir Anian’s patrons include actor and former Aberystwyth Mayor Sue Jones-Davies. The charity is restoring peatland and Celtic rainforest to the Cambrian Mountains.

This focus drew the attention of CO RE ₂ , a UK Government programme exploring land-based routes to net zero by 2050, which now funds Ffilm School through its arts strand.

If you live in the area and see FfS-Dyfi, that’s Ffilm School. “It totally chimes with how I feel about the state of doc filmmaking,” James laughed.

“FfS — we can do this better!”

Applications open until 30 November at FfilmSchool.org.