Birmingham alumna announced as one of BAFTA’s 2023 Breakthrough talents
Alumna Funmi Olutoye, Features Producer for Good Morning Britain and Lorraine at ITV, has been announced as one of the 2023 BAFTA Breakthrough cohort.
BAFTA Breakthrough talents from left to right is Bella Ramsey, Funmi Olutoye, Michael Anderson, Joel Beardshaw. [IMAGE CREDITS: ©BAFTA/Vivek Vadoliya, 2023)
Funmi has been recognised as one of the 20 UK awardees for her work as lead producer on the segment ‘Black History Makers’ for Good Morning Britain. ‘Black History Makers’ is a series of short films that aired across October 2022 to mark Black History Month and to tell the stories of less mainstream yet widely influential contemporary Black British figures.
Awarded to those in the midst of, or on the cusp of their breakthrough moment, the year-long initiative includes one-to-one meetings and career guidance, full voting membership, access to BAFTA events and screenings, as well as networking events, both in the UK and internationally.
This is for all my daytime television people who often get overlooked in this industry. We are some of the hardest workers in this industry. Long hours. Overnight shifts. Travelling up and down the country. With less than 24 hour turnaround times. All while the country sleeps. We do this every single day just to brighten up the nation’s mornings. I want to thank BAFTA for this honour - thank you for seeing us!
Now in its tenth year, BAFTA Breakthrough is the arts charity’s flagship talent initiative in partnership with Netflix, providing a springboard to creatives spanning craft specialisms from hair and make up, production, editing and games design, to performance, directing and cinematography.
BAFTA Breakthrough talent Funmi Olutoye. [IMAGE CREDITS: ©BAFTA/Vivek Vadoliya, 2023).
BAFTA Breakthrough is a gold standard programme. And the fact that we are celebrating our ten-year anniversary is testament to the dedication of our incredible alumni, industry supporters, juries, and industry advisers. This year’s cohort is really impressive, having already achieved credits in high-end TV drama, debut films, documentaries, hair and make design; and game design. BAFTA Breakthrough is designed to harness that early success and develop the skills for life-long, rewarding careers. Congratulations to this year’s BAFTA Breakthroughs.
As an incubator for the industry’s future change-makers, BAFTA Breakthrough nurtures and celebrates peer-to-peer network building among a host of 121 meetings including with Danny Boyle, Paul Greengrass, Barry Jenkins, Martin McDonagh, Abi Morgan, Lesley Manville and Brad Pitt, among many others.
BAFTA – the British Academy of Film and Television Arts - is a world-leading independent arts charity that brings the very best work in film, games and television to public attention and supports the growth of creative talent in the UK and internationally.