Giorgia Bellini is a great admirer of the ScreenSkills First Break programme. “First Break is the reason I am in this industry,” she says. “It's something that can be life-changing.” She is talking about her First Break placement on ITV's mini-series Litvinenko, which she enjoyed greatly and set her on her career journey.
First Break aims to demystify entry into the industry for those from under-represented groups and for people who may not have considered a career in TV. The programme provides people with vital insight on what working in the industry involves through jargon free industry-led events, hands-on bootcamps and paid shadowing experiences on TV productions.
Giorgia is a self-starter - “I believe it's up to you to make the most of what you have and the opportunities you are given” - but found the selection process of getting on to the First Break programme very useful in focusing her ambitions; her ultimate goal is to be a producer.
Giorgia was born and grew up near Florence, Italy. She always wanted to travel and was keen on languages at high school; she's bilingual in Italian and English, and also speaks Spanish and German. “I used to read books and watch movies in other languages,” she says.
As a teenager Giorgia knew she wanted to work in the creative industries and attended university in Milan, where she took a degree in communications and advertising. She has always loved cinema – not just for the stories but how they came to the screen, too.
“I'm equally interested in both the creative and the technical side of production,” she says. “From a very young age, at the end when everybody else was leaving the cinema I would stay and read the credits. And I got into the habit of choosing a couple of random names or random roles and then see what those roles were and what they were on the production.”
She didn't know how to start in the industry, but it was while she was studying for a Master's degree in film production at the University of the Arts London that she heard about ScreenSkills and First Break. “I didn't know how to get in, I didn't know anybody,” Giorgia says. “First Break gives you a chance.”
Another aspect of First Break is that it highlights the huge range of roles available and shows applicants how their current skills and talents could be exactly what the industry needs. Giorgia says of her previous work experience in her father's company and at an advertising firm: “I like working with people and I can work under pressure and to deadlines. And I am good with scheduling and organising.”
Since completing her First Break placement, Giorgia hasn't stopped working, moving from production trainee to production assistant on Netflix drama series The Witcher, and is now travel secretary on another Netflix series, the comedy drama Back in Action, and feels she is learning new skills in each role. “As a production assistant you have a chance to engage with other departments and see how they work, while as a travel secretary you learn about the paperwork. It's good to take on different roles as you move up the ladder.”
It was while working on Litvinenko that Giorgia met Deborah Morgan, the line producer; she now regards her as a mentor. “We speak often,” says Giorgia. “I think she saw my willingness to learn.”
Giorgia is impressed with the range of training that ScreenSkills offers, which she believes may help her at each stage in her career. She says the path to producer is now clear - “You go from trainee or runner through several steps to production manager, and can't skip any role because they're equally important” – and is grateful that First Break gave her way in to HETV.