Film Forward Step Up Role: Supervising locations manager in film
Leon grew up in Liverpool and took a law degree at the University of Central Lancashire before working in art galleries and for arts festivals. At the age of 30 he “slingshotted” to doing a Master's in documentary production at Sheffield Hallam University, the city where he now lives.
After struggling to get into the industry, Leon got his break while at Hallam when a location manager, Richard Knight, offered some Master's students work experience on the project he was working on. “We hit it off immediately and when I found locations he had been trying to find for ages, he remembered me and started offering me bits of work. He very much took me under his wing,” Leon says.
Within a few months Leon was working with Richard on the Channel 4 drama series Utopia. “He just wanted to help people he wanted to get into the industry and he became my mentor really,” says Leon of Richard, who now works for Screen Yorkshire.
Leon, who is of Indian/white English heritage, says that on a lot of productions, particularly early in his career, he has been the only person of colour on set, but believes the workplace is gradually improving for minorities. “If I'm one of only one or two people of colour on set, it's not proportional,” Leon says. “But opportunities like Film Forward really do help.”
He talks about the positive experience of working on Blitz, Steve McQueen's upcoming feature, in 2023 and remarks of the director: “He's quite active in trying to open the door for people. I think once you have representation at management level it can only be a good thing.
“Film Forward is such a good initiative. Being engaged with production companies and employers and helping bring through the next generation of talent is vital.”
He thinks the industry is generally moving in the right direction but cites little job security or financial resilience in an industry based on freelancers and short-term contracts. “It's particularly hard for the junior grades and I think there could be greater support for them.”
When Leon heard about Film Forward he applied immediately. In his interview, when encouraged to describe his qualities, he says: “I hope they saw someone who is thoughtful, conscientious and generally a good person at a stage in their career where they've worked hard to get where they're at, and at that point where just a little bit of external help might push them over the line to the next level.”
He hopes Film Forward will provide “a community of people working towards the same goal. Having a structured approach with mentoring, guiding and placements ticks all the boxes.”
Leon, who is working as supervising location manager on a new Sky/NBC mini-series about the 1988 Lockerbie disaster, says he wants to establish himself in the role over the next few years, “working on interesting projects and seeing where it takes me”.
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Find out more about Leon's film experience