Film school comes to Leeds as part of Clarion’s 125th anniversary celebrations

The course was organised by Clarion Futures, the charitable foundation of Clarion Housing Group which owns and manages hundreds of homes across Leeds, and forms part of Clarion’s 125th anniversary celebrations.

Clarion’s heritage stretches back to 1900 when entrepreneur William Sutton left his fortune to create some of the first social housing in London. Along with contemporaries such as Joseph Rowntree and George Peabody, Sutton’s original bequest transformed the lives of so many Victorian workers in towns and cities.

125 years later, this course delivered by Iconic Steps, a not-for-profit film production company dedicated to empowering young people with hands-on media industry skills, offered the chance to gain practical filmmaking experience, build confidence, and access mentorship to shape career aspirations.

The course began with workshops on career opportunities and building workplace skills like confidence, resilience, and identifying strengths and weaknesses, as well as CV development. The focus then shifted to filmmaking, exploring documentary types, brainstorming film ideas, and understanding social media strategies for promotion.

Technical training in camera work and sound recording was also included, as well as editing techniques, organising footage, and finalising the documentary for screening. Following on from the course, participants will benefit from 12 months of support from Iconic Steps, as well as employability coaching and guidance from Clarion Futures.

Victoria Whittle, Head of Jobs and Training at Clarion Futures, said: “We’re delighted to have teamed up with Iconic Steps to give residents a unique chance to tell their stories and learn new skills as part of our 125th anniversary celebrations.

“For anyone interested in igniting their inner filmmaker, becoming the next big social media influencer or just wanting to understand a bit more about how it all works, this free hands-on course has provided a fantastic opportunity for local people and I’m excited to see what happens next.”

Cam Norford, a local Clarion resident who took part in the course, said: “I’ve been receiving support from Clarion Futures for the last few years and it’s been instrumental in helping to grow my label-making business called The Label Maker thanks to mentoring, grant funding and being given a laptop. When I heard about the film school I jumped at the chance to take part as I could see how it could help me promote my business – I really enjoyed it and have learned lots, as well as having fun.”