- EE launches Set The Stage; a project that invites teenagers to join a film crew and produce a short film under the mentorship of BAFTA nominated actress Daisy Edgar-Jones and BAFTA award winning industry experts
- EE and BAFTA are working in partnership to highlight the breadth of careers available in the screen arts industries and encourage young people to consider these roles as viable career choices.
- New research shows 97% of parents worry about their children’s career aspirations, preferring traditional careers, while teens favour modern, tech and creative roles.
- EE Learn aims to bridge the generational gap, channelling the curiosities of teenagers to see them translate the skills they have learned through social media, gaming, and technology into creating a short film.
- Baroness Floella Benjamin, OM DBE supports the campaign, highlighting the evolving career landscape and the importance of connecting creative skills to opportunities.
- Teens aged 15 -17 can apply online to join the Set The Stage film crew at EE Learn
London, Thursday 13 February 2025: Ahead of the 2025 EE BAFTA Film Awards, EE has teamed up with BAFTA nominated actress Daisy Edgar-Jones to launch Set The Stage, a campaign highlighting the variety of creative careers in the film industry. The initiative offers teenagers the chance to write, direct and produce a short film under the guidance of a crew of BAFTA award-winning industry experts.
From today, 15 –17 year-olds interested in filmmaking can apply for a place in the crew to create this unique short film under the mentorship of industry experts across storytelling, production and direction, including mentorship from BAFTA-nominated actress Daisy Edgar Jones.
Applicants can apply by submitting a video via direct messaging @EE on Instagram and Tiktok using the word ‘STAGE’ or by tagging @EE in a post with their entry including the word ‘STAGE’ in the tag. Applications for Set The Stage will close on March 21st 2025.
To launch this campaign, new research from EE reveals a generational divide on career perceptions, showing a disconnect between parents and teens. The research highlights that 97% of British parents of 11-17 year olds worry about their children’s career aspirations, with 57% feeling out of touch due to the rise of influencers and technology. While 59% of parents prefer established careers for their teens, many teens aspire to modern roles like video game designers, software developers, and social media content creators.
The data shows that 70% of teens feel their parents don’t take their career aspirations seriously, and over half believe their parents don’t value modern careers like influencers, despite these career paths demonstrating creativity and technical expertise in areas such as video production. This concern is echoed by 67% of parents who fear these modern jobs are unstable career choices for their children.
50% of teens believe their parents don’t understand the transferable skills gained from social media, technology, and gaming in new and evolving areas such as content creation. However, parents do acknowledge that their children have developed valuable soft skills like creativity, socialising, and empathy through these platforms, setting them up for success as they pursue their chosen career paths. Additionally, 81% of parents recognise that their children have acquired important hard skills such as coding, problem-solving, and digital literacy, suggesting they do see value in these activities.
EE has teamed up with Award winning Broadcaster and recipient of the 2024 BAFTA Fellowship, Baroness Floella Benjamin OM DBE, to offer insight into these findings. Since the 1970s, Floella has tirelessly advocated for better opportunities for young people.
Baroness Floella Benajmin commented: “The definition of what highlights a successful career is evolving and very personal. EE and BAFTA are highlighting many new roles emerging for young people. Growing up with phones isn’t easy, but when teens are consuming social content, playing video games and exploring the arts, they gain many creative skills. These activities open a window into the future possibilities. It’s important to connect these skills to future opportunities and encourage the next generation to explore their interests in filmmaking.”
Through Set The Stage, EE will showcase the breadth of creative careers in the on-screen arts, demonstrating how teenagers can translate the soft and hard skills they have learned through engaging with social media, gaming and technology into a successful film career.
Following the recruitment process, sixteen teenagers will be selected by EE, the expert crew, and Young Film Academy for roles in makeup artistry, costume design, cinematography, sound, direction, and production. The teens will be judged on their relevant skills, ability to deal with a long shoot, resilience to adversity and teamwork, alongside their passion and enthusiasm. Over the course of a year, under the mentorship of industry experts, including Daisy Edgar-Jones, the selected teens will create a unique short film.
Pete Jeavons, Director of Marketing Communications at EE, said: “We are on a mission to help parents connect the dots between their children’s curiosities and their next steps. Whether their interests lie in makeup, fashion, performance, or production, we want to inspire the next generation to follow their passions, explore their curiosities and transform them into meaningful careers.”
Lisa Prime, Head of Children & Young People’s Programme at BAFTA, said: “Part of BAFTA’s mission is to inspire the next generation of budding creatives to consider careers within the screen industries. We do this year-round through our Young BAFTA programme, and we are delighted to be partnering with EE on this. ‘Set the Stage’ is a fantastic campaign to highlight the diverse range of careers and opportunities that are available within the film industry. Nurturing young talent and building a pipeline of future storytellers is crucial to futureproofing our industry.”
As well as EE Set the Stage, EE continues to encourage the next generation to explore their interests and provide them with real opportunities. On 20th February during half term, EE is hosting Learn Live, an event where celebrities, influencers and industry experts will inspire secondary school students, by showing how their passions can be applied to real life skills.
EE Learn is an educational initiative that can fuel teen passions by harnessing the power of technology to elevate their future opportunities. To apply for a role in the EE Set The Stage film crew, teens aged 15 to 17 can visit EE Learn. Application close on March 21st 2025.
NOTES TO EDITORS:
ABOUT THE PROGRAMME
There are two ways for entrants aged 15-17 to apply to join Set The Stage:
- Submit a video via direct messaging to EE on either TikTok or Instagram including the word ‘STAGE’
- Tag EE in a post with their entry, including the word ‘STAGE’ in the tag
The video should be no longer than 90 seconds and creatively show why they want to join their selected team.
For production, you could share how you keep things organised.
Audio Visual? Why not drop your best shots or tracks.
Maybe Artistic? You could show us your skills with a make-up brush or how you put together an outfit.
And Storytelling? You could read us something and make it come alive.
Each applicant will be shared the T&Cs alongside an application form to apply. Entrants will submit their application forms, which will be reviewed by Young Film Academy.
A shortlist of 32 names will make it through to the video stage interview, where Young Film Academy, crew experts, BAFTA and EE will then whittle it down from 32 to the final 16. The teens will be judged on their relevant skills, ability to deal with a long shoot, resilience to adversity and teamwork, alongside their passion and enthusiasm. The final 16 will be selected and contacted in May. The competition will be supported by our partner Samsung UK.
ABOUT THE RESEARCH
*All figures, unless otherwise stated, are from OnePoll. The research was conducted on behalf of EE by OnePoll between 29/01/2025 – 03/03/2025. 1,000 parents and their children aged 11-17 were interviewed via an online quantitative survey.
ABOUT EE
EE is one of the UK’s largest subscription businesses, backed by the UK’s biggest and fastest mobile network, offering superfast connections in more places than any other operator. Built on the foundation of decades of mobile and broadband leadership, EE is on a mission to be the most personal and customer-focused brand in the UK by playing a more meaningful role in customers’ lives, with a suite of exciting products and services open to all UK consumers, available via a new ‘EE ID’ digital platform.
EE’s mobile network continues to receive extensive recognition including UK’s best overall network by RootMetrics® every year since 2014, as well as being named Network of the Year at the 2022 Mobile Industry Awards.
EE is committed to offering first class service in the industry and has over 400 stores across the UK. EE remains the only mobile provider to answer 100% of customer calls in the UK and Ireland and was recognised as the UK’s Best Large Contact Centre by the UK Customer Experience Awards 2018 and Welsh Contact Centre Awards 2019.
EE was awarded The Sunday Times’ Best 100 Companies to Work for in 2018 and 2019, as well as being named Best Employer 2018 by the European Contact Centre & Customer Service awards. EE won Best Repair Service and Best Network Provider at the Mobile Industry Awards in September 2023 and was recognised as the provider that does more than any other to deliver a great service.
EE is part of BT Group’s Consumer business unit which provides products and services to all of BT’s consumer customers in the UK.
Follow us on: Facebook at: www.facebook.com/ee
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LinkedIn at: www.linkedin.com/company/ee-uk
ABOUT EE LEARN
EE Learn is an educational initiative by EE, designed to make learning accessible, fun, and safe for everyone. It offers a range of tools and resources to help children and young people explore the digital world while staying safe online. EE LearnSmart focuses on providing short, engaging content for teenagers to help them navigate school and life, with mentorship from experts in various fields.
ABOUT BAFTA
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. Through its Awards ceremonies and year-round programme of learning events and initiatives – which includes workshops, masterclasses, scholarships, lectures and mentoring schemes in the UK, USA, and Asia – BAFTA identifies and celebrates excellence, discovers, inspires, and nurtures new talent, and enables learning and creative collaboration. For more, visit www.bafta.org. BAFTA is a registered charity (no. 216726).
ABOUT YOUNG FILM ACADEMY
Young Film Academy (YFA) is the UK’s leading provider of filmmaking courses, schools filmmaking programs, community filmmaking projects, and kids’ film parties for young people. Based in London, YFA works nationwide, helping over 15,000 young people each year complete their first digital films, from West End-premiered movies to curriculum-linked film projects in schools.
YFA is also a hub partner in the British Film Institute (BFI) Film Academy Network, helping to find and nurture top UK emerging talent. Their philosophy emphasizes the importance of teamwork, practical experience, and the belief that filmmaking should be accessible to all young people, regardless of their socio-economic background.
Source: EE Newsroom
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