2008 Awardee: Ben McNeill

I am writing to accept the Dewar Award which I have been awarded for courses at Beaconsfield - I am delighted to have been selected.

Biography

Edinburgh-born Ben was forced to leave school at 18 due to family circumstances. Unable to complete his further education, however, has not thwarted Ben’s ambition nor dampened his enthusiasm.

In 2005 Ben applied for a course on film-making offered by the Prince’s Trust and since then has set his sights on making a career in film production. Immediately after the course, he went on to complete an HNC in Communication with Media and later set up his own business in Film Production & Photography, thanks to a starter grant from the Prince’s Trust.

Ben has continued his association with the Prince’s Trust, producing a number of documentary projects, and representing the Trust as a Young Ambassador. In 2008 he won the Princes Trust Stills for Enterprise and Community Impact Award.

One of Ben’s long-term project is to set up an Internet Television Studio in Scotland. To enhance his skills in order to achieve this ambition, Ben applied for and was offered a place on the residential programme Summerdocs at the prestigious NFTS, Beaconsfield.

How the Award Helped

The Dewar Arts Award was given to help finance Ben’s study at the NFTS.

I am writing to accept the Dewar Award which I have been awarded for courses at Beaconsfield - I am delighted to have been selected.