Biography

Fife-born Sophie Neil studied drama and theatre arts at Goldsmiths College, London after leaving school. She went on to gain an MA with distinction in Scenography (Theatre Design) at the Central School of Speech and Drama also in London.

Since then Sophie has worked as a scenographer for live performance at various venues including the New South Bank Centre, the Siobhan Davis Studios and Glyndebourne. Her ultimate ambition was to study at the world-renowned National Film and Television School, which would open up wider opportunities to work in film and television as a Production Designer.

Sophie successfully beat off stiff competition from around the world to be one of only eight students accepted onto the course in 2008. She is seen as a talented and sensitive designer, and her entrance project for NFTS both intrigued and delighted the selection panel demonstrating that she would bring new ideas to designing for the screen.

One of Sophie’s secret ambitions is to design for a future Olympics.

How the Award Helped

The Dewar Arts Award will help Sophie financially through the course in Production Design for Screen at the NFTS, Beaconsfield.

Since the Award

Sophie successfully graduated with an MA in Production Design, gaining a distinction on her dissertation entitled ‘Emptiness’. She writes that her time at NFTS “has inevitably changed my skills and my prospects beyond measure.”

Sophie has been in continuous employment since leaving NFTS, first on the set of “Bel Ami”, due for release in 2011, and currently as an Assistant Art Director with established designer, Peter Bingemann. Sophie’s animation graduate project “The Boy who wanted to be a Lion” was selected for the Short Film Competition at Critics’ Week at the 2010 Cannes Film Festival.