• 38 step-up opportunities offered to crew members
• The Rope Ladder Fiction and Screen Manchester partnership heralds a new ‘hands-on experience’ approach to early and mid-career talent development
• Heritage will debut on the Festival Circuit later in 2026
Earlier this year a partnership forged between Screen Manchester, the City’s Screen Agency, and Independent Production Company, Rope Ladder Fiction, resulted in the production of the short film ‘Heritage’.
At its heart Heritage is a vehicle for career progression for both early careers and established crew. It further builds on the relationship between Screen Manchester and Rope Ladder Fiction, both of whom share a driving force: to enable and empower individuals to further their careers.
The film’s producer Charles Abbott explains the ethos and career development theory at the heart of Heritage: “Heritage delivered vital ‘step-up’ roles, providing first-time positions for our production designer, key grip, DOP, gaffer, runners and many more. In total we delivered 38 opportunities for crew members to progress in their chosen fields, taking up a more senior role and securing their first credits in these positions, as well as providing five on-set shadowing opportunities for students. This ethos was central to Heritage’s creation, championing new craft and creative talent both below and above the line.”
Elli Metcalfe, Crew and Facilities Manager at Screen Manchester and one of the film’s Executive Producers adds: “At a time when many in the Industry may have felt slightly held back we decided to explore what we could do to support mid-career talent. Cameron Roach and the team at Rope Ladder Fiction have a proven track record in delivering excellent short films which have offered first-time opportunities to new writers and directors. We have also enjoyed watching the progress our production trainees have made over the course of seven series of the Rope Ladder Fiction and Wall to Wall-produced BBC One series Waterloo Road. The opportunity to extend this concept wider, allow trainees to develop further, and include many more production disciplines along the way was too good an opportunity to miss and we are delighted with the result. Heritage will hopefully be the first of many more projects in this mould and may even forge an industry model in the future.”
Cameron Roach, Founder of Rope Ladder Fiction says: ‘Partnering with Screen Manchester on Heritage has enabled us to encourage locally based crew members to step up across all craft disciplines, which has been truly energising. We believe that making work with emerging creatives is the key to building sustainable talent pipelines, and seeing Jain, Daisy and Zoe run at this project in a collaborative and creative way, has been incredibly inspiring. We’re excited to now see the forward momentum for Heritage both on the festival circuit and in our development conversations with Broadcasters and Streamers. In Oz, Charles, and our writing team we genuinely have some incredible rising stars.’
At its heart Heritage, written and created by Jain Edwards, Zoe Iqbal and Daisy Miles tells the story of fledgling middle-manager Lucy (Lauren Patel) who is forced to discipline her best friend Kelly-Marie (Zoe Iqbal) at Back To Life Historical Reenactments Agency. Hyper-aware of her nepo-baby credentials, Lucy stumbles between her professional duties, pressures from her mum (Saira Jackson) and responsibilities to Kelly-Marie, a crystal-toting toxically positive queen. Will she save her mate’s job? Will she make her Mum tolerate her? Will she make it out of the disabled toilet long enough to do anything?
The film’s Director Oz Arshad, formerly a high school teacher in a middle management post before pivoting into Film and Television, shares direct experience of what this opportunity has meant to him: “Having spent ten years as a teacher I’ve seen everything from ego tantrums and classroom lock-ins to obnoxious behaviour and petty mind games. Workplaces are natural breeding grounds for politics. Now that I’ve transitioned into the film and television industry, nepotism is an ever-present reality that crawls under the skin of hardworking, working-class creatives. Heritage is a comedy born from that specific frustration, exploring the paralysing weight of unearned privilege that ultimately benefits no one. Universally, I wanted the film to capture that frantic, highly relatable urge to just hide from your adult responsibilities. Driven by fast-paced dialogue and a brilliant script from the writers, Heritage interrogates one agonising, hilarious question: how do you fire your best friend when you know you don’t even deserve your own job?”
Here are some of those who were part of the production and took their next steps into their future careers sharing their thoughts.
Nicole Forrest was Heritage’s Line Producer and says: “It was an honour to be asked to be part of the short film Heritage. Not only did I have the opportunity to work as Line Producer and further hone the skills I have developed throughout my career, but I also had the chance to build a crew of like-minded individuals seeking similar opportunities.
Mid-level training opportunities can be difficult to find, so it was a privilege to assemble this crew and be surrounded by such passionate and dedicated professionals. The experience reinforced the value of creating opportunities where emerging talent can learn, grow, and develop, while helping to bring great Northern scripts to life.”
Production Designer Rachel Amanda Jones adds: “Stepping up as Production Designer on ‘Heritage’ was an exciting opportunity to develop creatively and gain experience in a role that can be difficult to access while continuing to work in your usual position. It gave me the chance to build on my existing design experience in a new way – thinking not just about individual spaces and details, but about shaping the wider visual world of the project and supporting the story through design. Being able to take on that responsibility in a supportive environment made it a really rewarding experience, and I’m grateful for the trust and support that made taking that step possible.”
And finally, Sound Editor Miles Wimbleton of Dock 10: “Stepping up felt like a real honour. Having the trust placed in your skills to deliver an end product of the highest quality is quite something. It feels like chance to step outside the box to show off all the skills I’ve been building over the last few years.”