The Swedish cultural youth centre Fryshuset and the streaming giant have created a programme for 18- to 26-year-olds with the goal to lower the bar for getting into the business.

In recent years, Netflix has introduced several initiatives to find new talent. The streaming giant has, among other things, initiated a collaboration with the International Sámi Film Institute to create space for Sámi voices in the region, and has started screenwriting projects such as the Alma x Netflix Writing Academy and the Danish Series School.

Now Netflix wants to reach new film workers. In collaboration with Fryshuset, a Swedish cultural centre for young people, they have created the concept Your Way In, with the goal of getting more young people aged 18-26 to apply to the film sector.

“We want to pave the way for the next generation,” says Karl Champ Moalosi Bjurman, Operations Manager at Fryshuset Production.

Fryshuset has long worked with young people that are interested in filmmaking, but hopes that the programme more clearly will show the thousands of young people that visit Fryshuset on a regular basis which professional roles and opportunities actually exist in the film industry, to explain the breadth of competence that exists among all the people whose names roll across the screen in the end credits of a film.

The programme's first event will be held in Stockholm on the 4th of May, and will be followed by events in Gothenburg and Helsingborg during the autumn. Each event will include several experienced professionals from the industry, including various production companies and film schools. These professionals will gather to support the participants and help them develop and take their first steps in film production.

“We believe in good examples,” says Bjurman. “That's why we want the industry participants to join in and tell us about their journey into the industry, to show that this is possible, but also that it requires a lot. You need your 10,000 hours of training.”

By allowing the young people to meet various representatives from the industry, Fryshuset and Netflix hope to create meetings that otherwise might not have occurred - or at least would have been delayed.

“Our vision is to empower young people to change the world through their passions - and film is something many of the people we meet here are passionate about,” explains Bjurman. “But then they also have to come out and face the world. This programme can be a way of doing just that.”

In the opposite direction, Fryshuset and Netflix also hope to make the film industry more aware that there are young people who are passionate about and long to work with films. In an industry where many doors appear to be relatively closed, one hopes for an exchange in which those involved from production companies and other players in the industry can talk about good training and give tips on how to get a foot in the door.

A further positive effect of the bridge-building between young people and the industry is that established positions and perspectives can be adjusted and renewed.

“Many young people here believe and feel that there is really no place for their stories in today's film industry,” says Bjurman. “Therefore, we hope that in the long term the programme will also be able to contribute to an increased diversity in film storytelling. Because the industry also wants to broaden its perspectives.