SUPPORTED BY RELENTLESS
Rising UK Filmmaker Ade To Make ‘Dollar Signs’ Project A Reality Thanks To Freeform Forum Fund
Words: James Keith
Image via Relentless
Back in October last year, energy drink brand Relentless launched a brand new initiative—Freeform Forum—in a bid to break down some of the barriers holding young people back from entering music and other creative industries.
The Freeform Forum was designed to offer 12 successful applicants the tools to help them break through. That includes a mentorship programme, an online ‘mentor hub’ stacked full of creative and industry insights, and a creative fund worth £10,000. The six-week mentorship programme—which was spearheaded by South London rapper ENNY, J Hus’ producer, TSB, Burna Boy’s go-to photographer, Elliot Hensford, and Rihanna’s Super Bowl ad co-director, Tajana Tokyo—has since wrapped up and an additional £10K creative fund has been granted.
Manchester-based filmmaker Ade has been announced as the recipient of the grant, which will be used to fund a two-part music video called “Dollar Signs”. Ade has already put together an initial creative concept and a detailed plan, but with this funding he can fully realise the video, which will use a stop-motion photography technique.
As part of the mentorship, Ade was paired with Tajana Tokyo who sat down with him in a series of 1-2-1 sessions and IRL networking events. Together, the two worked through Ade’s initial concept, figuring out exactly how to put his plans into place and find his own place in the filmmaking and music industries.
“I’m so over the moon,” says Ade. “Not only to have been selected for the creative fund but also to have been a part of the Freeform Forum mentorship from the outset. I’m used to doing things myself with very small budgets or no budget sometimes; my creative ideas were just not getting off the ground. This experience gave me the opportunity not only to learn from creatives at the top of their game but to network, gain skills and access funds to push my creative limits even further.”
Stay tuned for the highly anticipated return of this viral mentorship fund later this year.
For more information on Relentless’ Freeform Forum, head here.
