The Puttnam Scholars Programme

The Puttnam Scholars Programme is a cross-border initiative offering interactive online seminars for early-to-mid career filmmakers, run in partnership with Screen Ireland and Northern Ireland Screen, and supported by Accenture Song. Since its launch in 2019, Lord David Puttnam has led small group sessions with eight talented individuals from both sides of the border, focusing on developing their creative resilience, professional skills, and fostering cultural and business connections across the island of Ireland. The Programme is run by Atticus Education, an initiative by Lord Puttnam founded in 2012 to bridge the gap between technology and learning. 

In-Person Anniversary Celebration 23 October 2024

To celebrate its fifth anniversary, the Puttnam Scholars Programme's first in-person event for participants and partners will take place on 23 October 2024. This event will include a tailored forum on the creative economy at Accenture Song in Dublin, aimed at identifying shared interests between the creative and corporate sectors. This morning session will then be followed by a celebratory event co-hosted by British Council Ireland and the British Embassy in Dublin and will be attended by the 8 Programme Scholars, the British Ambassador to Ireland, HMA Paul Johnston and Lord Puttnam as well as programme partners Atticus Education, Accenture UK and Ireland, Screen Ireland and Northern Ireland Screen. We will also be joined by sector leads in film and wider arts and culture in Ireland. Further details on the 8 Scholars from the 2024 Programme can be found here. The event will be the opportunity to pick up on the rich conversations started in the morning and celebrate the Programme's 5 years of successful support of cross-border collaboration in early to mid career development for filmakers across the island, as well as continued partnership with other organisations in delivering the programme.

Find out more about the programme here. You can view photos from the event here

About Lord David Puttnam

David Puttnam is a British film producer, educator and environmentalist. He was a member of the House of Lords for 24 years until his retirement in October 2021. Most recently, he sat on the Select Committee for the Environment and Climate Change, charged with exploring cross-Government action on COP15 and progress on COP26. In 2019, he was appointed chair to the Democracy & Digital Technologies committee to investigate the impact of technologies on democracy. The report for the committee’s findings was published in June 2020. His films have won 10 Oscars, 31 BAFTAs, 13 Golden Globes, 9 Emmys, 4 David di Donatellos in Italy and the Palme D’Or at Cannes. David set up his production company, Enigma Productions, in 1976 and founded Atticus Education in 2012. Atticus Education delivers interactive seminars on film, media and screen to students at universities all over the world.