Sarah’s life-changing trip to the world's most-established TV event 

Thanks to the Futures Fund Sarah Hylton was able to leave the country for the first time in her life and attend one of the biggest television events of the year in Cannes.

MIPTV is an annual event that takes places in Cannes and hosts international producers, buyers, writers and other people within the media industry.  

With financial help from the Futures Fund Opportunity Scholarship the Media Production final-year student was able to afford a once in a lifetime opportunity.    

“Attending this event was the opportunity of a lifetime, to meet and network with people in the industry who may be my potential future employers, as well looking at a side of the industry most people never see, the buying and selling process of formats,” she said.  

For Sarah, originally from Hetton-le-Hole, this was the first time she had flown or even left the country.  

“This was a big deal for me, not only for the career and networking experience but as a life experience – I flew to a different country and travelled for the first time in my life,” she said.  

The 22-year-old was also able to attend many conferences with keynote guest speakers from different big companies talking about a variety of subjects, ranging from ‘How to sell your ideas to a buyer’ to ‘What is next in television’.  

The students were given the opportunity to meet executives from All3Media, Endemol Shine, Vice Media, Aardman and Henson, among others.  

“I have had an incredible opportunity to meet creators and industry leaders whom I hope to work with, although my highlight may be meeting Riviera star Julia Stiles,” she explained.  

Sarah believes that the contacts she made at the event will be crucial in getting her foot on the career ladder after she graduates this summer.  

She concluded: “Thank you to the Futures Fund and its donors for giving me the biggest career development opportunity. 

“Attending MIPTV has been the biggest event in my entire life. I got to fly out of the country to an absolutely amazing place and meet so many people from the media industry which I have wanted to be a part of my entire life. I am now a more confident and independent person because of it.”