May Davies || Production Design
Talent is equally distributed across the social classes, but opportunity is not!
- Professor Katriona O’Sullivan, Author of ‘Poor’
I have benefited from industry mentors through Screen Skills, Talking Point, British Film Designers Guild and the Production Designers Collective and I am committed to giving back by mentoring and providing advice for those who are new to the industry or career changers. Please get in touch if your organisation would benefit from a session, workshop or extended network of contacts.
I worked with Cumbrian art, film and heritage charity, Signal Films, in Barrow-in-Furness, for 7 years before moving to London to study for a masters and freelance in the art department. I am lucky to still be able to work on projects with them and look forward to going there once or twice per year to mentor and catch up with all the brilliant work they do to provide creative opportunities to all.
Some of the projects I have been involved in are detailed below:
Panel Moderator, Production Designers Collective Gathering - 2022 + 2026
Two panels looking at the power of what happens when production designers from around the world join forces to advocate and celebrate our craft.
International Production Design Week, Production Designers Collective & BFDG, October 2023, 2025, 2027
2025
2023
BFI Film Academy 2012 - current
Since the BFI Film Academy began in 2012 I have worked with Signal Films to raise the money for, plan and deliver the Cumbrian regional BFI Film Academy, leading on the Production Design mentoring element. Many young people from the scheme have gone on to BFI Film Academy residentials and are now working in the industry.
Panel Moderator, Berlinale PDC Talents Workshop - 2024
UAL Mentor, London College of Communiation - 2024
Production Design Tutor, 2nd Year BA Ravensbourne - 1 Term Guest Cover - 2023
Roundtable Speak + Alumni Mentor, BAFTA x BFI Film Academy, 2021 + 2023
Co-Founder - Micro Short Films , 2020
A Covid lockdown project. Together with 3 other enthusiastic BAFTA crew peers we set up a series of themed challenges to make micro short films in teams of 10 with minimal budgets, time and resources. The results were fantastic and brought together many professionals in all filmmaking specialisms as equals in a collective, networking by doing. Many of the films enjoyed a life on the festival circuit. One film I was production designed is still one of my favourite shorts to date, Bach is Blue. The project came to a natural end as the industry opened up but the relationships and inspiration remain!
Stepping up to Art Director, Signal Films, January 2020
I created this course based on my own experiences in the art department and a desire to demystify the roles within the art department in order to open a pathway for a more diverse workforce, less who you know and more what you know. I partnered with Signal and led on the application writing to bring this Screenskills funded course to Barrow. I invited supervising art director Katie Macgregor, (Sex Edcuation, Watchmen) to lead the course and assisted her in the delivery.
Watch a video here about the experience of the participants.
National Theatre, Play in a Day, 2018
Working with director, Shane Dempsey to help a group of young people create The Odyssey in one day
Liver in a Bed, 2018
Working with the East15 performing arts college to design a site specific live performance based on research the students had collected from the archives at the Wellcome Collection.
Pauline Quirke Academy - 2018
Project Producer + Production Design Mentor, Signal Films 2009 - 2016
Leading a variety of workshops and talks at Signal Films, Barrow in Furness 2009-2016 as a full time member of the team. Signal creates opportunties for all to take part in film, art and heritage projects in Barrow-in-Furness. In my time there I led on many funding applications, designed, delivered and evaluated community-driven projects with partners including; Children in Need, MIND, National Offending Service + Youth Offending, Furness Multicultural Society and Leonard Cheshire with funding from many sources including the National Lottery, Local Councils, Arts Councils, Heritage Lottery, Joseph Rowntree Foundation, The Esmée Fairbairn Foundation, BFI. I was also the in house editor and one of the in house camera operators for our sister company that provided videography services making corporate films, charity films and documentaries.
