A film sales assistant works for a sales agent, the company that licenses a film to distributors territory by territory at the markets in Berlin, Cannes, Toronto and Los Angeles. At Stage 1 you have never had a job in the industry, and the work is to learn how that business runs before you apply for anything. Film sales is small, London-based and competitive, so the three stages matter more than usual: Stage 1 is knowledge and office skills, Stage 2 is placements, references and contacts, Stage 3 is the first paid assistant job and your first market. Use this checklist with your plan: mark each line done, next or later, be honest about the gaps, and bring it to an MFJF mentor clinic. Most first placements are unpaid and the first job is modestly paid; the value is what you learn and who remembers you.
Read the career guide for what the job involves day to day.
Stage 1: Before your first job
27 things to do, know or be able to do
Experience 7
- Apply for work experience positions during the holidays if you are studying; write to sales companies months ahead, not on the first day of the holiday.
- Volunteer at the BFI London Film Festival, where the industry office is: expressions of interest close about a month before the October festival, travel within zones 1 to 6 and food are covered, and you must be 18 or over.
- Volunteer at Sheffield DocFest or a regional festival, ask for the industry or delegate desk rather than ticket tearing, and say why.
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Skills 8
- Learn Microsoft 365 properly, especially Excel: sort, filter, a lookup, a pivot table and a sheet a manager can read.
- If you are short of administrative skills, take a short course or free online tutorials.
- Practise reading a script and writing a one-page report with a logline, a synopsis, comments and a recommendation, so you can do it on a placement.
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Knowledge 12
- Read The International Film Business: A Market Guide Beyond Hollywood by Angus Finney, 3rd edition (2022), after a month of trade press.
- Read Dictionary of Film Finance and Distribution by John W. Cones as a glossary; it is American and from 2007, so use it for the terms, not for current practice.
- Watch films, new releases and classics, and watch them like a buyer: what did it cost, what did it make where, who sold it.
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Stage 2: Experience and contacts
25 things to do, know or be able to do
Experience 9
- If you have finished studying, look for paid internships listed on MFJF or through your own research; work experience should be short, and unpaid only where you are genuinely shadowing.
- Get a reference, ideally two, from a work experience or internship placement to add to your CV.
- Apply for the FDA's Film Industry Paid Trainee Scheme if it is right for you: nine months from June to March, paid at the London Living Wage, for new entrants with under twelve months' experience and mostly from under-represented groups; the application asks for a short video of you reviewing a recent cinema release, so check the FDA page when the next cohort opens.
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Skills 7
- Practise your interview technique with friends and relatives; interviews are only nerve-racking when you have not had many.
- Continue to develop your office skills.
- Practise pitching your ideas.
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Knowledge 9
- Research the company before each interview and keep re-reading the job description.
- Do you know how a film market works and when they are? The EFM in February, Filmart in March, the Marche du Film in May, Toronto in September (now with an official market, TIFF: The Market), MIPCOM in October for television, and the AFM in November, back in Los Angeles (10 to 15 November 2026).
- Do you know what the sales executives will be doing there, and what the assistant does before, during and after?
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Stage 3: Paid work
23 things to do, know or be able to do
Experience 8
- Do you have a CV with relevant internships?
- Can you operate Excel?
- Can you collate data?
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Skills 7
- Do you know where to look for release dates and what is in production?
- Can you update a company database, making sure all the relevant people are listed in the system?
- Can you read a script and write up a report?
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Knowledge 8
- As many sales companies have broadened their remit, do you know which area you would like to specialise in: sales, acquisitions, finance, marketing or production?
- Do you know how the industry uses the trades: Screen International and Screen Daily, Broadcast, Variety and Deadline? World Screen closed on 31 March 2026.
- You need to know the best way to fit into the office environment.
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Ways in for a film sales assistant
Real schemes, checked on the organiser’s own page. A shut one is still here with when it comes back, because half the big schemes are closed at any one time and that is worth knowing.
- Trainee FinderScreenSkillsPeople over 18 who live in the UK and have less than 12 months of paid production experience in their chosen department. No on-set experience is needed, and there is no upper age limit.Final deadline 28 October 2026
- Yorkshire's Screen Diversity ProgrammeScreen YorkshirePeople aged 19 or over who live in York and North Yorkshire and have not done a Skills Bootcamp in the last 12 months. No screen experience or qualifications are needed, and graduates and career changers are welcome. Screen Yorkshire particularly encourages applicants from groups under-represented in film and television.Final deadline 2 November 2026
- Sara Putt Associates Trainee SchemeSara Putt AssociatesTwo professional credits but under three years' cumulative experience, in Camera, Sound, Edit, Production Office, Art, Costume, AD, Script Supervisor, Locations, or Hair and Make-Up.Final deadline 24 January 2027
Sources and References
This is MFJF’s own three-stage career plan for a film sales assistant, written up from the career plan and the careers guide on our site. Open any of them yourself.
- MFJF career plan: Film Sales Assistant (PDF) the original plan this page was written up from
- MFJF careers guide: Film Sales Assistant what the job involves day to day
- The Three Career Stages the framework all three stages follow
Every link checked 19 September 2026. The plan itself was last revised September 2026.
