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Film Sales · Stage 1

Film Sales Assistant

Where films meet the world: get into a sales company and learn the business from the stand up.

The film sales assistant role in the UK: what a sales agent does, the markets from Berlin to AFM, territories and deal terms in plain words, where Stage 1 experience really comes from, the CV that gets a placement, and a plan to reach Stage 2. Built on MFJF's careers guide and four case studies.

2 hours · 6 modules · 18 lessons

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What you’ll learn

  • Be able to explain what a film sales company does, in one sentence and in detail, including pre-sales, estimates, Deal Memos and delivery.
  • Know the four main markets, their months, and exactly what an assistant does before, during and after each one.
  • Have a scored skills audit, three concrete routes to experience with dates, and a CV outline built against the site's Stage 1 example.
  • Be able to say Sam's five Stage 1 statements honestly and know your next three steps on MFJF.

Where this leads

By the end you will have written your own Stage 1 plan, checked yourself against MFJF's five Stage 1 statements, and know exactly what to do next: a mentor clinic, an Academy workshop, and Stage 2, the HotList.

Finish the course and you can build your personal plan: MFJF's three-stage planner for this role, ticked from Your Profile and your CV, with dated next steps and the CV line each one becomes.

Module 1

The role and the sales company

20 min

What a sales agent actually does, who is in the office, and what your day looks like between markets.

  1. readWhat a film sales agent actually does8 min
  2. readWho is in the office and what your day contains8 min
  3. checkCheck: the role and the company4 min
Module 2

Before day one: markets, deal terms and kit

20 min

The market calendar and your job at each one, the words of the trade in plain English, the software to be fluent in, and a scored audit of where you stand.

  1. readThe markets, and what an assistant does at one7 min
  2. readTerritories, deal terms and the kit, in plain words7 min
  3. taskTask: the twelve-skill self-audit6 min
Module 3

Getting experience at Stage 1

20 min

The eight doors into film sales experience, the rules on pay, unpaid work and hours, and a task that turns three of the doors into dated actions.

  1. readWhere experience really comes from for this role8 min
  2. readThe rules: pay, unpaid work, hours and looking after yourself6 min
  3. taskTask: find three routes this month6 min
Module 4

Your CV, cover letter and first approaches

20 min

What a Stage 1 film sales CV contains, built against the site's example, the 200-word email, how to approach a small company without annoying it, and what a reference really is.

  1. readThe Stage 1 CV, the email and the approach8 min
  2. taskTask: draft your CV outline against the example8 min
  3. checkCheck: CVs, letters and approaches4 min
Module 5

The industry around the role

20 min

The value chain, the companies and bodies a sales agent touches, the three-year plan, where the skills lead, what four people on the site actually did, and the library for this course.

  1. readThe map: chain, companies, path and the case studies7 min
  2. resourcesThe library for this course8 min
  3. checkCheck: the industry map5 min
Module 6

Your plan: Stage 1 to Stage 2

20 min

Your plan in your own words, the five statements as a self-certification, and the next steps on MFJF.

  1. plannerPlanner: your route into film sales10 min
  2. readHow you know you are ready for Stage 26 min
  3. checkCheck: ready for Stage 24 min
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Sources and references

Where this course comes from. Open any of them yourself.

What this course was written from

Every link checked 19 September 2026.

You are not doing this alone

You have your own personal career mentor

That is us, the MFJF team. Book an MFJF Mentor Session with us every month: we guide you through this journey and answer all your questions, from which job is yours to your CV and your next application.

Book my MFJF Mentor Session

Where next

Your recommended next steps

Picked for Film Sales. Signed in, they follow your stage and the roles your answers point to. See your whole MFJF journey, step by step →

  1. My MFJF JourneyOne page for everything MFJF has built, in the order you need it.
  2. My Reading ListThe books, blogs and bodies you have saved, in one place.
  3. Start the Stage 1 course: Film SalesTwo hours on what the job is, how people get in and what to do first.
  4. Get on the HotListPut yourself in front of productions looking for crew.
  5. Join MFJF DayPlayersDay work on productions for crew with the credits and the skills.
  6. The career planner: Film SalesWhat to do, learn and be able to do, from no experience to paid work.
  7. The career guide: Film SalesThe job, the day, the way in and the pay, in one guide.
  8. See how it all fits on the career maps17 maps of how films get made: the people, the process and the departments.
  9. Who works whereEvery department on a shoot and every kind of film company: who is in each and what they do.
  10. Industry EssentialsThe books, industry bodies, websites and blogs worth knowing, department by department.
  11. Read the MFJF Survival GuidesStraight answers to what everyone starting out asks: how long it takes, what you get paid, and what to do every day.
  12. MFJF Academy workshopsLive sessions with people who do the job, and the monthly career clinic.
  13. Build your CV with the CV BuilderThe industry's format, built from your profile and your current CV.

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