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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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Where next

Your recommended next steps

Picked for Film Sales. Signed in, they follow your stage and the roles your answers point to.

  1. The career plan: Film SalesWhat to do, learn and be able to do, from no experience to paid work.
  2. MFJF Academy workshopsLive sessions with people who do the job, and the monthly career clinic.
  3. Speak to an MFJF mentorAsk someone who does the job what they wish they had known.
  4. Build your CV with the CV BuilderThe industry's format, built from your profile and your current CV.
  5. The careers guide: Film SalesThe job, the day, the way in and the pay, in one guide.
  6. See what entry-level jobs ask forThe job board, updated daily: read the ads before you apply.

Matching Film Sales right now

Live from the job board, the Academy, the mentor programme, the film-course directory and the reading list.

MFJF Academy workshops

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MFJF mentors

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Film courses

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Reading and links

All Industry Essentials →