Freelance Filmmaker

Contract Dates: 12 January 2026 to 3 February 2026

Fee: Up to £4,000

Closing date for submission of quotation: 12 noon, Thursday 18 December 2025.

Showtown is seeking quotations for a dynamic and creative individual or a company to plan, record and edit an interview style film with a community group Showtown has established to understand dwarfism within historic circus culture. We invite tenders from filmmakers with proven experience to film a number of interviews with the community group members, and work with the group to create a 5-minute film that will feature in a temporary exhibition exploring the daily challenges people with restricted growth face.

Showtown is Blackpool’s first museum, exploring Blackpool’s entertainment heritage and its impact on British popular culture. At Showtown we put Blackpool and its people centre stage and reveal the town’s lasting influence on the nation’s sense of entertainment. Our displays are accessible, immersive, family friendly and most importantly, fun!

The Context:

Showtown’s ‘Marvels and Mayhem Community Project’ has been exploring dwarfism and the representation of little people in Blackpool’s historic collections. The project has engaged with several people with lived experience – whether that is having dwarfism, restricted growth or having a family member who is a little person.

Since September 2025 Showtown’s staff have supported the group to understand the history of little people in performance and circus with a cohort of nine people from across the country, meeting online every two weeks. During the sessions the group has explored the Blackpool Tower Circus Collection, visual artefacts, historical videos and a research report written specifically for the project.

Topics explored include the impact of little people in performance and circus, with stories relating to topics as varied as disability representation and social historical divisions of those with disabilities in the 1900s. The project was Showtown’s first major experience of online co‑production – and is one of the many community‑based projects in the museum.

The Commission:

Showtown would like to commission a dynamic, creative and empathetic filmmaker to work with the community group, supporting the delivery of a “day in the life” video of someone with dwarfism. The filmmaker will edit Go‑Pro footage filmed by the group and could incorporate B‑roll (TBC with group). This video will be part of a temporary exhibition the group will be creating, opening in Feb 2026. The video needs to be created with subtitles and no more than 4 mins in length.

Examples of previous films produced by individuals of similar projects found on YouTube and TikTok:

For evaluation and posterity, Showtown would like to film the participants, exploring their experience of the co‑production process. The group will be meeting in‑person for the first time in Blackpool on 24 January 2026. The filmmaker must attend this day on‑site in Blackpool to interview and film the participants, both individually and as a group, viewing the collection and speaking about their experiences. Interviews with members of the museum team will also be included and the people who were involved in the project, as well as B‑roll of the group meeting. The filmmaker will then edit these recordings together into a short film for project evaluation purposes and potentially used as a creative output by the community group within the exhibition space. The final film will need to be no more than 5 minutes long and will require subtitles.

Examples of previous films produced by other museums of similar projects found on YouTube:

This is a competitive process with a budget of up to £4,000 for all fees (inclusive of all materials, expenses, contingencies, and prelims).

Scope of Works:

The work will need to be completed by 12 noon, 3 February 2026.

Scope of Services:

• Agree and fulfill a filming and delivery schedule with Showtown and community group, including the delivery of all raw footage to Showtown for use in project evaluation.
• Attend planning sessions with Showtown staff ahead of the filming on 24 January 2026.
• Attend filming sessions in Blackpool to record interviews with Showtown staff and the co‑production group on 24 January 2026.
• Film and edit together interviews of the community group, incorporating images, collection items and photos of the group chatting together.
• Produce a cohesive and empathetic “day in the life” video from footage filmed by the community group, incorporating B‑roll.
• Deliver two films, each of a maximum length of 4 minutes by 12 noon, 3 February 2026. Both films will require subtitles.

We are looking to appoint a filmmaker or company with demonstrable evidence of the following:

• Experience of undertaking filmed interviews, with the ability to adapt their interview techniques to fit the personality of their interviewee and to think on their feet.
• A friendly and supportive attitude to working with community groups and/or individuals with a disability.
• Knowledge of suitable film formats for use in museum displays.
• Must be available on the Saturday 24 January 2026 for filming the group in Blackpool.

Next Steps:

Please send a link to your portfolio, and a quotation including all expenses to Annabel Counsell, Marvels and Mayhem Project Coordinator, annabel.counsell@showtownblackpool.co.uk by 12 noon on Thursday 18 December 2025. The successful proposal will be selected by Tuesday 23 December 2025. For further information on the project or any enquiries regarding the role please contact Annabel on the email above.