The UK’s BIMM University has acquired UK and Germany-based MetFilm School.
Founded in 2001 as Brighton Institute of Modern Music, BIMM now provides courses in modern music, performing arts, creative technology, and filmmaking to over 8,000 students across eight campuses in the UK, Ireland and Germany.
MetFilm School launched in 2003 and provides undergraduate film courses at campuses in Leeds, Berlin and London’s Ealing Studios. It made up the MetFilm Group along with its sister companies MetFilm Production, Sales and Distribution.
Production, Sales and Distribution are not involved in the sale, but will operate as partner organisations with the film school. Jonny Persey will continue as chair of MetFilm Production, Sales and Distribution alongside his ongoing role as director of MetFilm School, and the school will maintain its MetFilm name.
Both BIMM and MetFilm said in a statement they remain “committed to battling and bridging this skills gap, ensuring that all students receive comprehensive training in both traditional and cutting-edge aspects of filmmaking, building a more progressive and diverse workforce across the UK and worldwide”.
An area of particular focus is virtual production and artificial intelligence, with MetFilm students now having access to BIMM University’s learning platform AI_Labs.
“The film industry is experiencing a monumental shift, and our acquisition of MetFilm School is a testament to our commitment to staying ahead of the curve,” said David Jones-Owen, CEO and vice-chancellor of BIMM University. “Through this strategic collaboration in creative education, we seek to leverage the complementary strengths of both institutes, addressing the skills gap in the film industry and empowering students with the essential tools they need to thrive in an ever-evolving landscape.”
Jonny Persey, director of MetFilm School said: “We are thrilled to announce our new home as part of the BIMM group, which represents a unique opportunity for both organisations to deliver our industry-focused education to a wider population and to diversify our portfolio to support the creative industries worldwide.”
“Being dyslexic myself, we always prided ourselves on being open and welcoming to anyone with learning difficulties or neurodiversity,” added Thomas Høegh, MetFilm School co-founder. “We now have more than 15,000 alumni who create the most wonderful stories every day. It is with immense pride we join forces with BIMM to take MetFilm School to the next level. We want to be an active stakeholder going forward and support BIMM Group’s goal of becoming the best creative university in the world.”
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