The Abingdon Film Unit (AFU) and its sister organisation, the Abingdon Film Academy (AFA) exist to enable young people between the ages of 13 and 18 to make their own short films under the guidance of a team of industry professionals. Based at Abingdon School near Oxford, UK, the AFU was formed in 2003 by Jeremy Taylor and renowned British documentary maker Michael Grigsby, who helped to assemble
a formidable team of visiting tutors that include Jonas Mortensen (cinematography), Mikkel Eriksen (sound design), Arvid Eriksson (editing), artists and filmmakers Nikolaj Larsen, Duncan Pickstock and Matt Copson, BAFTA-winning writer/director Colin O'Toole, creative producer Rebekah Tolley and award-winning animators Joanna Harrison and Geoff Dunbar. Together, the AFU have developed a way of working with students that encourages them to adopt the highest standards, and develop their ideas through a process of careful research and reflection that seeks to clarify at every stage the aims and intentions of their films. Grigsby died in 2013, having helped to establish the Unit's reputation as one of the finest film training programmes for young people. Since then, the work of the Unit has continued to expand and develop. In 2018, the Unit added a new wing to its programme - the Abingdon Film Academy - to enable young people from a wider range of backgrounds to learn filmmaking. To date, Academy members have included students from Larkmead, Fitzharrys and John Mason Schools in Abingdon, as well as students from schools in London and Cheltenham.
