The Progress Film Company

20/06/2023

New stills campaign!

Another collaboration with our friends at TAG Heuer - this time a photography shoot and set build for Red Bull Racing’s world champion Max Verstappen, sporting a series of their classic luxury timepieces.

Photography by Jon Enoch.

14/04/2023

New work!

Director Ben Lankester teams with Idea Farmer for the pilot episode of ‘Around the Table’, a new documentary lifestyle series for KitchenAid.

Kitchen Aid - 'Around the Table with Zoe Adjonyoh'

Director — Ben Lankester
Agency — Idea Farmer
CD — Josh Beane
Agency Producer — Claudia Rosa
Prod Co — Progress
Producer — Mia Xerri
DP — Tom Welsh
Focus — Milo Brown
Loader — Juliette Carton
Gaffer — Krunal Saadrani
Spark — Eddie Cook
Sound Recordist — Cassandra Rutledge
Runner — Makilah King
Editor — Ben Lankester
Designer — Shannon Thomas
Photography — Ben Lankester
Sound Design — Dugal Macdiarmid @ King Lear
Music — Adam Harrison
Colour — Hannah Squires

Lenses — One Stop
Lighting — SHL London

10/03/2023

England Your England - 10 Years

England Your England, ’s ongoing documentary series, exists to document stories on the fringes of British society.  This stunning poster, designed by celebrates 10 years since the project launched.  

With new episodes in development, scroll left for series highlights and a taste of what’s to come. Follow to watch the full series.

10/03/2023

England Your England - 10 Years

England Your England, ‘s ongoing documentary series, exists to document stories on the fringes of British society.  This stunning poster, designed by celebrates 10 years since the project launched.  

With new episodes in development, scroll left for series highlights and a taste of what’s to come. Follow to watch the full series.

06/03/2023

New work!

In our first episode for renowned series Fender Sessions, we celebrate Samm Henshaw’s timeless style and the legacy of Fender's American Classic range. Shooting within the decadent halls of Richmond Theatre we created a cinematic session for the fans.

Fender - 'Fender Sessions w/ Samm Henshaw’

Director: Sheena Brobbey
Creative Executive Producer: Sam Widdows
Producer: Melissa Paris
Production: The Progress Film Company
DP: Fola Abatan
1st AD: Daniel Castro Garcia
2nd Cam: Zak Thorpe
1st AC: Joel Rosenberg
2nd AC: Julian Beresford
Steadicam Op: Domenico Palomba
Gaffer: Lloyd Rubio
Sound Engineer & Mix: Chris James
Sound Recordist: Bahar Dopran
Sound Design: David Houston
Photographer: Melody Berkery
Runners: Kayla King & Alastair Simpson

25/10/2022

New work!

To help shift perceptions and raise awareness we worked along side agency partner Boldspace, delivering a film campaign that amplifies the cocktail bar’s new mantra Show Your Stripes. A suite of films packed with personality and spanning multiple digital channels.

Fridays - 'Show Your Stripes'

18/10/2022

New work from director Ben Lankester.

Aston Martin DBX - ‘Double Life’

Director: .lankester
EP: .porteous
Producer: Giles Skillicorn
Production: The Progress Film Company
Service Co:
Location Manager:
1st AD: Stevie Fylan
DP:
Drone:
Gaffer: Nathan Matthews
Editor: Nik Hindson -
Sound: Ben Leaves
Colourist:
Post:

10/10/2022

As the run up to Christmas approaches, The Retail Trust are asking customers to treat retail workers with compassion and kindness, with the statistic that customer-facing staff working in the UK experience more than 400 verbal and physical abuse incidents every day.

Our film 'Essential Worker', directed by Sam Parish-Rookes, reminds audiences that harassment is not part of the job.

Watch via our stories.

12/07/2022

New work!

‘Amplify Your Voice’ is an immersive campaign expressing authentic stories from students studying at Anglia Ruskin University.

Captured within an avant-guard studio space with larger than life LED screens, we set about telling four unique stories from genuine students. As each story unfolds, we witness our heroes surrounded by their experiences, and see first hand how their ambitions became realities through their time at ARU.

Director: Sam Parish-Rookes
Creative EP: Sam Widdows
EP: Phil Medway
Producer: Marlea Edwards
DP: Conor Chalk
Editor: Julian Beresford
Grade: Sebastian Ziabka
Focus Puller: Fabio Olgiati
Playback OP: Mark McGuinness
DIT: Zak Thorpe
Spark: George Tsamis
Runner: Claudia Botton

Agency: Net Natives
Client: Anglia Ruskin University

22/06/2022

New work from director Ben Lankester

Aston Martin DBX 707 - 'A New Seat of Power'

Director: Ben Lankester
EP: Andrew Porteous
Produce: Stephen Plesniak
Production: The Progress Film Company
Service Co: LS Productions
Service Producer: Abi Atkinson
DP: Jamie D. Ramsay
Focus Puller: Matt French
Production Designer: Luana Hanson
Key Grip: Sean Kelly
Post: Envy
Sound Design: Rich Martin
Colour: Edwin Metternich
Music: Tom Player & Wake The Town

14/06/2022

It’s been six months since the release of The Golden Thread, our collaboration with AKQA and The World Gold Council to create a 5 part documentary series telling the varied and surprising story of gold.

With over 65 million views on YouTube and counting, here’s a peek behind the scenes. Visit our video tab to watch the series in full.

10/05/2022

“Breathe between downs and sea we flourish”

Frames from our new project with Visit Brighton featuring some friends who call this city home.

Poetry written and performed by Emily Kate Groves

Director: Matt Hopkins
Production: The Progress Film Company
Producer: Heeva Hamed
Creative: Sam Widdows
DoP: Jean-Pierre Whitfield
1st AC: Matt Farrant
Drone: Matt Green
Sound Recordist: Zak Thorpe
Editor: Sam Parish Rookes & Matt Hopkins
Grade: Yoomin Lee
Sound Supervision: Mount

04/05/2022

Breathe | Visit Brighton

An ode to the green and blue spaces which surround our home city, Brighton, and the positive effect they have on physical and mental wellbeing.

Poetry written and performed by Gingko prize winning eco-poet Emily Kate Groves

Director: Matt Hopkins
Production: The Progress Film Company
Producer: Heeva Hamed
Creative: Sam Widdows
DoP: Jean-Pierre Whitfield
1st AC: Matt Farrant
Drone: Matt Green
Sound Recordist: Zak Thorpe
Editor: Sam Parish Rookes & Matt Hopkins
Grade: Yoomin Lee
Sound Supervision: Mount

Featuring:

Ben Palmer-Fry
Atlanta Cook
The Salty Seabirds
Ocean Set
Yoga with Olive
Amy Anfilogoff
Seb Tucknott
Whitehawk Community Food Project
Homeward Bound Shanties
Beach Box Sauna
The Macs Farm

27/04/2021

CASTING CALL Public Sector and Civil Servants! We want to hear from you.

04/11/2020

This couldn’t be a more ideal time to share this beautiful promo by director Ben Lankester

Big Ideas - ‘The American Dream’

“In times of war or peace the United States will gladly pay a man to fail should his heart be in it, a small shimmering proof of the American Dream” ― Jonathan Culver

https://vimeo.com/474425535

“In times of war or peace the United States will gladly pay a man to fail should his heart be in it, a small shimmering proof of the American Dream” ―…

08/03/2020

Off Set 4

This past Wednesday we were joined by sound designer Anna Bertmark - The Goob, Gwen, God’s Own Country - and writer/director Matt Harlock - Ink, C***s & Rock ‘N’ Roll, Deep Clean, American: The Bill Hicks Story - for a truly inspiring evening of discussions around filmmaking.

Head to for more from Anna and Matt and to keep up to date for the next event.

@ The Grand Central

18/02/2020

“A Failure of the Imagination” from director Matt Hopkins and series will be screening on March 15th at the 2020 London Independent Film Festival.

Watch the film now via our IGTV.

22/01/2020

“A Failure of the Imagination depicts Silo’s gruelling five-year journey from idealistic concept to fruition. “We kept striking brilliant ideas, but the success rate would be, like, one in 100,” says Douglas McMaster. Failure, though, turned out to be an essential part of the process—“we needed to fail to learn.”⠀
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A Failure of the Imagination was recently featured on The Atlantic, showcasing the food movement that inspired Matt Hopkins’s Vimeo Staff Pick winning short and the pioneering efforts of Silo's Doug McMaster.

Read more:

A London restaurant embodies the virtues of sustainability with a food system that generates zero waste.

19/12/2019

Matt Hopkins recently spoke with Directors Notes about the latest instalment of England Your England, 'A Failure of the Imagination'.

Visit the link below to read all about it.

Matt Hopkins talks to DN about creating short doc 'A Failure of the Imagination' about the first five years of ground breaking zero-waste restaurant Silo.

29/11/2019

England Your England returns.

The latest instalment of director Matt Hopkins' award-winning short documentary series shares the story of Douglas McMaster and his efforts to change the UK's wasteful food systems through the country's first zero-waste restaurant, Silo.

19/11/2019

Director Stuart Hackshaw joins with Mazda in new commercial work with the automotive brand. Their latest collaboration showcases the famous design principles, detail and expert craftsmanship behind the new Vision Coupe Concept model.

13/11/2019

On Tuesday 3rd December we're taking over UnBarred Brewery for the final Off Set of the year.

We'll be sharing the best work made by Brighton filmmakers this year. To submit your film, get in touch at [email protected].

The guest list is now open and filling up quickly. Join it at https://offset3.eventbrite.co.uk

06/11/2019

Denis Shapovalov was born to be a tennis player. Now, his unrivalled work ethic, dedication and determination will ensure he becomes a great one.⠀
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Director Matt Hopkins joins with TAG Heuer to create the latest instalment of their ‘Break Tennis’ campaign, sharing the personal stories of a set of rising stars ready to overthrow the game’s long-established elite.

See more: http://progressfilm.co.uk/project/tag-heuer-break-tennis-athlete-films/

22/10/2019

“This competition is a radical combination of complete creative freedom and crazy technical confines. It is really going to empower us to sharpen our creative tools and perceive limitations with a fresh perspective. We can’t wait to get started.” - Sam Widdows, Creative Lead.

We’re excited to announce that we’ll be taking part in the next Straight 8 Shootout. The rules are simple: One Super 8 cartridge. No editing.

Let’s do this.

21/09/2019

We’re committed to working with the wider creative industry, using our platform to raise awareness of the climate emergency.

Yesterday we took part in the Global Climate Strike, marching in Brighton while filming and speaking with fellow protestors that we met along the way.

This film shares the thoughts and feelings of the young people determined to bring meaningful change to tackle the global climate crisis.

19/09/2019

As a company, we’re committed to working sustainably to help fight the climate and ecological crisis. Tomorrow, we’ll be taking part in the global climate strike, joining with the wider creative community as we march in Brighton to tackle the climate emergency.

Our efforts are part of the wider Create and Strike movement. We’re proud to join with leaders in the creative industry and use our platform to provoke meaningful change. To find out more, visit createandstrike.com

11/09/2019

Director Stuart Hackshaw reunites with Mazda to showcase the brand’s iconic design principles and craftsmanship at work.

Their latest spot together focuses on the mastery behind the interior of the Mazda3, revealing the precision and expert skill that turned ambitious vision into reality.

08/09/2019

Director Matt Hopkins recently joined with Visit Dubai to create a series of TVCs showcasing the experiences that await visitors to the region.

The project's director's cut, titled 'I Rise', mirrors the ever-rising cityscape with the personal journeys of discovery enjoyed by a set of female protagonists who call the city home.

05/09/2019

We're pleased to announce the line-up of filmmakers who'll be presenting at Off Set - Brighton Filmmakers Social on Wednesday 18th September.

Ben Marshall, Jonathan Nicol, Helen Plumb, Max Smith and Andrew Telling will be sharing a selection of their commercial and independent projects, with an opportunity to answer questions and discuss their work with the wider room of filmmakers.

To find out more about the event and join the guest list, visit https://offset2.eventbrite.co.uk

28/08/2019

We’re pleased to share our latest work with TAG Heuer , redefining the tennis landscape with our "Break Tennis" campaign.

Disruptive by name and nature, our creative team devised a concept that would make a suitably big impact. "Break Tennis" isn’t simply a campaign but a challenge. It is a generation defining moment, announcing four defiant up-and-comers who are set to take the tennis world by storm.

Released ahead of the US Open, Ben Lankester directs the campaign's central hero sport, introducing four rising stars who are ready to break the established order and forge their own historic path in the game.