As England and Wales celebrate (or otherwise) A-level results day, an award-winning filmmaker has warned young people against pursuing dead-end degrees - after his own career path took a plot twist.

Alasdair Gretton-Richards from Manchester opted for a more vocational legal qualification to enhance his job prospects and find stability in his professional life after initially graduating with a film degree in 2020.

The 25-year-old, currently working as a paralegal at Barings Law, says his film school experience was 'overpriced and underfunded'.

'When I tell people I studied film, they ask if we watched movies all day, which was basically true,' said Gretton-Richards. 'It made me feel undervalued and was money down the drain.' Gretton-Richards, who started making movies at the age of eight, said he should have spent his course money on film equipment. 'Contrast that to my law degree, you couldn’t afford to miss anything otherwise you’d drop too far behind, and everyone wanted to learn.' 

After film school, Gretton-Richards completed a law diploma from the University of Law Manchester in 2021 before completing his legal practice course. Despite his ambition to become a solicitor, he has not lost his passion for film-making. His debut feature, ‘Masked Conspiracy’, premiered on 5 August at the Imperial Rooms in Matlock where he grew up.

 

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