Tracking the creative talent living in Wycombe, from indie filmmakers to local studios, our town is a whirlpool of creativity.
For example, Glory Botesse - a homegrown TV talent who helps keep our prime-time screens filled with hits. If you’ve ever watched Grand Designs, Escape to the Country, Race Across the World, or their celebrity spin-offs, you’ve seen his work. Glory has impressive credits as Assistant Producer and cameraman.
A GCSE video project first lit Glory’s creative spark, quickly leading to commercial work for friends, and a degree at Bucks New University. From there, he started at Grand Designs and then Escape to the Country with Fremantle, scouring the nation for postcard-perfect homes. He worked his way up from location assistant to shooting assistant and digital imaging technician on the BBC hit Race Across the World, a massive logistical beast: five mobile crews shadowing contestant pairs on an eight-week sprint.
By week six, some of the crew find themselves hitting what they call the “red zone” - a state of sheer exhaustion brought on by basic living conditions away from home, tight vehicles and wild time zones. Yet, despite the gruelling pace, Glory insists the camaraderie keeps everyone smiling, making “every single day a high point.”
An inspired love of teaching
With a 30-year career reporting from global hotspots - covering everything from G8 conferences to genocides - seasoned Director of Photography and documentarian Attila Kiraly brings world-class experience to Buckinghamshire College Group. While working as a documentaries director, he created ‘Operation Mercy’ – a two-part series of oral histories from the 1956 Hungarian Revolution, available on GuideDoc.tv. Attila is now a full-time lecturer at BCG.
“I love to give back,” Attila says. “We push our students to master cultural literacy and the language of film – both fundamentally needed at places like Pinewood.” Teaching the media T-Level course, he builds job-ready skills, so his students enter the workforce equipped to earn a living.
This hands-on preparation comes at a pivotal time. The media landscape is evolving: cheap technology lets anyone film on an iPhone, social media is redefining content formats and global connectivity means creator hubs are no longer restricted to Western capitals.
However, Buckinghamshire already contributes to 8% of global film production, offering local talent, proximity to London, and camera-ready venues. With surrounding production hubs and the much anticipated Marlow Studios, Wycombe’s future in screen media looks bright, especially when Attila and his BCG colleagues move into their state-of-the-art college campus in the next year or so.
