Alicia Gerrard
Pilot Camp
Co-Founder
Alicia has been professionally acting for film and television for over a decade in productions with BBC, History’s Vikings and Apple TV+ to name but a few. She has taught drama to hundreds of children from all ages, backgrounds and abilities. She has written pilot TV scripts and feature films and has worked as script supervisor. Alicia has also directed short films and theatre productions.
Alicia is a well-experienced drama teacher. Having achieved distinctions in both her London Trinity Guildhall and ATCL exams in Bull Alley Theatre Training Company, Alicia landed a solo performance role with The Abbey Theatre where she also facilitated children’s rights workshops with large groups of children. Following this, Alicia began working with a number of schools teaching after school drama and in theatre schools including Innovations Theatre School and Play Act Drama which she went on to manage.
Alicia also taught drama with ADHD Ireland, Dyspraxia Ireland and All Abilities Ireland for children and teenagers. As her experience grew, Alicia found more and more creative ways to effectively manage the classroom while drawing out the very best of her students' imaginations and raising their confidence.
Alicia has taken her vast knowledge of the film industry and expertise of teaching and has now teamed up with Alina to create something really special for children, where they have the opportunity to produce something they can be proud of, learn invaluable skills, make lasting friendships and above all, have tons of fun!
Alina Blackwood
Pilot Camp
Co-Founder
Alina is an experienced TV Producer who has worked with UK and international production companies, global broadcasters and advertising agencies.
A passionate storyteller, and avid social media user, Alina has 20+ years of experience in development, production and post-production.
Alina grew up in a theatre environment, where her mum was an actress in a Tatar national theatre in her home country Tatarstan, so would be on stage playing children’s roles, spending hours behind the theatre curtains, playing with props and sometimes the director’s moustache. She was a child TV presenter between the ages of 5-17 and remembers the days when the news were cut on tape.
Alina is now a Tonbridge based working mum to two ever so active 8 and 6 year-olds, and knows first hand how important it is to find affordable activities that her children enjoy during school breaks.
As a Post Production Producer in one of the world's leading advertising agencies ‘Hogarth Worldwide’, she also feels that as much as her corporate career is fulfilling, her work life does need a little bit of a personal passion added to it, and that’s how the PILOT film camp idea was born. Of course as a mother, she can’t help but think how much visual content her children consume daily, so why not instead teach them how to create meaningful, impactful and purpose-driven content?
Alina’s credits include but are not limited to Discovery Networks; VICE; YouTube; Channel 4; Al Jazeera; BBC World Service and more.
Polina Kupriyanova
Art Teacher
Polina is an accomplished artist and educator with background in fine art.
She is a dedicated, passionate and attentive Art Teacher with a warm and friendly personality. With 15+ years of teaching experience in schools as well as private tuition, Polina has has a depth of expertise and a specialist focus in art therapy.
As an art tutor she's worked with children, teenagers and adults (including special needs) of all backgrounds, and have created hundreds of art lessons.
Polina is one of our core group of dedicated teachers looking after children throughout the week, guiding the children in their journey of expressing artistic creativity. She is our Trained First Aider and Enhanced DBS certificate holder.
Patrick Murray
Guest Director of Photography (DOP)
Patrick is a passionate filmmaker who started his own production company
'The Nerd Corner Productions' back in 2015. Over the years of creating a network of actors, musicians, sound and light designers, he has released two successful Television series 'Elzaz' and 'Tales from the Thirteen Realms' on Prime Video.
Patrick currently works as an editor at Hogarth Worldwide, but during our camp he and his film crew will travel from Rochester in the capacity of Director of Photography to film the three movies that children will have prepared during the Pre-Production phase.