David Chikwe (BH, 1993)

Storyteller. It’s not really a job that’s listed in adverts. Or job fairs. Or careers advice. But it’s the best word I can find to describe both my passions and my journey through life. And in that sense being a Storyteller is as much about living as it has been about a job.

The huge privilege of going to College were all the extracurricular activities that were encouraged. Being in the choir and the school play, joining the opera society and the jazz band. All that and more sparked a life-long passion for the arts. In hindsight, one tell-tale sign was that I was always writing. Whether Tolkien-inspired fantasy, or screenplays about being queer and mixed-race. Storytelling was always about a combination of imagination and life.

While there have been several pivotal moments, the first big break as a Storyteller was getting my own original series commissioned by CBBC as co-creator. I can remember vividly working in production on daytime series Missing for BBC1 (I had worked closely with my boss to turn a factual format about missing people into a scripted drama). Obama was campaigning in the USA. And I randomly had a brainwave: what if you collided Pinocchio with ET?

Eve pilot read-through with cast and crew

I’d loved kids’ TV growing up and that spark of a notion became a BAFTA-nominated live-action series called Eve which ran for three seasons and 36 episodes. From words on a page to a show being watched by millions. That is the power of stories.

As with most creative careers there have been highs and lows. But even the shows that never get made can teach you something. I’ve been fortunate to work with my idols and fellow Storytellers such as Terence Davies and Benjamin Zephaniah, both sadly no longer with us. Every writer and director, producer and actor has taught me more about the craft of storytelling. Terence and Benjamin, though from wildly different backgrounds, both had a child-like passion for story.

Tutoring at the National Film and Television School.

After shifting from VFX agenting in my twenties into drama producing in my thirties, I’ve made a third pivot into screenwriting in my forties (alongside running my own production company Three Tables Productions). I love that the creative industry allows you, even demands that you, continue to evolve and adapt. At times it can feel brutal. But with shows in development with Apple TV and Channel 4 as a producer and my own original writing in development with established indies there’s still that sense that anything is possible.

Sometimes, just imagining it can be the spark to make something real.

David in Cannes promoting Eve.