The Rich Parents Club isn’t taking applications, so Sydney Lima built her own

This week, the writer, filmmaker and Rich Parents Club founder talks mentorship, gatekeeping and her new free talk series, Parental Guidance.

There are certain industries where it can feel like everyone got a head start – a trust fund here, a family friend at a production company there, maybe an uncle who “just happens” to own a gallery in Berlin. For everyone else, breaking into creative industries can feel less like well-intended networking or steadily climbing the career ladder, and more like trying to sneak into the Rich Parents Club through the back door.

That’s part of what makes Sydney Lima (Si apre in una nuova finestra)’s new initiative Rich Parents Club (Si apre in una nuova finestra) feel so necessary. The London-based writer, presenter and documentary filmmaker – whose previous clients include VICE, Channel 4 and Vogue – recently launched the platform to create more transparency, access and mentorship for working-class creatives navigating the industry. Its latest project, Parental Guidance (Si apre in una nuova finestra), is a new live talk series pairing emerging talent with established names across film, media and culture.

The conversations, hosted across London and free to attend, have already welcomed Oscar-winning director Fisher Stevens (Si apre in una nuova finestra), with upcoming guests including BAFTA-winning filmmaker Akinola Davies Jr. (Si apre in una nuova finestra), Adolescence director Philip Barantini (Si apre in una nuova finestra), and award-winning writer and comedian Jack Rooke (Si apre in una nuova finestra). Next up is Mia Bays (Si apre in una nuova finestra), the Oscar-winning, BAFTA-nominated producer and current Director of the BFI Filmmaking Fund (Si apre in una nuova finestra), whose decades-long career has included championing underrepresented voices across independent film. You can book your free ticket here (Si apre in una nuova finestra).

Ahead of the next talk, we spoke to Sydney about mentorship, creative gatekeeping, and building an industry support system that doesn’t rely on having the right surname.