Our Mission. Eternal Community Media is a (CIO) charity that works alongside our not for profit company (Eternal Media). The charity’s primary focus is funding projects that have a positive impact on the outcome of people's lives.

Find out more

Working towards its charitable remit, the trustees of Eternal Community Media initiate projects that have positive outcomes in the community. The charity works with funders and partners to attract funding through grants, bursaries and funding streams. The profits made through Eternal Media’s business ventures are channelled into the charity’s funds for use in community projects.

With every penny raised, be it through our commissioned work or grants, we help to transform the lives of people. Participants in our projects develop new skills, confidence, self-worth and self-esteem, resilience and responsibility to become more employable and more responsible contributors to the community. Alongside this we deliver high quality, positive, unifying and socially responsible media productions that actively support the people, places and communities who commission it.

Our Objectives

The Objectives of the charity are:

To promote, for the public benefit, the rehabilitation of those who have been in the criminal justice system and those at risk of offending by providing, promoting, supporting or organising the recruitment, employment, education and training in film media and production, with the view to helping them settle into and adjust into society.

Charity Trustees

Jo Marston

Jo has worked in the criminal justice system for over 20 years, first in the National Probation Service as a practitioner, and then as a manager. Jo transferred to the Prison Service 8 years ago, and after working in a number of prisons, works nationally on the design and delivery of reducing reoffending policy. Jo is committed to supporting anyone who has experienced challenges of any kind in their lives and wants to ensure they have the best possible opportunities to move on positively with their lives. Jo believes wholeheartedly in the work undertaken by Eternal and the transformative impact it can have.

Annabel Shaw

Annabel is a paramedic serving with the London Ambulance Service. Through her work, she sees daily the impact addiction can have on individuals, their families and their neighbourhoods. Annabel brings her unique experiences and perspective to her work as a trustee.

Rachel Lacey

Rachel was first involved in Eternal Media 7 years ago, and returns now to bring her knowledge of funding, bid writing and project management. She has worked in education for 32 years and – in her current role at Wrexham University – specialises in working with the Third Sector.

Eternal Media Directors

Simon Shaw

Founder/Managing Director/Producer

In 2015 Simon was serving as the Assistant Chief Constable of North Wales Police. He always believed that people could change with the right help. He also believed that helping people to live lives free of addiction to drugs and/or alcohol would not just benefit those addicts and those closest to them, it would also benefit wider society.

To help frontline police officers understand the vital role they could play in signposting addicts to treatment services Simon commissioned Marcus to make a short training video. Using only a borrowed camera and laptop Marcus produced the film ‘Flipped It’.

That project demonstrated the positive impact that participating in the creative process of filmmaking can have and Eternal was created. Simon remains committed to helping people find a way out of active addiction and supporting those in recovery.

Peter Norrey

Creative Director, Executive Producer

Peter is a BAFTA award winning TV and film professional who started his film education in Wrexham in the early 1990’s. A chance meeting with Marcus meant life would never be the same when Marcus, ever the innovator, convinced him to help on a film that he was making. Over the years they have developed a creative collaboration, filmmaking skills and knowledge and devised all sorts of schemes and projects to keep the creative juices flowing. Peter acts as a creative director and executive producer and consults on all of Eternal’s media work.

Marcus Fair

Founder/Managing Director/Producer

Marcus endured and survived 25 years of Heroin and Crack addiction, vast swathes of homelessness and multiple prison sentences before he found a way out. Mentored and trained by BAFTA winning Peter Norrey, Marcus has become a phenomenal filmmaker in his own right and passes his knowledge along to others. With his unique insight into adversity, he not only has the ability to create uniquely beautiful films, but helps to turn around people’s lives whilst doing so.

“Filmmaking saved my life, and I feel privileged to see it doing the same for others everyday”

Game Changer Award - Find out more

Jill Whittingham

Therapeutic Lead, Group Secretary

Jill is a BACP Accredited Counsellor, Clinical Supervisor and highly experienced group facilitator. Her counselling skills and own recovery experience provide a strong and safe therapeutic base for the projects we offer at Eternal Media. While developing her practice, Jill became interested in therapeutic photography as a way to encourage people to explore their experiences, and after training with Photovoice and BAAT, she combined her three passions of photography, recovery and facilitating groups to create a number of therapeutic photography projects. This includes the Eternal Media project, Recovery in Focus which uses photography to tell stories of addiction and recovery.

Lucke Gabriel

Head of Post-Production/Producer

Fresh out of Bangor University, Lucke joined Eternal as a volunteer in the summer of ‘18. Over the years, Lucke has honed his filmmaking skills as well as his leadership skills by working closely with Marcus and benefited from invaluable training from Peter. Lucke fell in love with Eternal’s mission and today, he is our full-time Head of Post-Production, passionately producing films and working closely with Eternal’s volunteers to support them in their craft.

Testimonials

Proud. Nice things our clients have said about us.

We at EatSleep Media can't rave highly enough of Marcus and Lucke at Eternal Media for film production in North Wales. Whenever called upon they're super professional, aim to please and do an absolutely banging job. As we are based in South Wales, having someone we trust in North Wales helps us be able to move quickly and also keep our commitments to the environment in terms of travelling over our beautiful country.

I’m over the moon with the film, it is magnificent and a tribute to you and your team. It will do much to support our funding application. Just to say that the film is superb and greatly adds to the application bid in getting the project’s message across. On behalf of everyone involved with the “Access to Wrexham’s Green Spaces” project please pass our thanks and appreciation to the whole of the Eternal Media team – Diolch yn fawr

Eternal Media is a breath of fresh air in the addiction recovery field. It is a recovery community built on a foundation of NOW WHAT?, when someone with an addiction stops using or drinking. It combines high-quality filmmaking, podcasting and therapeutic photography, with an innovative approach to connecting and empowering people, helping them heal and build resilience. Eternal's inspiring work also reaches out to impact on the wider community. Great work, Marcus, Lucke, Jill and your colleagues.

RIF has had a positive impact on the self-esteem, self-efficacy, and empowerment of our residents who participated. It has also been an accessible tool that connects people without pressure to express thoughts and feelings through the media of photography. NWRC can't thank RIF enough for the evidencial benefits of the project. In fact we would be more than willing to participate in another run.

Working with Eternal Media was an incredibly positive experience. They produced a powerful video featuring our group of young people. Filming at Eternal Media Studios provided us with top-notch facilities and equipment, which elevated the production quality immensely. Marcus and Luke from the crew were standouts - professional, supportive, and skilled at making our young participants feel at ease in front of the camera. The end result exceeded our expectations, beautifully capturing the authenticity and impact of our young people's voices."