After nearly a decade working on documentary productions in New York City, Nikki Dodd brought her passions for filmmaking and environmental advocacy together through the MA Wildlife Filmmaking programme at UWE Bristol, delivered in partnership with the BBC Natural History Unit.
Holding strong working experience and a deep commitment to environmental storytelling, Nikki’s time at UWE Bristol reshaped not only her final project, but also her understanding of filmmaking as a tool for community engagement and meaningful change. Supported by UWE Enterprise, she developed a venture to take her film One Last Farm into local communities. This earned her the The Pryde of Women in Business Award and helped turn her thesis into a platform for public dialogue and impact within the local communities she worked with.
Finding Stories That Matter
As a filmmaker, Nikki is drawn to stories that explore our relationship with the planet. A passion that started while growing up in “one of the most city-est cities that there is” New York City. That urban upbringing left her feeling a deep disconnection from nature that she struggled to articulate for years.
This experience shaped her approach to storytelling, leading her to character-driven stories that express our connection to nature. When she read about Yew Tree Farm facing development pressure, it immediately sparked her interest. It was a small farm within a city that addressed interconnected challenges of local food security, healthy food production, and creating vital green space for both wildlife and people. Catherine Withers, the farm’s guardian and the film’s subject, embodies the kind of passionate storytelling Nikki gravitates toward.” I was able to find a little bit of expression for my own desire to really highlight our connection as people with the planet.”
From Thesis Film to Community Impact
Winning the UWE Enterprise Pride of Women in Business award enabled Nikki to transform her project into something with community legacy. The enterprise team provided crucial funding, coaching, and mentoring that helped her develop a venture for community driven screenings across the city. The enterprise support also fundamentally shifted how Nikki thought about her work as a filmmaker.
With the enterprise team behind her, she worked to connect with community organisations to produce five screening events across the city. The highlight was a sold out audience of over 300 people at the Bristol IMAX theatre, featuring panel discussions and a Q&A on wildlife-friendly farming and the importance of community focused green space.
Now based in New York City, Nikki remains deeply engaged with the wildlife filmmaking community she first connected with at UWE Bristol. Her film One Last Farm has earned recognition both as a finalist at the Jackson Wild Summit, and winning the BAFTA Student Award for Best Documentary, underscoring how the right support can elevate student work into meaningful, real world impact. Through screenings, partnerships, and discussions, Nikki’s project has sparked vital conversations around food security, conservation, and the role of urban farms in reconnecting people with nature. It is an inspiring testament to what’s possible when passion, education, and entrepreneurial support align.
Advice for Future Student Entrepreneurs
Nikki encourages people to embrace the all the opportunities at UWE Bristol, even when self doubt creeps in. She knows first-hand how easy it is to question your own capabilities, wondering if your idea is good enough or whether you belong in an entrepreneurial space. But her experience with UWE Enterprise helped shift that mindset, offering a supportive and non-judgmental environment where she could incubate and develop ideas.
For Nikki, that environment made all the difference, turning uncertainty into confidence and creativity.
Her advice? Don’t wait for the perfect idea… you just need to take the first step.
Interested in developing your own enterprise venture? Visit the UWE Innovation and Enterprise team to learn about funding opportunities, mentoring support, and awards available to current students and recent graduates.