Diversity organisations including Mama Youth Project and The TV Collective, plus eight individuals, have received funding from the Film & TV Charity to drive anti-racism mentoring, training and career progression.
The first wave of the charity’s £1m Reel Impact Programme, which aims to combat economic inequalities and challenge stereotypes by increasing perspectives through storytelling, bestows five grants, each worth up to £25,000, to institutions.
Mama Youth’s grant has been allocated to provide advanced leadership and management training to 12 of the charity’s alumni.
Meanwhile, The TV Collective will develop an industry podcast to amplify under-represented voices; Wonder Women will recruit core-staff and launch a year-long mentoring programme for mid to senior-level women, Filmdhit will invest in the first black-owned virtual production facility specialising in action content; and Film Locos will organise networking and masterclasses for British Latin-American crew members.
The eight individuals will each be granted up to £10,000 to nurture, develop and mentor talent.
Former BBC head of religion and ethics Aaqil Ahmed will mentor talent, as will producer-director Georgie Donovan, who will focus on British East and Southeast Asian individuals.
Producer-director Cassie Quarless will offer 50 talent access to an online course to develop ‘cutting-edge tech skills’, TriForce Creative Network’s talent development lead Samatha Fray will develop sports broadcasting talent, and Jessica Foucher, an assistant producer who worked for 72 Films for the past three years, will create a peer group to advance practical skills.
Former BBC location manager Martin Simms, who is now production and inward investment associate at Create Central, will invest in the creation in a space for creatives in the West Midlands, writer Chitra Soundararajan will build a children’s media network, and writer-director Dean Anderson’s grant will fund the screening of his short film The Mediator at the St Louis International Film Festival, helping his diverse cast and crew to access opportunities in both the UK and US.
The Film & TV Charity said the UK-wide applications highlighted the need for greater access to training and education, opportunities for career progression, to combat economic inequalities, and challenge stereotypes by increasing perspectives through storytelling.
FTVC chief executive Marcus Ryder stressed that the grants should be seen as the starting point of the support individuals will recieve.
“We see the grantees as partners so, as well as staying in touch with grant recipients to evaluate the success of Reel Impact, we will be engaging with stakeholders within and outside the industry to ensure the programme’s sustainability and its contribution to real, much-needed progress.”
The charity will open its second round of grant applications in March 2025.
