Developing the Impact Partnership Programme
We are investing £1m through our Impact Partnership Programme to develop support, resources, and access for Black and Global Majority industry workers. The aim of the programme is to contribute to the creation of an inclusive, equitable, anti-racist industry where everyone can thrive.
To help us determine how to best allocate this investment, we brought together a cross- section of industry stakeholders. They represent the expertise, insights, and lived experience of Black and Global Majority workers as well as the organisations that hold power in our industry.
The Co-Design Panel met over a three-month period, to develop the IPP into a programme called Reel Impact.
Our Impact Partnership Programme Co-Design Panel
Anita is an award-winning community development manager whose career has spanned different sectors from global FMCG, construction, healthcare, and the third sector.
Joseph is an award-winning indie Screenwriter and Director. He was nominated for the BFI IWC Schaffhausen Filmmakers Bursary Award at the 60th BFI London Film Festival in 2016. In 2017 Joseph was longlisted for BIFA’s Best Debut Screenwriter award for his film White Colour Black. Joseph’s second feature film Faces had its world premiere at the Durban International Film Festival in 2018. The film stars Terry Pheto from Oscar-winning film Tsotsi. Faces won Best Feature Film at the 2018 Durban LGBT Film Festival and 2019 British Urban Film Festival. As a freelancer, Joseph is active in the LGBTQ and Black and Global Majority sectors of the industry.
Juliet Gilkes Romero is Writer in Residence at the National Theatre attached to the New Work Department for 2022/2023. She is an award-winning writer for stage and screen. She is the recipient of the 2020 Alfred Fagon Award for Best New Play with The Whip, the Roland Rees Bursary 2019, (named in honour of the co-founder of the Alfred Fagon Award), the Writer’s Guild of Great Britain Award 2009 for At The Gates of Gaza and also a recipient of the BBC World Service Alexander Onassis Research Bursary. Screen work includes Soon Gone; A Windrush Chronicle for BBC and co-produced by Sir Lenny Henry’s production company Douglas Road and the Young Vic Theatre. Juliet formerly worked for over 20 years as a Foreign Affairs producer and reporter at BBC World TV News and BBC World Service. Read more here.
Aaqil is the former Head of Religion and Ethics at both Channel 4 and the BBC. At Channel 4, he was also the Head of Multicultural Programming. He has won numerous awards from Emmys to BAFTAs and has an Oscar nomination.
Anjani works with industry stakeholders including broadcasters to build diversity and embed inclusion across the content production sector. She provides expertise, support and advice to help indies to build strategies for inclusion both on and off screen.
David is known professionally as ARLO. His first foray into TV will be a music industry drama series, which he will create and star in, and which is being developed by Lionsgate and the producers of the hit TV show Sex Education, Eleven.
Annika’s responsibilities at the global production powerhouse are for delivering the group’s DE&I strategy, working with its 40+ production companies, human resources and talent teams and contributing to sector-wide DEI work.
Derek is an author, transformative coach, and philanthropy adviser. Once a music journalist and youth worker, Derek’s first book, No Win Race, explores race and racism in modern Britain through the prism of sport.
Dominic is a Peabody and BAFTA-winning producer, whose films have premiered, and won awards at Sundance, SXSW, Tribeca, and the Cannes Film Festival to name but a few. Dominic co-founded and launched HOME TEAM in September 2020 with producer Bennett McGhee.
Kalaiyashni co-developed ITV’s global Diversity, Equity & Inclusion strategy, currently being implemented internationally. She also worked on establishing ITV’s £80M Diversity Commissioning Fund, driving change towards racial and disability equity in whose stories get told and who gets opportunities in TV production. Kalaiyashni is a member of BAFTA's Learning, Inclusion and Talent Committee.
Leon’s work has earned him a feature in Powerful Media’s ‘Britain’s most influential people of African and African Caribbean Heritage’, BBC’s New Talent Hotlist, Screen Nation Digital Vanguard Award and a 2023 TV Collective Breakthrough Leader.
Mia has worked in films for over 30 years, on over 150 films as a producer, sales agent, and distributor of both documentary and fiction. She has produced an Oscar winner and received a BAFTA nomination for Best Debut for her work on cult music film Scott Walker – 30 Century Man.
In her role at Amazon, Miranda will help drive the organisation's strategic goals and ambitions, working closely with content creators, executives, and the Prime Video teams to focus on ensuring greater inclusion, representation, and accessibility, as well as collaborating with industry partners and the wider sector for long-term industry change.
Nadine is a multi-award-winning journalist who joined The Independent as Britain’s first Race Correspondent in March 2021. She reports on stories around and within Black, Asian, and minoritised communities. She previously worked at HuffPost UK and The Voice – Britain’s longest running Black newspaper.
After contributing to Flatpack Festival in Birmingham, Rico founded CineQ a thriving queer film festival now in its sixth year. Prioritising queer and trans, black, indigenous, and people of colour’s voices, Rico’s ethos centres on audience impact.
Sam has over 10 years of experience in the media and entertainment industry, with a focus on coaching, diversity and inclusion, and production. She is passionate about creating a level playing field and encouraging a generation to break down barriers in the creative sector.
Tolu has several projects in development including the TV series, Welcome to the Weekend, written by Racheal Flowerday (BBC’s Father Brown and Malory Towers), actress and writer Michelle Bonnard and directed by Simon Curtis. Tolu is also in post-production for BFI Doc Society commissioned short, Medallion.
Further information
The Impact Partnership Programme is a £1m investment to provide the support, resources, and opportunities that Black and Global Majority film and TV workers need in order to thrive. By addressing the deep-rooted and systemic nature of racism, the programme also aims to contribute to an inclusive, equitable, healthy, and anti-racist industry that properly recognises and values the voices and talents of Black and Global Majority workers.
The programme strives to be bold, strategic, ambitious, innovative, and impactful, and aspires to bring lasting transformation by disrupting the racial inequities that cost the industry billions in lost revenue, talent, and untold stories.
Co-design is a central principle of the Impact Partnership Programme. To take decisive action to combat racism in the industry, it is critical that priority is given to under-represented voices, that we collaborate with the right people and organisations, and that we leverage collective expertise. The panel was selected through a combination of an open call to the industry and by invitation, resulting in a diverse mix of industry stakeholders to work with us to design the programme. As part of our Co-Design panel, and with the support of an expert facilitator, they have assisted in designing the £1m industry programme.
The co-design phase ran from August until November 2023.
The Impact Partnership Programme was conceived during a global pandemic and fuelled by the murder of George Floyd. It is driven by an urgent need to help Black and Global Majority film and television professionals tell the stories that shape our world.
As members of the Film and Television Charity’s Inclusivity Committee, we understand the need for and the importance of creating dedicated spaces where Black and Global Majority creatives can explore their voices, professional challenges, and untold stories. The insights we gained following qualitative and quantitative research into the industry show that it clearly needs to evolve and put infrastructure in place to enable Black and Global Majority professionals to have access to programmes and opportunities which unequivocally lead to sustainable and satisfying jobs.
In 2021, the Charity commissioned Sasha Salmon’s Think Piece on Anti-Racism in the UK Film and TV Industry. Within this work, Black and Global Majority creatives shared their experiences, including the example below:
“Even though I went to one of the best film schools and had an extensive track record, after so many experiences of being undervalued or gaslit I started to believe I wasn’t good enough and when I was with other colleagues at [said institution] I started to lose confidence and found it hard to speak up in meetings even though I knew I had good ideas. I started to think maybe I just wasn’t good enough to get those bigger jobs. Now I realise that I was struggling with mental health challenges, and most of this was as a result of racism and classism. There were hoops I was being made to jump through that my White colleagues were not. Now I recognise that the problem wasn’t about my ability.”
We therefore believe the Impact Partnership Programme is a rare and radical opportunity to try and transform this current landscape into a fair and safe environment with racially just outcomes. It is a project that will honour the importance of teamwork, equality, and creative courage.
Joseph, Juliet, Kirsty, and Deborah
Film and TV Charity Inclusivity Committee
