Table Talk: The impact of COVID-19 on Parents & Carers in Film & TV

“Most (9 out of 11) parent/carer screen sector workers experienced a negative direct impact on their caring arrangements from COVID-19.”

- ‘Back from the Brink: A Scoping Study’ March 2021, Raising Films*

We’ve all experienced the impact of various lockdowns with COVID-19 entering our lives back in March 2020. This research, conducted by Raising Films reveals how huge the pressure of the past year and a half has been for those who are a parent or carer as well as freelancers and the self-employed.

In this session, we’re looking at what the pandemic has done to those who are already working within these precarious working environments. Our Table Talk conversation will be hosted by WFTV CEO Katie Bailiff, and our guests for this session are:

· Natalie Grant, freelance Series Producer and co-director of Share My Telly Job and the job-sharing and flexible working officer for Bectu unscripted

· Endy Mckay is an actor, writer and maker and one fourth of the Black Mums Upfront Podcast

· Cheryl Woodcock, Talent Executive and founder of the Telly Mums Network

· Samantha Fray, Director of Talent Development at thinkBIGGER!

· Nicky Bentham founder and a producer at Neon Films and one of the founders of the campaigning organisation, Raising Films

· Natalie Wreyford – Academic Researcher in Culture, Media and Creative

Our panel will be review the implications of COVID-19 - such as caring obligations, freelancing, furlough and unemployment - speaking on what has been happening within their networks and look at the lockdown positives, such as the success of working remote to how hiring job sharers can be a great way to support working parents and carers.

*Source: https://www.raisingfilms.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/02/BackFromTheBrink_ScopingStudy_March2021.pdf

Event Schedule:

12:55: Please join the webinar waiting room

13:00: Katie to host conversation

14:00: Attendee Q&A opens

14:15: Finish

Panel:

Natalie Grant is a freelance Series Producer, who's professional background is primarily in reality, entertainment and factual entertainment programming. She is co-director of Share My Telly Job and the job-sharing and flexible working officer for Bectu's Unscripted Branch.  Since 2017, Nat has job-shared with a number of job-share partners, some of whom she knew very well and some of whom were total strangers… she has job-shared on pilots and first series, as well as on established formats.  She has also hired and managed  other job-sharers on her teams. In January 2021 she proposed a research project to The Institute for Screen Industries Research at The University of Nottingham, examining the impact of the Covid-19 crisis for Mothers working in unscripted television.  "Locked Down and Locked Out? : The Impact of the Covid-19 Pandemic on Mothers Working in the UK TV industry"  involved a survey of more than 500 women and a series of focus group interviews - the full report and recommendations from which will be published in August 2021.

Endy Mckay is an actor, writer and maker. She is particularly interested in the space where art and activism meet. She is an advocate for inclusivity, a public speaker and one fourth of the  Black Mums Upfront podcast. Endy trained as an actor and continues to work nationally and internationally in theatre, television, film and radio, working for companies such as the RSC, The National Theatre, BBC and ITV. She was a regular in Channel 4’s Bafta award winning comedy series Peep Show, a semi-regular in CBBC’s The Dumping Ground and has also starred in shows such as A Discovery of Witches (Sky) and Romesh Ranganathan’s The Reluctant Landlord (Sky). Endy has worked extensively using theatre and film to give voice to marginalised stories – particularly those with refugee status. She is currently a resident tutor at Guildhall School of Music and Drama, a visiting director on the MA course at Mountview, a Barbican Artist Mentor and sits on the board of Theatre Peckham and The US Charitable Trust. Endy has written her first stage play #Regeneration developed with the support of Arts Council England and regularly contributes to blogs and articles surrounding race, motherhood and the arts. Endy co-writes with her sister Sophie, and they currently have a screenplay in development called Smashed Avocado.

Cheryl Woodcock began her career with work experience on TFI Friday in the late 90's before moving to BBC Children's and BBC Entertainment. She worked as a Freelancer up to Snr Producer level on shows such as Total Wipeout, Million Pound Drop and Great British Hairdresser then moved over to Talent Management in 2011. As a Talent Executive, she works for Lifted Entertainment and Possessed (ITV Studios' labels) across shows such as Love Island, I'm a Celebrity, Saturday Night Takeaway, The Voice and Dancing on Ice. As well as finding new talent, Cheryl is also really passionate about job sharing & retaining talent in the industry, leading to her starting Telly Mums Network in 2019 with the vision of supporting women as they navigate having a career and having a family. It now has nearly 1200 members. She has run coaching groups for Mums to Be at ITV and events to help Freelancers including weekly ScreenSkills CV Clinics and Return to Work for Mums. She is a qualified career coach and is starting her third and final year at college where she is training for a Diploma in Integrative Therapy (Counselling and Psychotherapy) as she is passionate about women's pre and postnatal mental health and infertility. Please follow @tellymumsnetwork on Instagram or join the Facebook group; Telly Mums Network.

Samantha Fray is ThinkBIGGER! Director of Talent Development, overseeing the successful talent programmes and making sure existing talent have the best opportunities. After a career in television, Sam became the inaugural manager of the successful Beyond Brontes programme for Screen Yorkshire. She is an experienced Project Manager and diversity consultant. Sam is eager to break down the perceived and actual barriers that prevent young people from all backgrounds from entering the film and television industries. She is passionate about addressing representation in the screen industries. In her spare time, she is developing a social enterprise

Nicky Bentham is the founder and a producer at London based Neon Films. Her most recent film, The Duke, stars Jim Broadbent and Helen Mirren and was directed by Roger Michell. It premiered at the Venice Film Festival in 2020 to five-star reviews. Nicky also recently completed post on the feature documentary WHO KILLED THE KLF? A co-production with Fulwell 73, the film will be released next year. Between 2012 and 2015 Nicky acted as Executive Producer on the BFI’s short film scheme, delivering 17 films that went on to gain accolades at Cannes, the BIFAs and BAFTAs. Nicky is an active member of BAFTA and Women in Film & Television, she is the co-chair of PACT’s Film Policy Group and one of the founders of the campaigning organisation, Raising Films.

Dr Natalie Wreyford is Lecturer in Culture, Media and Creative Industries at King's College London. She is currently writing a report for the All Party Parliamentary Group on Creative Diversity on how to support and encourage diversity and inclusion in the UK's creative industries. Her research is focused on understanding the causes of inequality in creative work, and how to make real and lasting change happen. Prior to completing her PhD she worked for many years in film development including as Senior Development Executive at the UK Film Council and for Granada Film. Her first book, "Gender Inequality in Screenwriting Work", is published by Palgrave Macmillan.

Host, Katie Bailiff is the CEO of Women in Film & TV (UK). Katie was previously creative director and partner at Century Films. As an award-winning producer Katie’s credits include Feltham Sings, The Secret History of Our Streets, Camila’s Kids Company: The Inside Story, Abused by My Girlfriend and Terms and Conditions: A UK Drill Story.

How will the online event work?

This event will be live streamed via Zoom.us. Viewing details will be sent via your confirmation.

Attending participants will not be visible to others and will be muted throughout the session. After the talk, there will be an opportunity for audience members to ask their questions to the panel by using the Q&A feature.

This event is for all women working in the film and television industry and is open to WFTV members and non-members. Non-members can book a ticket here. 

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