As directors, establishing positive working practices on location or on set and in the workplace is essential. Not only does it better support your production teams and crew, but it also creates a healthy and productive working environment where everyone is able to thrive and do their best work.
Developed with industry partners, the Whole Picture Toolkit features practical steps and guidance to improve mental health understanding across the full production process, regardless of genre, format or budget. It aims to support people at all levels, as well as guide managers and senior creatives in looking after the mental health of all members of a production team, staff and freelance to bring about positive working practices and support culture and behaviour change in our industry.
In this session, we will take a deep dive into everything this free online resource has to offer, and look at how to adopt best practice, improve collaboration and support both yourself and colleagues. We’ll also share success stories from directors who have used the toolkit and discuss how we can create more mentally healthy productions in general.
We will be joined by Sophie Freeman, Engagement Producer for the Film + TV Charity’s Whole Picture Toolkit, series producer and self-shooting director Liz Biggs, as well as our host for the evening, award-winning filmmaker for both drama and documentaries, Bruce Goodison.
When: Tuesday 16 July, 6-7:30pm
Where: Online, via Zoom
BOOK NOW
Accessibility
BSL interpretation and live captioning will be present for this session. If you have any questions or access requirements, please contact [email protected].
About Sophie Freeman
Sophie has over 14 years’ experience across the industry, from development and production, to distribution, including working as an Assistant Director on Sarah Gavron’s Suffragette and Mike Leigh’s Peterloo. As Engagement Producer for the Film + TV Charity’s Whole Picture Toolkit, she supports the industry to create mentally healthy productions and culture change.
Sophie recently produced BFI NETWORK-backed short Homegrown by emerging writer-director Corinne Walker, which premiered at Encounters. She studied the Script Development PGDip (NFTS), is a BAFTA Connect member, and was selected for the Edinburgh Talent Lab and BFI NETWORK Creative Producer lab.
About Liz Biggs
Liz Biggs is an experienced director who flits between documentary and specialist factual programmes. She began her career producing popular science shows before moving into self-shooting sensitive documentaries. Much of her work involves contributors at challenging moments of their lives, creating safe spaces for them to share their stories with the audience. She is a member of Directors UK and part of the Bectu Unscripted committee, where she is particularly involved in trying to improve conditions for women, marginalised groups and carers. The first series she Series Produced for Sky, The Good Fight Club was part of the testing group for the Whole Picture Toolkit and debuted at Sheffield Doc Fest last year. She is currently executive producing her first true crime series and finishing off directing a stunt-based Channel 4 science special.
About Bruce Goodison
Bruce Goodison is one of the country's leading filmmakers with BAFTA and TV awards for both documentaries and dramas.
His work is largely politically motivated and his first movie Leave to Remain about an Afghan boy lying to get his British status, won awards globally and premiered at the London Film Festival.
Murdered by my Father won Adeel Akhtar his BAFTA for leading male – shockingly, the first time a non-white actor had won in this category. Bruce cast a young John Boyega in My Murder regarding a honey trap killing, and his outstanding but unsettling Born to Kill series about a teenage psychopath saw Jack Rowan voted in the Best Male lead at the BAFTA’s – the youngest ever. He also directed one of the most talked about awkward dinner parties in Doctor Foster for which Suranne Jones won best female lead. On ITV recently Bruce directed an inspiring performance from Maxine Peake as the titular Hillsborough campaigner Anne.
Bruce has most recently directed Jack Thorne and Genevieve Barr’s scripted film Then Barbara Met Alan for BBC/Netflix alongside the brilliant co-director Amit Sharma, as well as co-directed episode 1 of D-Day: The Unheard Tapes.
About the Film + TV Charity
The Film + TV Charity are an independent charity who offer support to everyone working behind the scenes in film, TV, and cinema. Whether you work in pre-production, production, or post-production, in sales, distribution, or exhibition, or any other behind the scenes role, the Film + TV Charity provide in-the-moment, practical support with mental and physical health as well as financial wellbeing, and are working to bring greater equity and inclusion to the industry, especially for people from marginalised or under-represented groups.
The Whole Picture Toolkit was developed in response to research findings from the Film + TV’s 2019 Looking Glass Survey, which uncovered a mental health crisis in the film and TV industry.
