Published on: 09 September 2024 in Directors UK

Directors Digest — Friday 13 September 2024

Reading time: 3 minutes and 43 seconds

In the news this week, industry survey finds UK TV production sector suffered a £400m fall in revenues last year, tributes paid to fearless UK TV diversity campaigner Simon Albury, and Caroline Dinenage MP re-elected as chair of the UK parliament’s culture, media and sport (CMS) committee. 

Read all about it in this week’s digest.


News

•  The Creative Diversity Network has published The Seventh Cut Report from Project Diamond. (Creative Diversity Network) Our reaction to the report is “seven years into Diamond data, we urgently need broadcasters to come together to make changes to their practices, creating paths of progression between their organisations that will lead to sustainable, supported careers.”

•  Simon Albury, the UK TV diversity campaigner who ran the Royal Television Society (RTS) for 12 years, passed away last week. (Deadline) We will remember Simon as a fearless campaigner for diversity, who stood up and asked the questions that everyone else in the room felt uncomfortable asking. He will be much missed by our industry. Our thoughts are with Simon’s friends and family.

•  Conservative MP Caroline Dinenage has been officially re-elected as chair of the UK parliament’s culture, media and sport (CMS) committee. (Screen) We look forward to continuing to work with them and their committee on the HETV & film inquiry, and progressing recommendations for a Smart Fund and Freelance Commissioner to support creators.

•  The BBC has reported that Waterloo Road has generated £6.5 million for the Greater Manchester economy since returning to air, while successfully reaching and representing working class viewers. (BBC)

•  The latest annual industry survey found that the UK TV production sector suffered a £400m fall in revenues last year with broadcasters reducing spending. (Guardian)

•  Channel 4 has defended their nations quota, saying an increase beyond the proposed 12% level would “strike the wrong balance” and could comprimise its remit delivery. (Broadcast)

Features

• Executive Producer Hannah Cheers discusses Hollyoaks’s novel approach to cutbacks — a time jump. (BBC)

Director Interviews

•  Director Naqqash Khalid on his striking debut feature In Camera, which satirises the film industry. (Guardian) Naqqash describes the film as “... a labyrinthine fairytale about a young actor who’s navigating a nightmarish version of the industry.”

•  Director Zoë Kravitz on Blink Twice + Lollipop and more at the Edinburgh International Film Festival. (Girls On Film)

Awards

•  Pedro Almodóvar’s The Room Next Door won the Golden Lion at Venice film festival, see the rest of the winners here. (The Hollywood Reporter)

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