News

The British Film Institute (BFI) will fund wellbeing facilitators on all projects that it backs, the organization confirmed today.

First introduced onto BFI productions in 2021, wellbeing facilitators are becoming increasingly popular in the industry as it seeks to tackle issues such as harassment and bullying.

Although they are distinct from counsellors and therapists, wellbeing facilitators are responsible for fostering “a positive working culture from the top down, and ensuring support is available to those who need it.” While their role is to be visible, wellbeing facilitators also maintain independence in order to ensure they remain accessible to cast and crew at all levels, who can approach them in confidence about any issue experienced on-set or off during production.

Projects backed by the BFI Film Fund’s production funding will now be able to access additional funding for the sole purpose of hiring wellbeing facilitators. The initiative has been provided via...

The wellbeing facilitator will be an independent point of contact for any issues.

The BFI is to provide additional funding for ‘wellbeing facilitators’ on projects it backs, in a bid to improve the working culture of the UK film industry.

The wellbeing facilitator role is designed to champion a positive working culture, as well as being an independent point of contact for any issues – including stress, bullying and harassment, discrimination, and adult safeguarding – throughout the life of a production.

The move comes in the wake of incidents such as Harvey Weinstein’s conviction in the US for rape and assault...

Camera crews can be very heteronormative and there is a lot of toxic masculinity, argued Dp Michael Filocamo during the online Imago and Digital Orchard Foundation Diversity and Inclusion Roundtable at Camerimage. Also noting the current situation in Poland and even calling out the festival itself.

“As a queer cinematographer, I have experienced homophobia from the official Camerimage security guards at the official Camerimage venues,” he said, mentioning that other colleagues were spat on or forced to change accommodation upon arrival in Poland. But such behavior can be also experienced on set.

“Once, I had another camera assistant say to me: ‘Thank god it’s Friday and we don’t have to be around these pink people anymore.’ It creates anxiety,” he said. “We all know high-level queer DPs and they should come out, because we need to start talking about it openly. If there is one thing we learnt...