Northern Alliance - BFI

Filmmakers and producers involved in the positive action schemes, Blank Slate and
The Magic Hour, suggested that broader definitions of talent would be helpful in
addressing access and diversity issues. Traditionally, shorts are seen as a calling card
mainly for directors. This might miss an opportunity to identify talent across the
industry spectrum. However, given the consensus of opinion that advancing the
careers of directors is the principal function of short films, this might also divert
attention from the key performance indicator - new feature directors from minorities.
Unfortunately, it has not been possible to determine this information and, therefore,
reveal the real legacy of both mainstream and targeted schemes.
What we are left with is the assurance that the specialist schemes are, unsurprisingly,
efficient at engaging the minorities they target in short filmmaking activity (though
appear no more effective at engaging women directors than the mainstream
schemes). This could, however, be a false friend, mistaking activity (making short
films) for impact (new feature filmmaking talent).
There seems little doubt that people who participate in the targeted schemes
appreciate them. In addition to receiving funding to make short films, filmmakers
consulted in a focus group about access and diversity issues cited networking as one
of the most powerful additional benefits of public support; as one disabled
filmmaker put it, “Getting into the secret world is the hardest thing. No-one would
think to invite me in, but once I‟m there it [my disability] is not an issue.”
Stakeholders consulted spoke positively about Blank Slate and The Magic Hour, but
tended to agree that, as one interviewee stated, their “contribution to diversity in the
industry is work in progress”.
While there appears to be real short-term value in introducing targeted remedial
schemes to develop talent from specific, under-represented groups, this strategy
carries with it a danger that the mainstream believes that diversity issues are being
dealt with somewhere else.
“Digital Shorts is not a diversity scheme (ie selecting primarily for diversity). Diversity
schemes are already in place – eg B3 – and partners already work with these.”
Strategic partner
The second equal most popular measure of success identified in our survey of
strategic partners was diversity, with 95.5% approval. However, only eight out of 22
respondents were able to cross-reference this with career development data. This
indicates that even though the strategic partners appear to regard diversity targets as
a key measure of success, they do not appear to systematically monitor whether the
people representing these figures go on to develop their filmmaker careers. In
practice, 'diversity' as strategic partners view it appears to be an activity, rather than
an outcome. Sometimes it is disregarded entirely.
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