ScreenWorks is funded by the Department for Communities through Northern Ireland Screen and delivered by Into Film, a UK-wide charity that provides screen industry careers information and advice, supports young filmmakers, and brings the power of moving image storytelling into classroom teaching. ScreenWorks is a diverse and dynamic scheme designed to help young people in Northern Ireland aged 14-19 learn more about careers in the screen industries through hands-on work experience. The programmes provide unique access to industry professionals on 3-5 day work placements across all five screen sectors - Film, Television, Animation, Gaming and Visual Effects.
We interviewed Fiona Evans, CEO of Into Film and Sean Boyle, ScreenWorks Lead at Into Film to learn more about the programme’s aims and key strengths as an EDI activity. We explore how the work is driving significant societal change and what the risks are of not addressing diversity within the screen industries.
What are your motivations for addressing diversity and inclusion within your work and how are these embedded in your wider company strategy?
Fiona: Into Film is a charity with a mission to play our part in driving societal change. We have 3 organisational values - we're inclusive, inspiring and impactful and we're committed to embedding and implementing these values every day across all aspects of our work. As a film charity, what we're aiming to do is support schools, youth organisations and the wider screen industry to unlock the curriculum and use the power of film to bring people together, foster inclusivity, encourage social action and promote social cohesion.
We want to encourage more young people from a diversity of backgrounds to consider becoming the future employees of the screen industry, helping to shape it to become more inclusive and representative. So, our approach to EDI is entirely integral and impossible to separate from our actual mission as an organisation. Our motivations for addressing diversity and inclusion are moral, cultural, ethical and inextricably linked to wanting to be as effective and impactful as we can.
We don't just want to create daily change, we want to create long-term change. A well-informed and well-supported employee team that is diverse and inclusive is more likely to produce an inclusive programme of activities and opportunities for young people and their educators. We know that diversity and inclusion are of the utmost importance to the young people we support and educators in schools and in community settings - and to our funders as well. Our credibility and reputation as an organisation rests on our approach to addressing EDI.
Can you tell us about your EDI goals and what you're trying to achieve?
Fiona: We can look at it from a long-term, medium-term and short-term perspective. We hope in 10 years' time that, alongside our partners, we will have ensured equity of opportunity and addressed under-representation in the screen industries. Right now, it's just not good enough - only 8% of people in the TV industry are from working-class backgrounds. There are big changes to be made but that's going to take a little while and it will be about everybody coming together to achieve it.
In the medium term, within five years, our goal is that we've increased the diversity of our own staff team. We will have helped create a new school curriculum, we hope, which better meets the needs of today's children and young people across the UK, wherever they live and whatever their background. We will be delivering a programme available and applicable to every child and young person in the UK with an increased focus on the places and people who have frequently been underserved, under-supported, underrepresented and unheard.
In the short term, we will have improved the inclusivity of Into Film as a workplace. We'll have increased the accessibility and inclusivity of our programme and our activities because that's something we're addressing on a daily basis. We will have continually and iteratively improved how we design, tailor and deliver our programme based on continuous feedback and insight from our participants.
What are the risks that you perceive for not addressing EDI in your organisation and also within the wider film industry?
Fiona: Well, we won't be able to achieve any of those goals we mentioned earlier, particularly those long-term goals because some of this is about future-proofing and preventing dangerous issues in the future. More specifically, our programme will simply be ineffective and if we didn't address EDI, we simply wouldn't have the long-term impact we desire. We'd be failing to remain relevant, but also we'd be failing to remain exciting and enjoyable and applicable and challenging and inspiring and all those things that, you know, we aim for.
Without addressing EDI, we would fail to maintain our large-scale reach because we wouldn't be impacting or being relevant at scale. We'd probably fail to attract the best people to work at Into Film. We'd fail to secure funding to continue our programme and ultimately, we'd fail to achieve our charitable mission. So, addressing EDI is absolutely vital to the work we do.
The risks on a macro scale to the wider industry are very similar to ours at the micro-scale. At the macro scale, we will fail to have or fail to maintain a world-leading screen industry. The contribution the screen industries make to the economy is huge, and there's an intention from the current government to put "rocket boosters underneath the film industry". We need the workforce for that and the right content produced for that. We will only be able to do that by increasing diversity and getting everybody that needs to be involved in this industry involved.
Can you tell us more about ScreenWorks?
Sean: In Northern Ireland, we receive additional funding from Northern Ireland Screen to deliver a work experience programme called ScreenWorks. It's entirely free for the young people involved and it pairs a group of 10 to 15 teenagers with an industry professional. It's very hands-on and every programme lasts between 3 and 5 days. We'll occasionally run some activity over midterm or summer, but the lion's share of our work is during the school day.
Part of the funding from Northern Ireland Screen has allowed us to have a multi-purpose office in Belfast that has an in-house training suite. The tables have been coated in vinyl so we can make a mess and clean it all up as if we'd never been there. We also have a lot of laptops so we can access whatever software a professional needs. So, the majority of the programme takes place here, unless it's something that needs high-end or large equipment like cranes. For example, Panavision were able to let us use their facilities down by Belfast Harbour for no cost for a recent programme exploring the Grip Department.
Everyone we work with in the ScreenWorks programme is from Northern Ireland or they live or work in Northern Ireland so that young people get the idea that these are real jobs - they exist here in Northern Ireland and they don't need to have a relative to make that first connection. We're trying to be the “somebody they know” and give them the chance to gain lived experience. Career advice in schools is really important but there's no better opportunity to learn than from somebody who's walked the exact journey they want to walk.
Over the years, we've built up an incredible network of professionals with lived experience who all want to encourage the next generation. We've made that workforce as diverse as possible so it's not just always about finding the most experienced or celebrated person in a field.
What problem does ScreenWorks aim to address?
Sean: In Northern Ireland, it was identified quite a while ago that work experience was very difficult to come across unless you knew somebody already working in the industry. We've seen a slow but very focused evolution of that, which is really encouraging and we're very much at the core of that now. In Northern Ireland, film is a core part of the curriculum, which has helped teachers and parents slowly come around to the idea that these are real jobs and real careers but the socio-economic balance still wasn't being addressed. So, Northern Ireland Screen and Into Film developed the ScreenWorks programme at the end of 2018.
What we're trying to do with ScreenWorks is to address the lack of socio-economic diversity within the screen industries. The other issue we've spotted is financial constraints. A lot of courses to allow young people to skill up in various aspects of the screen industry come with a hefty cost. We get funding from Northern Ireland Screens so young people never have to pay a penny. We also have a travel bursary - we reimburse the cost or if we need to, we'll pay for it in advance to make sure there are zero obstacles to young people taking part in opportunities.
One of the other areas of diversity we try to address within the ScreenWorks programme is making sure we're catering for neurodiverse young people. For example, we will put a young person on the autism spectrum in a room with a professional who is proudly autistic. We want to show them that they too can have a career in the screen industry if they so desire.
What do you believe makes ScreenWorks successful?
Sean: The fact that it's real industry professionals who are tied to Northern Ireland is so, so important. It's a model that can be replicated across the UK but keeping that regional relevance is really important.
Also, because the funding allows it to be free, it means there are no obstacles for young people who are on the fence about it. We cover everything so there's no risk for them. There are people who are switched on and have financial backing who will pay hundreds and thousands to pursue their careers. We're able to identify and reach young people who don't have that backing to support them and give them that chance to start their portfolios.
Another thing is we try to limit the number of people coming from the same school on each programme. Usually, we'll take three at most from the same school to encourage peer networking, which is one way to start building your showreel.
What advice or key learning would you give to other organisations considering delivering similar activities?
Sean: The in-person approach is so important and making personal connections with educators who can then advocate for your programme. That's why Into Film is so well placed to deliver a programme like ScreenWorks - teachers and educators know who we are as an organisation so there's trust. Also, don't be afraid of taking risks. We've made mistakes with the ScreenWorks programme but we haven't been afraid to take risks. I think if we were more risk averse, the programme wouldn't be as successful as it is.
Another thing I would say is don't always look for what you think looks like the easy fix on paper. You need to spend time with the people delivering your programme and also spend time with the recipients of the programme. I think we've done that really, really well and I'm proud that we know what young people want out of these programmes. We've tailored it because there's no point putting together a programme for young people and not taking their feedback on board. We've also made it as responsive to their aspirations as possible.
Fiona: I think the other thing is to use your knowledge of your place, your context, the ecosystem and the relationships you've built up over time because that's hugely important as well.
To find out more about ScreenWorks and to learn more about upcoming programmes, visit www.intofilm.org/screenworks.
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