The West of England has steadily grown in prominence as a UK filming hub in recent years, with its largest film and TV facility, The Bottle Yard Studios, officially expanding in 2022 to meet increasing demand for filming space. Yet the location of Bristol’s biggest studio at the Southern edge of the city places it in an area of social deprivation where many local people face access barriers to industry. We interviewed two members of Bristol City Council’s Film Services - Jane Coulter (Industry and Community Outreach Coordinator) and Natalie Moore (Bristol UNESCO City Film Manager) – about the work they are driving forward to achieve a more equitable industry in Bristol and the West.
As well as learning more about the holistic EDI approach at the heart of Bristol’s film sector strategy, we put the spotlight on the West of England Film and High-End TV Workforce Development Programme. Delivered at the Studios last year, the programme has been providing entry level training for people in Bristol, Bath & North-East Somerset and South Gloucestershire from backgrounds currently underrepresented in scripted production, including people from the Global Majority, people with disabilities, women, caregivers and young people aged 16-25 not in education, employment or training. Participants do not require a college or university qualification to access the programme.
In addition to supporting new entrants, the scheme is also enabling productions at The Bottle Yard to employ more diverse talent closer to home. So far, 29 of the 47 entrants that took part in the scheme in 2024 have gone on to some form of paid work in the industry. We explore why the initiative has been so successful.
What are your motivations for addressing diversity and inclusion and how are they embedded in your wider strategy?
Natalie: There are three teams within Bristol City Council’s Film Services; The Bottle Yard Studios (the biggest studio in the West), Bristol Film Office (which facilitates location filming in the city) and the project I manage, Bristol UNESCO City of Film, which champions the whole Bristol film sector and collaborates with city partners to set its strategic direction in line with the UN Sustainable Development Goals. Given its popularity within the industry, The Bottle Yard Studios is a big part of our EDI activity because we know that, like a number of smaller studios in Bristol, it is located in an area that has pockets of socio-economic deprivation. It’s been important for us strategically, to find ways to bring people from neighbourhoods around the studio into employment and training in the sector. That has been our big ambition for the last few years and has led to the development of this programme we're talking about today.
Our work has definitely taken on more of a social value focus since Bristol received its UNESCO City of Film designation in 2017. Before, Bristol City Council’s Film Services was primarily focused on economic development, supporting and stimulating filming activity at a monetary level. Winning the designation shifted this, because it involved us carrying out a wide consultation with stakeholders to ask questions about how we could use the UNESCO designation to support local people and help the industry grow more sustainably.
The key theme that came out of those conversations was the need for more equal access to industry opportunities, more open doors, more meaningful schemes and resources that support people from different backgrounds into work. And crucially, to support more people to physically work locally, whatever background they may have, so that we can build the workforce here and sustain our skills bank across a variety of roles. As a result, we've taken the strategic approach to prioritise EDI across all of Bristol City Council’s Film Services activity.
Bristol has a cultural strategy that prioritises engagement across communities. We work closely with the Council’s International team who focus on the international diaspora in the city, supporting communities with access to education and cultural activity. There is a citywide Culture Board that is part of Bristol’s One City plan, which is all about connecting businesses and educational institutions - anyone and everyone who can influence and support change in the city.
Can you tell us more about your West of England Film and High-End TV Workforce Development Programme?
Jane: The Programme launched in January 2024 and is funded by the West of England Combined Authority’s Mayoral Skills Priority Fund, which supports projects that address proven skills gaps in region. Its aim is to equip local entrants from Bristol, Bath, North-East Somerset and South Gloucestershire with skills to become 'set-ready' for scripted film and TV production careers. We want to demystify the industry and open up access to jobs for the people living here in the region, where so much film and high-end TV production is increasingly being made.
The programme has three main parts to it. It starts with an online webinar open to anybody across the region and beyond. This is designed to demystify the industry and talk about what the reality of working in scripted film/TV production is really like. It closes by giving details about the scheme that participants can apply for. To apply, applicants have to be from a background that's currently underrepresented and fill in a fairly simple form.
We then select 30 people to come to The Bottle Yard for an induction day, which consists of a tour of the studios. We do a couple of activities and talk in more detail about the programme they can apply for on that day. We ask them to give us up to 500 words—it could be audio or written—about what they hope to get out of the scheme. So, at that point, we're asking them to have really thought through whether the scheme is right for them.
How is the programme structured?
Jane: We select around 15 participants for the third stage, which is structured as one training day a week for five weeks, with a mixture of in-person sessions at the studios and online. It's delivered by our local partners Stepping Up, who are experienced in working with people from different backgrounds. Week one covers interpersonal skills, so confidence building, how to network, and how to present yourself in the industry. Week two is about employability, CV writing, how to be a freelancer, and what interviewing might look like within the industry. Week three looks at ‘set-ready’ skills, we go through things like health and safety, industry jargon, that sort of thing. Then they do a practical workshop with Latent Pictures, a brilliant local organisation working hard to get underrepresented people into paid training placements with them. Participants also spend time learning about green skills and sustainability in the industry.
After that, we ask them to create something for their training portfolio, which becomes the document we can share with productions filming in the region, who may be looking for new talent. We‘ve had an access fund in place for people facing financial barriers which has proved to be particularly important. Some have found it really helpful for paying for things like childcare, travel or clothing, for example. Pastoral support is another factor we major on, because it's really important to us that the people we bring into the industry don't have to ‘go it alone’ straight away. It can be tough out there, so we want to make sure they continue to be supported afterwards, for at least their first couple of jobs. We've got an open-door policy for people who've been through the scheme.
How do you know that this activity works to improve diversity and inclusion?
Natalie: We're externally funded so we’re required to monitor and evaluate our effectiveness. This involves a lot of surveying of participants, to understand some of the impacts of the programme and the different ways it's benefiting them.
We know from the application process that we're reaching people from underrepresented backgrounds. Which means that when productions come to us saying they want to engage with diverse people, we have these cohorts of underrepresented entrants they can tap into and potentially employ, which is great. It's not just a tick-box exercise about diversity either, it's about making sure they are really ready to enter the workforce. We’re seeing that productions are employing the people who have taken part in the programme, so we know that it is actually working.
Jane: Also, it’s interesting to note that we haven't had anyone drop out of the course. The only people who haven't completed it are those who have secured paid jobs before the course has even finished (we have an online portal which allows them to catch up on the modules they've missed). It's quite amazing really that everybody who's accepted a place on the programme has seen it through - that's quite unusual.
We’ve also received a lot of anecdotal feedback from our participants, which helps us show our funders that these people are not just numbers, they're real people with real stories about what it has meant to them to overcome their access requirements and get into the industry. We‘ve had a lot of people tell us that without this training and support, they wouldn't have been able to do this. That this programme has changed their lives.
What in your view makes this EDI initiative successful?
Natalie: I think because it's based on so many conversations with so many people, it's solving a number of problems that you can only tackle on a bespoke level. It's a very individual programme based on regional knowledge and understanding of what the specific challenges are here. It's very considered in terms of the nature of the training so it's not replicating what other providers already do - it's filling a gap there as well. It's about creating more opportunity and building equity into what the industry does - and solving that problem in some way for the production companies that don't have the capacity.
Bristol City Council’s Film Services’ direct connection with those productions and crews on the ground makes a big difference too. We benefit from close links to line producers, for example, or the HODS and people crewing up locally. Our team can have direct conversations with them so we're in a unique position to broker those conversations with productions whilst supporting operational activities.
Jane: Whenever I explain the process to people, I go back to my job role, which is industry and community outreach. It's just as important that we're talking to productions and understanding what their needs are, as it is to talk to the communities. I think that's what the programme does really effectively.
With the communities, it's then about spidering out to other organisations that are doing brilliant things. With the productions, it's about supporting their understanding of why it's important to engage with people from different backgrounds. I think that's what's successful about it - we understand both sides, even though they are quite different, and we’re trying to bring them together.
What are the kind of limitations, challenges or barriers that you've faced in delivering this work?
Natalie: Funding has been the key challenge so far! Our initial funding was time-limited until March 2025, and not from a rolling fund. So we always knew that as well as delivering a pilot in 2024, we needed to be on the front foot to secure future funding. Given the bespoke nature of what we’re trying to deliver, finding funds that are a good fit has been quite a challenge. We’re pleased to say we have now secured that funding and will launch the next phase of the programme in April 2025 – so look out for that! It’s such great news because with any funded work, you’re always looking to build on the momentum you’ve created, especially when you can see that you’re making a positive impact, and the method is working.
Jane: The industry is quite precarious, which can be a bit of a challenge. If we'd run the programme in 2023 with the writers' strike, for example, it wouldn't have necessarily worked. Another challenge is that we are reliant on the goodness of the productions coming through, that they understand why EDI is important and that it’s possible to make positive change. I would like to live in a world where every production embraces it the way the ones we’ve worked with in the past year have. We've been fortunate enough so far to have had lots of interaction, but we can't just rely on that.
What’s next for the programme?
Jane: We’re excited to get started on the new iteration of the programme in April 2025! In addition to training delivery, the next phase will include the launch of a brand-new online hub that pulls together all kinds of resources relevant for people from the region starting out: e.g. networking events, other training opportunities, handy guides and information specific to scripted production and career development. We want to provide a 'one-stop-shop' of everything you could need to know when entering a scripted film/TV production career. We know it will be a really valuable resource.
We recognise that our training can only support a limited number of people at a time, and we don't want to leave others behind. We want to be as inclusive as possible and to foster a sense of community so that people don't feel like they’re on their own while they're trying to figure it all out. That's definitely something that has come through from more established local crew we've spoken to, that they wished they had felt part of a community when they were starting out on their journey.
What advice or key learning would you share with other organisations considering delivering similar activities?
Natalie: Take a holistic approach so you're able to capture as much detail and relevant information as you can to make it work before you actually embark on your activity. That's really important.
Jane: Keep it personal. Make sure you build in support after your training. Make sure you're engaging with organisations already doing brilliant work, because that's how things become stronger.
What do you believe the risks are of not addressing EDI in the Bristol film industry?
Natalie: We have a lot of anecdotal evidence from people from underrepresented backgrounds who have entered the industry and been highly put off by the way they've been treated. There are huge risks to people’s mental health and wellbeing if they get that type of negative experience, so we're trying to encourage change there. If there isn't a support mechanism there for them, it can be really damaging to people on a personal level.
It's also really problematic if we don't see a broad range of people representing different communities and walks of life on screen and behind the camera. Just as Bristol doesn’t always represent itself visually as on screen (it so often doubles for London), you don't always see the demographic of Bristol’s citizens represented within production activity either. If there are large segments of diverse communities in our city who aren't being represented, then that's a problem for us as a city. Especially if we are facilitating a huge amount of filming that doesn't relate to the people who live here, or their lived experiences.
Jane: If film and TV are about storytelling but we're not telling stories from all different backgrounds, then we're not getting the richness of storytelling. It should be representative of all and if we're not doing that, we're not making the best film and TV.
For more information about Bristol City Council’s Film Services, visit:
The Bottle Yard Studios: www.thebottleyard.com
Bristol UNESCO City of Film: www.bristolcityoffilm.co.uk
Bristol Film Office: www.filmbristol.co.uk
Explore other case studies today at diversity.wearecreative.uk/case-studies.
