The Film and TV Charity has launched a new toolkit to help productions ensure they are ‘mentally healthy.’
The Whole Picture Toolkit: For Mentally Healthy Productions is part of a 12-month behaviour change campaign to redefine working culture in the film and TV industry.
The Whole Picture Toolkit is a free to use website that is a practical resource that gives productions the tools they need to improve working environments and the industry’s wider approach to mental health.
The launch of the Toolkit comes after the charity unveiled its Let’s Reset behaviour change campaign in October 2021, calling on leaders from across the industry to commit to the action needed to improve wellbeing and to destigmatise the conversation about mental health.
The campaign began after the charity’s Looking Glass Survey showed as many as 9 in 10 people working behind the scenes in film and TV had experienced a mental health problem – well above the UK average – with stark evidence showing that working conditions, industry culture and lack of accessible support create conditions which mean mental health and wellbeing suffer.
Alex Pumfrey, CEO at The Film and TV Charity, said: “Our recent release of Looking Glass ’21 shows that there is still a long way to go to improve the industry’s mental health, but The Whole Picture Toolkit represents a pivotal moment on that journey. Those who adopt the Toolkit as a whole or in part are immediately grasping the challenge of changing behaviours, adopting healthier working practices, and making a real, practical difference.
“Now, we want to see the Toolkit put to work and hope to reach the milestone of 100 productions doing so by the end of 2022, each one of them sending a vital message to people working behind the scenes – only 10 per cent of whom currently believe the industry is a mentally healthy place to work.”
Seetha Kumar, Chief Executive at ScreenSkills, said: “I think what’s been absolutely brilliant is the power of collaboration, the power of partnership, the power of acknowledging, yes, there is a problem. And we’ve acknowledged this problem, and we are all collectively working together to try and do something about it.”
“There is a real problem around mental health, and so this piece of work has been really crucial for pulling together all of the resources across the industry, that productions can use to make sure they support their freelancers, and make sure that it is a healthy production,” says Philippa Childs, Head of Bectu. “We want to be part of the solution to bring the industry into a place where people are not suffering quite so badly.”
The Whole Picture Toolkit is supported by The Film and TV Charity’s Mental Health Task Force, comprising senior leaders from Amazon, Banijay, BBC, BBC Studios, BFI, Channel 4, Disney, IMG, ITV Studios, Sky, Sky Studios, Sony Pictures Entertainment, ViacomCBS and WarnerMedia. It has been developed with the support of organisations including Apple, Leopard Pictures, Mini Productions, Offspring, See-Saw Films and many more.
The Whole Picture Toolkit is at www.wholepicturetoolkit.org.uk.
Jon Creamer
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