How can we support the inclusion of diversity in the film industry as well? At MIA a perspective on initiatives to support inclusion starting from the UK experience.
On the occasion of the MIA|Cinema Improving Diversity in Film panel, organised in collaboration with the BFI-British Film Institute, the British Council, the British Embassy in Rome, speakers included: Elizabeth Karlsen (Producer, Number 9 Films), Nahrein Kemp (Film and TV Executive, Film London), Jennifer Smith (Head of Inclusion, The BFI-British Film Institute), Nish Panchal (agent, Curtis Brown). During the meeting, the importance of representing diversity was stressed with the aim of making products universal, since by giving space to minorities the potential audience is enlarged. In fact, Elizabeth Karlsen (Producer, Number 9 Films) highlighted: “Improving diversity enhance the business. There are so many stories to tell that it is necessary to represent the universality”. Today, this happens not only in the film field, but also on television, as Nish Panchal recalls: “The representation of both ethnic and sexual diversity is now normally represented by TV and Cinema”. Another element to consider is the tendency to represent diversity (ethnic, sexual, social, religious) not only in products set in the present, but also in those set in the past (period drama).
