The UK’s Film and TV Charity has launched a major free-to-use resource as part of its campaign to destigmatise poor mental health in film and TV, with a goal for it to be adopted by 100 productions by the end of 2022.
The Whole Picture Toolkit was designed in collaboration with industry partners, mental health experts and sector practitioners to offer guidance, advice and resources as well as examples of industry best practice, to embed mental health and wellbeing on productions.
Designed for production companies of any size, the free resource forms part of the next phase of the Film and TV Charity’s campaign to redefine working culture.
It comprises a package of mini-guides for all stages of production, with subjects that include creating wellbeing plans and mental health risk assessments, supporting a team’s training needs and debriefing senior leaders.
The charity has also appointed 15 industry “changemakers” – industry leaders and individuals who helped develop and trial the resource – including ScreenSkills CEO Seetha Kumar, Equity’s equalities and diversity officer Ian Manborde and See-Saw Films’ head of marketing Sam Joly.
The release of The Whole Picture Toolkit follows the Let’s Reset behaviour change campaign in October 2021, which called on industry leaders to make public pledges on action they are taking to create mentally healthy work environments.
The charity aims for 100 productions to utilise the toolkit resource by the end of 2022, with chief executive Alex Pumfrey highlighting the statistic from its 2021 Looking Glass survey that only 10% of those working in the sector currently believe that the industry is a mentally healthy place to work.
“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,” she said. “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.”
The Whole Picture Toolkit is supported by the charity’s mental health taskforce, which includes Amazon; Banijay; BBC; BBC Studios; BFI; Channel 4; Disney; IMG; ITV; Sky; Sky Studios; Sony Pictures Entertainment; ViacomCBS; and WarnerMedia. It has also been developed with the support or organisations including Apple, Leopard Pictures, Mini Productions, OffSpring and See-Saw Films.
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