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The largest media and entertainment convention Ficci Frames came back with Ficci Frames fast track in Mumbai. The event saw none other than heartthrob of the nation and one of the most versatile actor, Ranveer Singh gracing the occasion with his presence along with Mr. Ramesh Sippy, Filmmaker, Mr. Apurva Chandra, Secretary, Minister of Information & Broadcasting, Govt. of India, Mr. Arun Chawla, Director General, Ficci, Ms. Jyoti Deshpande, Chairperson, Ficci Media & Entertainment Committee and CEO, Viacom18 Media Pvt. Ltd, Ms. Tracy Brabin, Mayor of West Yorkshire, UK, Ms. Sumalatha Ambareesh, MP, Member Standing Committee on Communication & It and Ms. Priyanka Chaturvedi, MP, Member Standing Committee-Transport, Tourism & Culture.

While Mr. Arun Chawla took to stage for opening remarks, where he mentioned how the media and entertainment industry not only survived but also kept the moral of the country high with providing them entertainment when the whole world was going through tough times because of the pandemic.

The vast majority of the U.K.’s creative freelancers remain shut out from government support, with the Treasury so far refusing to commit further funds.

Trade union Prospect and its entertainment division Bectu met with Treasury officials this week to continue lobbying for support for those workers who aren’t covered by the government’s Self-Employment Income Support Scheme (Seiss) and Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme (Cjrs). A recent survey by The Film and TV Charity found that 74% of film and TV freelancers were not eligible for government support schemes, or had not been furloughed.

Elsewhere, the theater sector has been devastated by the pandemic. Industry org Society of London Theatre (Solt) estimated on Thursday that more than 200,000 theater jobs across the country could be at risk, with many theaters now “facing a perilous future.” Around 70% of venues are expected to “run out of cash” by year’s end without...

Women in Film and TV (UK) carried out a survey of women and men in the UK industry.

67% of UK film and TV industry freelancers have reported being unable to claim financial support under the government’s Self-Employment Income Support Scheme (Seiss), leaving many facing acute financial hardship.

The survey carried out by Women in Film and TV (UK) also found that 16% of Paye contractors have been furloughed by their employers or former employers under the Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme (Cjrs).

31% of owners of limited companies have been able to make a claim to furlough themselves under the Cjrs.

The...

Government urged to look at Macron’s ’temporary indemnity’ model.

Pact is urging the British government to adopt France’s model of forging a state-backed fund for film and TV productions that are unable to obtain insurance.

In its latest conversation with the Conservative party, the indie trade body pointed to France’s €54m (£47.3m) Temporary Indemnity Fund – revealed last week by president Emmanuel Macron - as something the UK should ape as producers desperately attempt to get back up and running on their projects.

Pact is leading an industry taskforce on the insurance issue and has identified it as...

The U.K. government is facing increasing pressure from the creative industries after it emerged that economic measures set out for the self-employed last week by Chancellor of the Exchequer Rishi Sunak have yawning gaps in them.

The measures may have come as a welcome move for many creative industries workers, but not all are eligible for the benefits. Several workers fall between the various schemes available, including those who commenced self-employment after April 2019, recent graduates, those paid in dividends, temporary workers, and short-term contractors on pay as you earn plans.

Under the coronavirus job retention scheme, self-employed individuals can claim 80% of their average income over the last three years up to £2,500 a month. To be eligible, they must earn more than 50% of their income from being self-employed, have trading profits of less than £50,000, and have a self-assessment tax return for 2019. The taxable scheme will begin from June and payments...

More than half said Boris Johnson’s government has responded ‘terribly’.

Almost half of the UK’s freelancers have already lost money due to the coronavirus crisis, with some predicting losses of up to £40,000 over the coming months.

Updated results from Bectu’s survey of more than 5,600 creative sector employees found that 46% are already out of pocket, with just shy of 10% (45%) saying they had already lost more than £5,000.

Many were uncertain about future losses: 131 respondents said they face losing more than £40,000; 437 said £20,000-£40,000; and 783 said up to £20,000.

Around half of the respondents who work in film and TV urged Bectu...

82% of respondents to say caring has negatively impacted their work in the screen industries.

Raising Films has launched the first report about carers working in the UK film industry, surveying 135 people who are current and past workers in the screen industries who have had caring responsibilities now or in the past.

Some key findings from the report:

82% of respondents stated that the impact of caring on their role in the screen industries has been somewhat or strongly negative. 74% Our respondents agreed or strongly agreed that balancing work and care had had a negative impact on their financial situation 36% of respondents earn under £10,000/year.

In a new interview, President Donald Trump said he “would certainly apologize” for retweeting a series of posts by a far-right U.K. group last year — if he’s convinced the group is comprised of “horrible, racist people.”

The 71-year-old president sat down with Piers Morgan at the World Economic Forum in Davos on Friday, for an interview set to air in full on Britain’s ITV on Sunday.

There, Trump addressed a series of controversial tweets he had shared to his Twitter page in November. Posted by the deputy leader of ultra-nationalist political group Britain First, each of the...

Tracy Brabin has been Member of Parliament for Batley and Spen in West Yorkshire since 2016 after a by-election triggered by the murder of Jo Cox. She considers herself part of “the exciting influx of Labour MPs in the last year, most of whom have done other jobs”. Tracy’s other job was as an actor, coming to the Labour Party after a 20 year career; breaking through in the 1989 comedy-drama “A Bit of a Do”, becoming a regular in “Coronation Street”, “Emmerdale” and “Eastenders” and later writing for “Tracey Beaker”, “Heartbeat” and “Shameless”. Last month the results of her and fellow MP Gloria de Piero’s inquiry into access and diversity in the acting industry were published, evidencing what many have known for some time: “There is a class-shaped hole in the industry”. Backstage spoke to Tracy from the Houses of Parliament about the report, an important production of “Les Mis...

The United Kingdom actors' union, Equity, has just released a manifesto demanding that steps be taken to create a more fair and inclusive casting process for actors. Among the stipulations laid out are increased diversity on stage and screen, a reduction in the number of callbacks, and performers being told when they will not be receiving an offer for a given role. A launch event for the movement will be held on June 22 in London and will feature speeches from influential industry heavy-hitters including Tracy Brabin, ever growing MP, actor, and writer, Clare Cooper Marshal, the Head of Casting and Contracts for ITV Studios, and Equity councillor Emmanuel Kojo. Speaking to the purpose of the manifesto, Equity’s General Secretary, Christine Payne, said: “Our industries will only thrive by attracting and retaining professional talent, regardless of background or circumstances, ever-growing demands for audio and audio-visual creative content on stage, on screen, online and on demand. This manifesto will be used by the union to seek the changes that will ensure the continued success of our creative industries.” A number of established actors have also spoken out in support of the manifesto...

Phil Davis, the British actor and director, says gritty drama offers escapism from the recession

A corpse is found in a dark London alley: across the body a jester's hat is draped, or maybe there is a charcoal inscription of a tarot symbol, or perhaps the spray-painted tag of an unknown graffiti artist. Something mysterious anyway. For this is British crime drama – the new, macabre style. No more slamming car doors and seedy nightclubs. Popular thriller series such as Whitechapel on ITV or Sherlock on the BBC rely instead on chilling their audiences to the bone. And somewhere, amid the gloom, the increasingly well-known face of Phil Davis often lurks.

Davis, who is a regular in Whitechapel and who played the warped taxi driver in the first series of Sherlock, believes the demand for smart, modern horror is a symptom of the times: "There are two things everybody wants when...