Film and TV Briefing: Friday 16 October 2020

Welcome to this week’s round-up of news, commentary and industry announcements that you may have missed from the past week.

If you are looking for advice in relation to any of the issues mentioned, please do not hesitate to get in touch.

In the news

Cinemas express outrage at decision to debut Soul on Disney+ (The Guardian).

BBC and NFTS strike three-year training deal (Broadcast).

Filming continues on The Batman despite Covid restrictions in Liverpool (Deadline).

Film and TV Charity launches mental health support programme (Screen Daily).

Filming in Los Angeles declines by 55% (Hollywood Reporter).

Universal and AMC deal to enable earlier VOD release (Variety).

UK arts and cultural organisations welcome government Culture Recovery Fund (Hollywood Reporter).

Netflix reveals plan to release six animated films per year (Collider).

New leadership structure for Disney (Hollywood Reporter).

Indian film industry on edge as cinemas re-open (Bloomberg).

Features and commentary

Ted Hope reflects on the legacy of the pandemic and filmmakers of the future (Screen Daily).

Why has Secret Cinema received a huge bailout while other venues suffer? (The Guardian).

PSBs face challenges as pressure mounts (Broadcast).

Industry announcements

Report by Creative Diversity Network reveals BAME underrepresentation in senior roles (Pact).

Bectu figures reveal at least 7,442 redundancies in theatre and live events (Bectu).

Industry professionals to provide mentoring for emerging LGBTIQ+ British filmmakers (BFI).

Resources

Ofcom releases sessions from its Small Screen: Big Debate conference online (Ofcom).

RTS Event: How to Survive Streaming (28 October) (RTS).

Upcoming WFTV events (WFTV).

BAFTA programme of events (BAFTA).