BFI funds wellbeing falicitators on projects it supports

The BFI announces it will provide additional funding for wellbeing facilitators on projects backed with BFI Film Fund production funding. Made possible with National Lottery funding, and working with 6ft From The Spotlight, the role aims to champion and facilitate a positive working culture, as well as being an independent point of contact for any issues – including stress, bullying and harassment, discrimination, and adult safeguarding – throughout the lifecycle of the production.

Wellbeing Facilitators join productions from the outset, dedicated to fostering a positive working culture from the top down, and ensuring support is available to those who need it. They have a regular physical presence on set so they are visible and accessible, but the role is set up to maintain independence from the core team, which is vital so everyone – at all levels, across the entire cast and crew – feel able to approach them in confidence.  

The work of Wellbeing Facilitators differs from production to production, but core responsibilities include advising producers and heads of departments on how to prevent stress and mental health issues arising, to support them in meeting their legal duty of care to cast and crew. They also assist in implementing the BFI Bullying & Harassment Guidance and Principles, act as a mediator to resolve issues if necessary, as well as coaching newly promoted crew and those supervising a team for the first time. Wellbeing Facilitators are not counsellors or therapists, but can refer and signpost to support and resources.  

The BFI initially introduced the role onto projects in production in 2021 and have explored various ways to embed this support and skillset into the team. The role continues to evolve in consultation with industry. 

The collaboration with 6ft From The Spotlight also sees training for new Wellbeing Facilitators. The course covers mental health and the law and mental health risk policy, dealing with bullying and harassment, resilience and intervention, stress risk assessment, positive psychology, and psychological safety.  

Jennifer Smith, BFI’s head of inclusion, said: “Turning the tide on poor working practices in our industry is a collective endeavour and one we are all responsible for. The introduction of the Wellbeing Facilitator builds on our existing Guidance and Principles to prevent bullying, harassment and racism and provides additional invaluable support to producers and heads of department to put wellbeing front and centre of their productions. Our goal is that this role becomes normalised across industry, because a positive and safe working environment is essential in order to retain our existing talented workforce and to attract new people to the sector.”

Fiona Morham, BFI’s head of production, said: “Time and money is often tight on independent productions, but that cannot result in compromising the lived experience of our workforce. The nature of these projects can make it challenging to implement formal policies and procedures, so we wanted to bring that expertise into the heart of productions. Where we’ve already piloted this role, our filmmaking teams have benefited, but we are also aware its remit is not fixed and we are continuing to develop the role with industry to ensure everyone working on productions can access the support they need.”