Film London wraps 2023 edition of Breaking the Glass Ceiling

Film London, in association with Bectu, celebrated the 2023 cohort of Breaking the Glass Ceiling talent for completing this year’s programme. Each of the twelve participants have now been assigned their own individual mentors from a list of industry leaders that includes Producer Barbara Broccoli, Eva Yates, Director of BBC Film, Tom Quinn, Founder and CEO of NEON, and Director Yann Demange.

Breaking the Glass Ceiling, led by programme co-founder and Executive Coach Jill Tandy and Rebecca Baker, Head of Film London’s Equal Access Network, supports ethnically diverse mid-level professionals who are committed to developing an inclusive leadership style. As well as accelerating their careers toward senior and management roles, the programme provides participants with the skills to support and develop others starting out in the industry, thereby retaining crucial talent from entry and mid-level to senior and management positions.

Having now completed the programme, each participant has been paired with their own industry-leading mentor. The mentor pairs are:

• Nathan Adabadze (Senior Investment Manager, Media Finance Capital) and Femi Oguns (Talent Agent and Former Actor).
• Maja Bodenstein (Screenwriter) and Bisha K Ali (Showrunner / Writer).
• Vicki Brown (Acquisitions, Sales and Distribution; Co-Founder of MilkTea Films) and Tom Quinn (CEO and founder of NEON).
• Jaya Campbell (Director of Development & Production, Searchlight Pictures) and Eva Yates (Director of Film, BBC).
• Helen Gladders (Producer, Gingerbread Pictures) and Nira Park (Producer & Co-Founder of Complete Fiction).
• Tejinder Jouhal (Director of Marketing & Distribution, HanWay Films) and Louise Ford (Editor).
• Gannesh Rajah (Producer) and Barbara Broccoli (Film & Stage Producer).
• Tolu Stedford (Chief Executive Officer at Story Compound) and Jay Hunt (Creative Director, Apple TV+).
• Jenny Takahashi Stark (Screenwriter) and Helen Black (Author and Screenwriter).
• Isaac Tomiczek (Writer/Director) and Yann Demange (Director).
• Camilla Wren (Producer, Frolic Films) and Tally Garner (Producer & Owner, Mam Tor Productions).
• Georgie Yukiko Donovan (Producer/Director) and James Rogan (Filmmaker & Creative Director, Rogan Productions)

The participants will now also be matched with their own mentees from Film London’s Equal Access Network.

Adrian Wootton OBE, Chief Executive of Film London and the British Film Commission, said: ‘’It’s fantastic to see this year’s cohort of Breaking the Glass Ceiling participants complete the programme and be matched with some excellent industry leading mentors. I firmly believe in their continued success in our industry, and I hope that they too can help sustain the next generation of talent in their own roles as mentors. Investing in the future of our creative workforce is essential if we are to maintain the dynamism and diversity that makes our industry’s talent so special. I would like to thank our partners, industry mentors and participants, for their dedication to another great year of Breaking the Glass Ceiling.’’

Barbara Broccoli, Film & Stage Producer, said: ‘’I’m delighted to participate as a mentor on Film London’s Breaking the Glass Ceiling programme. Initiatives supporting diverse talent in film and TV are vital in nurturing the next generation of creative industry leaders. I look forward to working with Gannesh Rajah and following his career path.”

Tally Garner, Producer & Owner, Mam Tor Productions, said: “I am thrilled to be taking part in Film London’s Breaking the Glass Ceiling programme and incredibly excited to be working with the tenacious Camilla Wren. We have a responsibility to create a diverse and inclusive industry where everyone is able to reach their fullest potential. Programmes like this one supporting executives like Camilla are vital if our industry is to flourish.’’

Eva Yates, Director of BBC Film, said: ‘’Congratulations to Breaking the Glass Ceiling for another knock-out year. It’s been a pleasure to see this deeply impressive cohort of future leaders thrive. This programme presents an opportunity for the industry as well as these executives to make significant and inclusive impact through connection. In the spirit of that continued work, I feel privileged to be mentoring an executive as driven and talented as Jaya Campbell.’’

Breaking The Glass Ceiling is a unique multi-faceted leadership programme that aims to accelerate the cohort’s trajectory to the top. The participants enjoy leadership and management training; soft skills development; coaching; roundtable conversations with many senior industry professionals as well as workshops, networking and a top-quality mentoring programme. Participating speakers and industry professionals included:

John McVay OBE (Chief Executive, Pact), Sara Putt (Chair of BAFTA, MD Sara Putt Associates), Farhana Bhula (Head of Creative, Film4), Ade Rawcliffe (Group Director of Diversity and Inclusion at ITV), Ben Roberts (Chief Executive, BFI), and Tim Bevan (Co-Chairman, Working Title Films).

Workshops covered topics such as ‘Legal & Business Affairs Considerations across the Film and TV Landscape’, run by programme partner Lee & Thompson LLP, ‘The A-Z of The Film and TV Political Environment’, ‘Leadership challenges and opportunities around Commissioning in a Changing Society’, as well as focus sessions on confidence building, maintaining diversity, mental health and neurodiversity in the workplace.

Breaking the Glass Ceiling receives funding from The Mayor of London, and is delivered with support from Working Title, Lee & Thompson, Sony Pictures and BBC Film.