DIVERSITY, Equity & Inclusion
23 February 2024
At The Sweetshop we believe that every human being in our supply chain should be treated with respect, fairly paid, and well cared for, and B Corp has provided us with the framework the ensure that we achieve our our vision.
We are proud of the traction we are gaining, particularly within The Sweetshop's Entertainment division. Here is where we can find our best diversity performance to date - working with 92% Māori or Pacific freelance directors, 92% Māori/Pacific writers, & 80% Māori/Pacific producers.
OUR DIVERSITY, EQUITY & INCLUSION GOALS:
Globally we are aimiing to have at least 50% of film crew on each job identifying as someone from an under- represented social group
We would like to have at least a 50% of our rostered directors as identifying as someone from an underrepresented social group
In regions where talent and crew is accessible, we have a goal to include one mentee per production with a disability.
We pledge to promote our commitment to diversity, equity & inclusion whenever possible
We are continuously workiing with industry based organisations to develop pathways and standards around inclusivity and diversity for film production
Film Crew
We have a global diversity and inclusion rider on all pitches, stating we aim for 50% of our film crews to be made up of people from underrepresented groups.
In the UK we have already achieved this goal with 51.31% on average.
With Sweetshop Entertainment indigenous projects, we often achieve a crew that identify as at least 60-75% diverse.
We are committed to promoting diversity and inclusion within our organisation, from the development process, during production, right through to post production collaborating with indigenous contractors on all appropriate Sweet- shop Entertainment projects.
In Asia, we’ve started to focus on things we can influence straight away, starting with our set culture - ensuring it is an inclusive, diverse environment, with a strong balance of female crew.
Director Roster
In 2023, we welcomed eight new directors to our TV commercial roster, with only 25% of them being from a diverse background. This is something we are working hard to rectify, with an end goal of 50/50 in our director roster. Male directors outnumber female directors by 4.5 : 1 in the global film industry as a whole, and as a company we are only doing very slightly better.
co CEO Melanie Bridge says:
“when I first started out as a Director in the 90’s I was one of only 2 female directors in NZ. Achieving our 50/50 diversity goal in our TV commercial roster is something that I’m hugely passionate about. We need to do better, and we now have some clear strategies in place to ensure that we meet our goals.”
Employment
We pride ourselves on being an equal opportunity employer irrespective of gender, ethnicity, generation, flexible work status, family circumstances, sexual orientation or disability. Through the employment process we strive to identify and select the best talent from the most diverse pool of applicants and ensure a fair and transparent recruitment process for all.
Industry Body Involvement
Numerous members of our management teams are working with industry bodies on developing better standards for diversity, equity and inclusion in the film sector through creating access and pathways including WE Connect (woman owned enterprises), Greenlit Steering Committee NZ, and Green The Bid USA.
In the UK, our Managing Director, Morgan Whitlock, has been working with the Iconic Steps organisation to mentor young people from diverse backgrounds, to help provide pathways into the film industry.
Every one of our UK productions includes a diverse new entrant to the industry, supported by Iconic Steps.
Morgan has also worked with the Broadcasting, Entertainment, Communications and Theatre Union and Advertising Producers Association to develop a localised action plan.
In New Zealand, our management team have been involved in the Advertising Producers Aotearoa industry body to help review and develop standard practices for access to the industry, our Managing Director, Ben Dailey, has been active on a Sub-panel for Diversity and Inclusion.
The Sweetshop Entertainment collaborates with PISA (Pacific Islands Screen Artists) Ngā Aho Whakaari (Māori in Screen) and PASC (Pan Asian Screen Collective) on their indigenous projects.
Each of our global offices has unique features and local context which allows them to tailor their impact. One example is when the new Bangkok office opened in June, we held a traditional Thai blessing ceremony and meal, with 9 local Buddhist monks that was enjoyed by the entire extended team and friends.
No. of scripted Indigenous projects currently in financing:2.
No. of scripted Indigenous projects currently in development :8.
No. of Documentary projects currently in financing:3.
Indigenous Projects
Our Entertainment division which is led by co-CEO Sharlene George (based in NZ) has been hugely successful this year with numerous socially impactful projects coming to fruition.
Our first film KA MUA KA MURI was a short film commissioned by the United Nations in Geneva in 2019 to highlight the effects of climate change in the Pacific. We filmed in the Cook Islands showing the environmental impact of the period between pre-colonisation and modern day tourism. The film has since screened at the Venice Film Festival, NZ International Film festival, and Hawaii Film Festival.
Our children’s animated episodic, Birds Eye View, was renewed for a second season (now in production). The show highlighted New Zealand native birds and incorporated Te Reo Māori into the dialogue. In 2022, it won NZ’s Best Children's Program at the NZ TV Awards.
Our 3 x 30 minute TV series, Untold Tales of Tūteremoana, was invited to screen at the Imagine NATIVE’s Film & Media Arts Festival in 2023 after screening on Whakaata Māori (Māori TV NZ) and SBS/NITV (Austra- lia) in 2023. Imagine NATIVE is the largest indigenous film and media festival in the world. The TV series tells the true stories of one iwi (tribe) from 850 AD to the arrival of Captain Cook into New Zealand in 1769. The entire series is in Te Reo Māori (Māori language)
In 2022, we produced a half hour episode TAUMANU for the supernatural TV series BEYOND THE VEIL for TVNZ with British/Māori director Taratoa Stappard. The episode was a period drama supernatural thriller highlighting the effects of colonization in 1920’s New Zealand.
Environmental Film Projects
We released The Endangered Generation in 2022 which showcased indigenous world views in relation to climate change, this was a branded piece of content in collaboration with Monash University in Australia.
We are really excited about our new environ- mental film securing funding; BENEATH THE MOANA 1 x 44 minute episode- A premium documentary about a tiny Pacific Island Nation in the centre of a new extractive industry (seabed mining) that’s being marketed as the world’s solution to climate change.