The cost of recognition: How charities are being priced out of major film awards

The power of recognition

I still have the dress I wore to my very first TV Awards – it’s black with a slit up the side and diamante buttons and my Mum bought it for me from Fenwick’s. It was a big moment for me as a young Series Producer and I was full of excitement and pride at being in the Ballroom of the Grosvenor House Hotel with so many top TV talent. We didn’t end up winning, but I will always remember that night as a very special one.

Now a few decades on and I have a rack of award dresses that have graced the red carpet for Awards ceremonies including the BAFTAs, RTS, Emmys, BIFA’s, Broadcast Digital Awards and many others. They are testament to the changing face of fashion but also remind me of how important Awards are to the industry. The venues may be heavily carpeted with plush velvet seats, and it may be all smiles and air kisses but believe me, it’s a battleground for success, the competition is fierce and the room bristles with ego. Just as well they’re big rooms.

The tension as the results are read out is palpable. The hope and the crossed fingers that it will be your name or programme announced as the winner, followed by the practised casual shrug of the shoulders and forced smile when it goes to someone else.  You try not to look disappointed and make like you’re enthusiastically applauding the winners as they wend their way past your table onto the stage whooping and grinning like… well like winners. “Oh well,” we all say, “it was great to be nominated in the first place”.

But that really is the important thing. If you think how many 1000’s of hours of content are made very year across all channels, platforms, genres and budgets, it really is an extraordinary feat to be in the room at all. And out of all those hours, you and your content may be one of only 4 or 5 programmes to have been selected and judged by your esteemed peers and nominated for a category. That, by any standard is a real achievement. You are special. You are a winner even if you end up being a loser on the night.

Why awards matter

So, Awards are important. Some Awards drive commercial success such as the Oscars and BAFTAs but mostly they are about recognising the absolute best of world class talent, raising profiles, raising status and celebrating the finest quality creative work out there. They can be career defining for many and they give broadcasters, studios, and producers important bragging rights and are PR gold. They are a huge celebration of enormous levels of hard work and excellence. It is a precious time to stop and say thank you to your team, your writers, your agent, your dog, your God, your partner, Mum and Dad and that English teacher who believed in you – just don’t forget to thank the people who paid for it though! Always thank them.

Celebrating awards for charities

You can tell that Awards are important as every industry has them – British Dental Association Awards, Construction Contractor of the Year Awards, The Good Funeral Awards, to name a few. And as I stepped into the charity world on joining Media Trust at the end of last year, I was delighted to see that there are some brilliant awards for the third sector too.

If people working in charity can’t get recognition and a moment in the spotlight, then there is something seriously wrong. For me as Head of Films at Media Trust, the big awards are The Smiley Charity Film Awards which recognise the best films made for – you guessed it – charities. And I am super proud to share that Media Trust has had 17 nominations for this year’s Smileys. What an achievement by the in-house Media Trust team of Execs and the freelance directors and crew who so generously volunteer their skills and time to make the films for charities for free and of course the charities and trusts and foundations who partner up with us. Hurrah! The Smileys are free to enter, and every finalist gets 2 free tickets. Held at the O2, it will be a big night of celebration.

The cost of recognition

But there are other big awards that we also want to enter our films into. The content we make is strong enough to play with the big fish outside of the charity pool but that is where we swim into problems.

We were delighted to be nominated for a British Arrow Award for our film ‘Limbo’, made for SAFE a charity in Oxford and directed by Imogen Harrison. But to be able to attend the awards ceremony costs £330 per person for freelancers and £540 for a general ticket. So, the tab for one charity representative, the director and the Media Trust Exec to attend is £990 before a single glass of fizz is bought – or shared! Unless it’s more affordable for charities, there’s no way we can come and collect our award if we do win.

But besides The Arrows, other awards events are also incredibly pricey for charities. At the top end, entrance fees start at around £900 and elsewhere about £300 plus VAT seems to be standard. If you can’t attend the ceremony, it’s a big disincentive to enter. What this effectively means is that brilliant creative content made for charities is excluded from competing at the very highest levels and doesn’t get recognised.

Time for change

So, Award organisers please can we start a conversation about reduced fees for charities to enter and attend?

Lower your fees and remove barriers to world class charity content standing side by side with commercial made for profit content. It isn’t much to ask but could make a huge difference to charities all over the UK. When that happens, everyone will know that they’re for their excellence and not just because they could afford the ticket prices.

And if you need a dress to borrow for the night just let me know… I have a few in my wardrobe!