Because of course the arts never have been competitive, have they?
Black British TV makers are “fighting over scraps” because of the lack of opportunities, industry figures have said, arguing that conditions are worse now than before the Black Lives Matter movement that emerged in 2020.
The Guardian spoke to Black British executives, producers, directors and writers who said their industry had not fundamentally changed after the racial reckoning that was triggered after George Floyd’s murder in the US five years ago.
Andy Mundy-Castle, the founder of the indie company DocHearts, who won a Bafta and a Royal Television Society award in 2024 for the documentary White Nanny, Black Child, said despite critical acclaim it was as difficult as ever to get commissions.
“You are so far removed from the top of the food chain that you just get the scraps … we aren’t given the biggest opportunities,” he said. “I’ve been noisy and stubborn enough not to go away but there are so many people who have just said, ‘Fuck this. We’re leaving’.”