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Dr. Laurence Sargent, director of Sargent-Disc and co-head of international at Cast & Crew – headline sponsor of this year’s Edinburgh TV Awards – reflects on the important place the Festival holds in the UK TV industry calendar
Edinburgh has always been uniquely significant,” says Dr. Laurence Sargent. “I think this year its importance is greater than ever, given the pace at which the broadcasting sector is evolving and the Festival’s return to an in-person event after two years online.
“It’s really the only UK TV event that brings studios, indies, streamers and channel controllers together in one place. It never fails to be inspiring and thought-provoking.”
Networking opportunities
Cast & Crew is delighted its support for the Festival facilitates the exceptional opportunities the event offers for companies and industry practitioners to connect with key contacts in the business of TV production and financing..
In addition to the networking, keynotes and debates, Edinburgh’s annual TV Awards celebrate the best content from UK and international broadcasters and platforms. This year’s awards – hosted by writer and comedian Sophie Duker – are sponsored by Cast & Crew.
“We’re extremely proud to be headline sponsors of this year’s Edinburgh TV Awards,” says Sargent. “Our products and services span productions of different sizes and genres across the globe and Sargent-Disc has worked on a number of the nominated titles – for example, HBO’s Succession [nominated for Best International Drama]. Looking at the other nominees in the UK Drama category [Help, Landscapers, The Responder, Time and This Is Going To Hurt] and the International Drama category [Vigil, Squid Game, Gomorrah and Pachinko] it’s a roll call of hits. The standard is incredible and reflects increasing diversity within production.”
“It’s great to see Edinburgh adding the Climate Impact category and highlighting this sort of content”
Dr. Laurence Sargent, Cast & Crew
Led by 2022 advisory chair Afua Hirsch, the Festival has set out to examine how those in the TV industry are in a unique position as storytellers, with the power not only to reflect change in the world but also to shape it. The newly introduced Climate Impact Award will recognise storytelling that “motivates, enables and educates audiences to engage with the transition to a sustainable future”.
Nominees include Sky Kids’ Cop26: In Your Hands, BBC1’s Greta Thunberg: A Year To Change The World and Channel 4’s Joe Lycett vs The Oil Giant.
“Cast & Crew welcomes the addition of the Climate Impact category,” says Sargent. “As an official partner of Bafta albert, Sargent-Disc invests in and promotes the use of low-carbon production technologies within its Digital Production Office® suite of applications. We know that climate storytelling can be as vital as using sustainable production practice to achieve change.
“The signing of the Climate Content Pledge at Cop26 last year was a major commitment from broadcasters and streamers. It’s great to see Edinburgh adding this category and highlighting this sort of content to the rest of the industry.”
The annual MacTaggart lecture, delivered in recent years by Michaela Coel, Dorothy Byrne and David Olusoga, has been hailed as a driving force for better inclusion in the industry.
Jack Thorne’s powerful 2021 speech will be followed this year by the award-winning broadcaster Emily Matlis, whilst an Alternative MacTaggart lecture from Rose Ayling-Ellis will address the stark realities of life as a young person with disability in the industry.
“What I admire about Edinburgh is that it doesn’t shy away from the more difficult areas of our industry where change is clearly needed,” says Sargent. “It’s providing a platform for challenging issues to be explored and important conversations to be had.”
If you’re attending Edinburgh TV Festival and would like to meet with the team, email marketing@sargent-disc.com
About Sargent-Disc
Sargent-Disc, a Cast & Crew company, is the UK entertainment industry’s leading supplier of integrated payroll, accounting and software services. The Digital Production Office® suite of software helps production and accounts teams work more efficiently and securely wherever they are based, while also reducing the carbon footprint of productions.
