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The entertainment landscape is changing.
With greater choice for audiences, understanding how to capture viewers’ attention with content that feels relevant and exciting is more important than ever. As the focus on the potential for entertainment to drive societal impact grows, new opportunities for funding are emerging, with the charity sector developing an appetite to work with entertainment platforms.
Creative exchange across the entertainment industries is also growing, with cross-collaboration between TV, film, video games, radio, podcasts and social media providing the spark for a new wave of creativity. In this new world of interconnected entertainment, how do we resonate with audiences, connect with communities and create shows that have real impact?
OKRE Summit 2024: Entertainment to Change the World offers a deep dive into these questions, providing a space to gain insights, make new connections and share learnings. Hosted at the Wellcome Trust on 24 April, the Summit brings together speakers from across film, social media, games, audio, TV, research and charities.
Its agenda is wide-ranging, exploring depictions of mental health, migration, sex and LGBTQ+ relationships on screen, as well as offering insights from industry leaders on connecting with young audiences and creating content with impact.
The day kicks off with a one-of-a-kind perspective on one of 2024’s biggest TV hits so far: Mr Bates vs The Post Office. The show’s executive producer, Natasha Bondy, will appear alongside former sub-postmistress Jo Hamilton to discuss lessons from the show, drawing from lived experience to create television that captivated a nation.
The success of Mr Bates vs The Post Office has shown that creating a hit show can go hand in hand with having tangible societal impact – but that impact can only be achieved through collaboration.
“I really don’t think it’s possible to create great entertainment these days without collaboration, particularly when it comes to representing minority communities,” says Summit speaker Jeffrey Ingold – an LGBTQ+ media consultant who has worked on the hit shows Sex Education and Heartstopper. “I’ve seen first-hand how having a diverse range of LGBTQ+ voices in the room can make a huge difference to the quality of the show.”
The Summit offers the perfect opportunity for this exchange of ideas, learnings and experiences. The line-up includes Bafta chair Sara Putt, Twofour chief creative officer David Brindley (I Kissed A Boy), Channel 4 comedy commissioning editor Andy Brereton (Murder In Successville), former managing director of Naked Television Fatima Salaria (The Rap Game), intimacy practitioner Ita O’Brien (Normal People), games industry consultant Glaire Anderson (Assassin’s Creed Mirage), and RADA chair and chief executive of The Film & TV Charity Marcus Ryder.
The Summit exists to facilitate the connections that drive entertainment forward. OKRE wants to empower content creators to handle the changing entertainment landscape with the tools and contacts they need to create shows geared towards the future.
“The very best entertainment brings together elements that are relatable, with distinctive twists that differ from anything we have known before,” says Summit speaker Maxine Thomas-Asante, approaches manager, pop culture, at Comic Relief. “Drawing on lived realities for their honesty, authenticity and integrity gives us the best chance of creating memorable and transformative entertainment.”
OKRE Summit 2024 is all about opening doors for collaboration that leads to entertainment that’s both engaging and impactful. Creating compelling stories and engaging with real-world impact can be two sides of the same coin. We know that entertainment can change the world. OKRE Summit 2024 is where that change starts.
Tickets for OKRE Summit 2024: Entertainment to Change the World are available now. Visit bit.ly/okresummit2024 to get yours. As a Broadcast subscriber, you can benefit from a 25% discount on tickets. Just enter code BROADCAST25 at the checkout
OKRE is an organisation at the heart of the entertainment industry. It was established in 2020 to help TV, film and games creators deliver the best audience experiences by connecting them with breakthrough research and lived experience. Our supporters include Wellcome, Comic Relief, Unbound, UKRI, Esmée Fairbairn Foundation and Joseph Rowntree Foundation.
