think tank on the state of the film industry is taking a humanistic tack this year by choosing to zero in on issues crucial to a healthy workplace such as gender equality, diversity representation, inclusion and economic fairness.
Instead, on Aug. 5 a selected group of some 30 key participants – fewer than usual due to COVID restrictions – will thrash out some of the root causes that can make the film industry a toxic environment and try to come up with ideas for positive practices that can prompt some change. “To put it bluntly: do we think our industry is a healthy place to work in?,” asks Paolillo, who is also a producer.
Paolillo, who notes “there’s no reason to believe that the situation in other countries is any better,” says the film industry is a particularly demanding environment, “obsessed with success and dominated by external and internal pressures, dynamics of power, constant risk and financial instability.” Inevitably, he adds, these elements have an impact on the mental health of its workers.