The BFI’s admission of systematic racism has led to renewed calls for an independent complaints office

EXCLUSIVE: Marcus Ryder, a figurehead at the Sir Lenny Henry Center for Media Diversity, renewed his call for an industry-wide anti-racism body after the British Film Institute admitted it had mishandled a discrimination complaint.

Ryder announced that earlier this year there were high-level industry discussions about the establishment of an independent arbitrator for racism complaints. Ofcom, the UK media regulator, chaired a meeting on the proposal in January, to which major UK broadcasters and entertainment unions, including Bectu, were invited.

Ryder said the discussions had been constructive and there had been few objections to the principle of a complaints body, but no formal proposals were currently being considered. Ofcom said different views were shared but it was not within its remit to impose an anti-racism body on the industry. Instead, Ofcom said it would continue to encourage dialogue on the matter.

The talks came before a film and TV charity survey of 2,000 film industry professionals found that almost a quarter of black people said they had experienced racial harassment. A third of those who experienced discrimination said they were considering leaving the industry.

Deadline announced on Monday that the BFI has accepted Faisal A Qureshi as an associate producer Four lions And never leave countrythat it is systematically racist. The organization apologized to the filmmaker for responding to his claim that he had behaved in a racially insensitive manner at a BFI network meeting in 2019. The BFI has pledged to update its grievance procedures and continue anti-racism training.

Ryder said it was “brave” and “great” that Qureshi held the BFI to account and published his story. He added: “It does not take courage if you have been a victim. Something is wrong if it takes courage… We need to find a way for people like Faisal to report it without being brave. Until then, we depend on people willing to put their careers on the line. That’s not how a healthy industry works.”

Bectu, who originally proposed the idea of ​​an anti-racism body, said: “The concerns raised by [BFI] report makes it clear why we need an independent anti-racism reporting office. We often hear reports that employees feel discriminated against in the industry and are afraid to report it will “damage” their careers. An independent agency that creatives can rely on, providing data and identifying complaints, is needed now more than ever.”