The British Academy of Film and Television Arts has chosen Krishnendu Majumdar as chair—the first person of colour to hold the highly esteemed position in BAFTA’s 73 years of activity, and the youngest in 35 years. The decision was announced at the BAFTA’s recent digital Annual General Meeting.

Known for ‘An Idiot Abroad’ (2010-2012) and ‘Sick of It’ (2018-2020), Mr Majumdar served as deputy chair for one year prior to this appointment. His tenure as chair will last three years, which is a newly revised and extended term for all future BAFTA chairs. Pippa Harris of ‘1917’ (2019) fame, whom he succeeds, will stay on as deputy chair.

KRISHNENDU MAJUMDAR, ©BAFTA

‘This year has been a difficult and turbulent time for many in our industry, working with Pippa, BAFTA’s talented and committed staff and membership, I want BAFTA to be at the heart of rebuilding the industry post-COVID’, Mr Majumdar said in a statement.

He added: ‘It is vital to ensure that we support people of all backgrounds, races and genders. Diversity and inclusion are crucial for the lifeblood of BAFTA, and we will continue to be a leader for real change across our industry.’

Pippa Harris offered her own thoughts on this selection. ‘I am delighted that Krish has been elected as deputy chair of BAFTA. He has been a passionate supporter and advocate of our work for many years, especially our learning and new talent initiatives. I’m looking forward to working closely with him over what promises to be an exciting year ahead.’

Carol Reed, David Lean and Richard Attenborough are among previous BAFTA chairs.

The winners of the Buma Awards Music in Media 2020 were announced earlier today. Based on nine different categories, the 25-member jury has looked at the best music for film, television, radio, documentary and advertising, with three nominations for each category. In addition, new talent was under the spotlight through the presentation of the Buma Music in Motion New Talent Award.

 The Buma Awards Music in Media are traditionally presented during the annual Buma Music in Motion event, however, due to the global coronavirus crisis, the Buma Cultuur-organised event did not take place in its usual format in 2020. Instead, the organizers opted to crown the winners in absentia and announce the honorees online.

The winners of the Buma Awards Music in Media 2020 are:

1. Buma Award Best Podcast, Radio and Television Imaging

• Ward Henselmans, Daan Jansen and Jeroen Kuitenbrouwer 
• Close Up – 25 jaar
• link
• Publisher: AVRO Muziekuitgeverij

CLOSE-UP 25 JAAR

2. Buma Award Best Original Composition in Advertising (powered by Adformatie)

• Sizzer & DeWolff
• Skoda – Live Like You
• link
• Advertising Agency: Optimist

ŠKODA – LIVE LIKE YOU

3. Buma Award Best Sync in Advertising (powered by Adformatie)

• Nick van de Wall (Afrojack)
• DNB – Girls Invest – ‘Run the World (Girls)’
• link
• Sync Agent: Bente de Jong
• Publisher: BMG, Warner Chappell, Sony ATV, CTM, Kobalt
• Advertising Agency: TRY

DNB: GIRLS INVEST

4. BMIM New Talent Award

• Daan Hofman
• Danny and the Wild Bunch
• link

DANNY AND THE WILD BUNCH

5. Buma Award Best Original Composition in Documentary, Short Film, Telefilm and Animation

• Alex Simu 
• They Call Me Babu
• Director: Sandra Beerends
• Production: Pieter van Huystee Film & TV

THEY CALL ME BABU. ©PIETER VAN HUYSTEE FILM

6. Buma Award Best Original Composition in Television Series

• Merlijn Snitker
• De 12 van Schouwendam
• link
• Director: Anne van der Linden en André van Duren
• Production: Endemol Shine

DE 12 VAN SCHOUWENDAM

7. Buma Award Best Sync (in Television, Film, Online)

• Ramses Shaffy
• Netflix promo voor serie “Our Planet” – ‘Zing – Vecht – Huil – Bid – Lach – Werk en Bewonder’
• link
• Sync Agent: AMP
• Publisher: Strengholt Music Publishing

OUR PLANET. ©NETFLIX

8. Buma Award Best Original Composition in Trailers

• Reinder van Zalk
• Terreur
• Publisher: Earforce

TERREUR

9. Buma Award Best Original Composition in Film

• Vincent van Warmerdam
• ROJO
• Director: Benjamín Naishtat
• Production: Bord Cadre Films, Descia Produções, Ecce Films

ROJO

While the official film rules for the 2020 edition of the SAG Awards will not be revealed until June, an email sent to studios this week points to the organization following the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences’ temporary eligibility amendments for the Oscars.

‘We are still revising our film release criteria but will be following the Academy’s rule change to allow titles with a planned theatrical release to be eligible if streamed or released on VOD first’, the email said, according to Variety. ‘Full language will be announced in June along with the rest of our rules.’

©KATHY HUTCHINS/SHUTTERSTOCK.COM

On 28^th April, the Academy announced that their board of governors had approved a temporary hold on the prerequisite that a film would need a 7-day theatrical run in a cinema in Los Angeles County in order to qualify for the Oscars.

With this change, however, films will be permitted a digital release without the prior necessity of a movie theatre screening. There is still a hitch, though—the streamed film must have already had a planned theatrical release to be eligible for Academy Awards consideration. The film must also be uploaded on the Academy Screening Room members-only streaming platform within 60 days of its streaming or VOD release.

New FYC guidelines and fee structures for film for the SAG Awards were also sent to the studios this week. The one-page memo states: ‘The SAG Awards Nominating Committee will be finalized in early July. In light of the pandemic, in-person events are suspended until further notice. As we move to primarily virtual events and digital screeners (though limited mailings are still permitted) we have developed new rules — and a new fee structure — around FYC campaigns geared towards our members.’

‘The pandemic is an evolving situation and as things change, we will evolve with it and keep you informed on any updates to our guidelines and rules through the summer and fall’, the memo continues.

Previously, studios have also had to provide DVDs of eligible movies to nominating committee members. According to the new rules, digital screeners are now permitted during the pre-nom voting phase. All digital screening platforms and streaming sites must be approved by the SAG Awards.’

The nominees for the Buma Awards Music in Media 2020 were announced today. Based on nine different categories, the 25-member jury has looked at the best music for film, television, radio, documentary and advertising, with three nominations for each category. In addition, new talent will be under the spotlight through the presentation of the Buma Music in Motion New Talent Award. All winners will be announced on Tuesday, 19 May.

 The Buma Awards Music in Media are traditionally presented during the annual Buma Music in Motion event, however, due to the global coronavirus crisis, the Buma Cultuur-organised event will not take place in 2020. That did not, however, stop the jury from looking for the most talented and effective composers of music in media.

BUMA NOMINEES

Two categories – Best Original Composition in Advertising and Best Sync in Advertising – are presented in collaboration with Adformatie, with nominees including Sizzer & DeWolff, who have been chosen for ‘Live Like You’ for Skoda, a song that has also recently been released as a single. In the Sync in Advertising category, Afrojack, a.k.a. Nick van de Wall, has been nominated for his part in Run the World (Girls) for DNB’s Girls Invest campaign.

The nominated composers and producers were selected by a 25-member jury of industry experts including composer Bob Zimmerman, Buma Oeuvre Award Multimedia winner Stephen Emmer, producer Kaja Wolffers, director Jon Karthaus, composer Martijn Schimmer, NRC journalist Joyce Roodnat, editor-in-chief of Adformatie Susanne van Nierop, and last year’s BMIM New Talent winner, Gijs Knol.

This year’s nominees of the Buma Awards Music in Media Categories are:

1. Buma Award Best Podcast, Radio and Television Imaging (5 May)

• Ward Henselmans, Daan Jansen and Jeroen Kuitenbrouwer 
• Close Up – 25 jaar
• link
• Publisher: AVRO Muziekuitgeverij

 

• Ad van Dongen
• Discovery Channel ‘Wanted’ brand movie
• link
• Publisher: Copyright Power International

 

• Guido Heeneman
• Diederik en Da Vinci
• link
• Publisher: AVRO TROS en SkyHigh TV

 

2. Buma Award Best Original Composition in Advertising (powered by Adformatie) (6 May)

 

• Sizzer & DeWolff
• Skoda – Live Like You
• link
• Advertising Agency: Optimist

 

• Jesse Koolhaas
• Fashion’s Dirty Little Secret
• link
• Advertising Agency: The Ridley Scott Creative Group

 

• Merlijn Snitker
• Ace & Tate – Take Another Look
• link
• Advertising Agency: Halal

 

3. Buma Award Best Sync in Advertising (powered by Adformatie) (7 May)

 

• Nick van de Wall (Afrojack) (and Beyoncé Knowles, Terius Nash, Adidja Palmer, Wesley Pentz, David Taylor)
• DNB – Girls Invest – ‘Run the World (Girls)’
• link
• Sync Agent: Bente de Jong
• Publisher: BMG, Warner Chappell, Sony ATV, CTM, Kobalt
• Advertising Agency: TRY

 

• Thomas Azier, Martin Gjerstad and Anouk Teeuwe
• DM Drogisterij – Die Veränderung beginnt in mir – ‘It’s A New Day’
• link
• Sync Agent: Bente de Jong
• Publisher: BMG, Kobalt
• Advertising Agency: ela productions GmbH

 

• Stephanie Allen, Reynard Bargmann (Mucky), Richard Cowie, Idris Elba, Thomas Mackenzie Bell, Sean Paul
• Sainsbury’s Tu – Summer Of Love – ‘Boasty’
• link
• Sync Agent: Justin Hendrik
• Publisher: Maktub Music Publishing

 

4. BMIM New Talent Award (8 May)

• Daan Hofman
• Danny and the Wild Bunch
• link

 

• Componist Thomas van der Burg
• Ridder Marie

 

• Componist Annelotte Coster
• Als Je Later Groot Bent

 

5. Buma Award Best Original Composition in Documentary, Short Film, Telefilm and Animation (11 May)

 

• Alex Simu 
• They Call Me Babu
• Director: Sandra Beerends
• Production: Pieter van Huystee Film & TV

 

• Paul M. van Brugge
• A Fool’s Paradise
• Director: Saskia Vredeveld
• Production: Pieter van Huystee Film & TV

 

• Ward Henselmans, Daan Jansen en Jeroen Kuitenbrouwer
• Stuk
• link
• Director: Jurjen Blick
• Production: VPRO

 

6. Buma Award Best Original Composition in Television Series (12 May)

 

• Merlijn Snitker
• De 12 van Schouwendam
• link
• Director: Anne van der Linden en André van Duren
• Production: Endemol Shine

 

• Tim van Berkestijn
• Hoofdzaken
• link
• Director: Menno Otten
• Production: Kepler Films
• Producer: Derk-Jan Warrink, Koji Nelissen

 

• Joris Oonk en Jef Richaerts
• Baantjer: Het Begin
• Director: Arne Toonen
• Production: Millstreet Films
• Producer: Rachel van Bommel
• Publisher: Millstreet Music

 

7. Buma Award Best Sync (in Television, Film, Online) (13 May)

 

• Ramses Shaffy (arranger Maaike Ouboter)
• Netflix promo voor serie “Our Planet” – ‘Zing – Vecht – Huil – Bid – Lach – Werk en Bewonder’
• link
• Sync Agent: AMP
• Publisher: Strengholt Music Publishing

 

• Joep le Blanc and Rob Jager
• 8×4 – ‘GRLS’
• link
• Sync Agent: 2weimusic
• Publisher: Felt Music UK

 

• Giovanni Rustenberg (Cho), Tevin Irvin Plaate (Spanker)
• Savage x Fenty – ‘Popalik’
• link
• Sync Agent: Bente de Jong

 

8. Buma Award Best Original Composition in Trailers (14 May)

 

• Reinder van Zalk
• Terreur
• Publisher: Earforce

 

• Joep Sporck
• Tales of Arise
• link
• Publisher: Elsy Music – Liquid Cinema

 

• Jochem Weierink
• The Oscars Opening Trailer 2019
• link
• Publisher: Liquid Cinema

 

9. Buma Award Best Original Composition in Film (15 May)

 

• Vincent van Warmerdam
• ROJO
• Director: Benjamín Naishtat
• Production: Bord Cadre Films, Descia Produções, Ecce Films

 

• Rutger Reinders
• Dirty God
• Director: Sacha Polak
• Production: Marleen Slot Viking Film

 

• Ella van der Woude
• Take Me Somewhere Nice
• Director: Ena Sendijarevic
• Production: Pupkin Film

The CineEurope exhibition convention was initially delayed from June to August in Barcelona, but given the current COVID-19 uncertainty, the organizers have decided to cancel the event altogether for this year. In a public note, Film Expo Group said: ‘With concern for the health and safety of our attendees as our absolute priority, we regret to inform you that we have decided now to cancel the 2020 CineEurope Convention, planned for 3-6 August.’

This event is a key stop on the annual tours that Hollywood studios go on to present their upcoming slates to European cinema operators, usually attracting big name talent to Spain’s beautiful city. CineEurope was one of the last major holdouts of summer industry events. Its organizers took early steps to postpone the event at first before setting tentative August dates. Ultimately, it was pulled off the calendar completely.

©FILM EXPO GROUP/CINEEUROPE

While some markets worldwide begin to reopen film theatres, concern over the ongoing coronavirus pandemic has not dwindled, and Spain is barely in the early stage of a four-phase lockdown lift, which currently includes a two-week quarantine for foreign visitors. ‘Given ongoing uncertainty over the COVID-19 virus, we feel this is the prudent decision for the industry and everyone. Please stay safe and we look forward to seeing everyone soon’, added Film Expo Group in their note.

There is, however, good news attached to this cancellation, as a two-day online CineEurope conference and trade show will still take place on 17^th and 18^th June this year, with details soon to be revealed. In 2021, the convention is scheduled from 21^st until 24^th June.

CineEurope is the official convention of the International Union of Cinemas, representing 42,000 screens in 38 European countries. We do look forward to the online event, now, as we hope for the next year to bring fewer disruptions to the film and theatre industry altogether.

The Oscars will be making a one-time-only concession in their eligibility rules, as they will allow movies initially released through streaming or video-on-demand to compete in next year’s awards.

The board of the Academy of Motion Pictures Arts and Sciences which presides over the Academy Awards made the decision, along with a few other changes to the process, including the consolidation of sound editing and sound mixing into a single ‘sound’ category.

Citing the forced closure of theatres because of the COVID-19 pandemic, the board also noted that only films with a ‘previously planned theatrical release’ would be eligible. Up to this point, films were required to have at least one week’s worth of theatrical run to qualify for consideration.

©SHUTTERSTOCK

Academy president David Rubin and CEO Dawn Hudson said in a statement that the organization’s commitment to the theatrical experience is ‘unchanged and unwavering’. In previous years, the board has faced pressure to relax its streaming-related rules. Netflix, in particular, has pushed for in inclusion in the awards competition.

Among other high-profile Academy members, Steven Spielberg has been known to speak out about maintaining a certain distinction between streaming and theatrical releases.

Next year’s ceremony for the 93^rd annual Academy Awards is set to take place on 28^th February but the board has mentioned that additional changes might be required as we approach that date, ‘based on national guidelines, state-mandated government orders and Academy-determined best practices’.

Given this year’s low ratings for the famed ceremony, the board has approved a few more procedural changes—among them allowing all members to vote in the International Film category, previously known as Best Foreign-Language film.

The Academy also announced that the current award season is to be the last in which studios may distribute DVD screeners to voters. Citing environmental reasons, distribution of screeners will shift to digital as of 2021.

The French-based international film festival will not take place in June, despite earlier discussions, given the current and continuous growth of the COVID-19 pandemic, but organizers are still exploring different options for this year’s edition.

Festival de Cannes said in a statement: ‘Following the French President’s statement, on Monday, April 13th, we acknowledged that the postponement of the 73rd International Cannes Film Festival, initially considered for the end of June to the beginning of July, is no longer an option. It is clearly difficult to assume that the Festival de Cannes could be held this year in its original form.’

‘Nevertheless, since yesterday evening we have started many discussions with professionals, in France and abroad. They agree that the Festival de Cannes, an essential pillar for the film industry, must explore all contingencies allowing to support the year of Cinema by making Cannes 2020 real, in a way or another,’ the organizers added.

©FESTIVAL DE CANNES

Following their 19^th March announcement that the 2020 edition wouldn’t be held in May, the festival was sketching a tentative strategy to postpone the event until the end of June or possibly through the beginning of July. Unfortunately, the continued rise of casualties caused by the coronavirus in France, as well as in the rest of the world, has made it impossible to move ahead with a summer festival.

In a televised interview on Monday evening, France’s President Emmanuel Macron said that festivals would be banned until the middle of July. Thierry Frémaux, the festival director, also told Variety that turning it into a virtual event ‘wouldn’t work’.

A possible outcome is for Cannes to be pushed to the fall, but such a timeline would be problematic for the festival circuit because September already has the Venice, Toronto and San Sebastian film festivals. October will see Mipcom taking place in Cannes for three days until 15^th October 2020. Merely putting the festival together in the French Riviera town would take about a month.

There is no news from Critics’ Week and Directors’ Fortnight, either, which usually run parallel to Festival de Cannes. They have yet to make any announcements on the matter, and the Cannes Film Market, which is also expected to unfold alongside the festival as always, has not made any decisions as to whether it will move to a digital platform in mid-June/late July of this year.

Since its first and much anticipated edition after World War II in 1946, Festival de Cannes has only been cancelled once back in 1968 because of the nationwide student riots, in which French New Wave legends François Truffaut and Jean-Luc Godard also participated. For the global film community, the festival’s cancellation would surely have a major impact, mostly for sales agents and distributors. After all, the Cannes film market is the year’s key event of movie deals. Last year’s film market reported a record of over 12,500 participants.

But there is another aspect that makes this festival so important. Besides its inestimable value to filmmakers, producers, agents and distributors, Festival de Cannes is crucial in positioning foreign-language movies into a commercial landscape—not to mention the festival circuit and the major awards ceremonies. The Academy Awards, Golden Globes, BAFTAs, the European Film Awards, the Spanish Goya Awards and the French Cesar Awards, among many others, have often drawn winners from Cannes. Last year alone, three of the five foreign-language movies nominated at the Oscars had their premiere at Festival de Cannes. ‘Parasite’ (2019) was the festival’s darling, making history with four statuettes, including a first Academy Award for the coveted Best Picture.

Despite many other festivals going the digital route this year in light of the coronavirus pandemic, both the Venice Film Festival and the Cannes Film Festival have stated that they will not host their events virtually.

Cannes Film Festival director Thierry Fremaux insists that should the option to host the festival physically drop, they will look for other alternatives to showcase the films, but that they will categorically steer clear of the digital alternative.

‘(For) Cannes, its soul, its history, its efficiency, it’s a model that wouldn’t work. What is a digital festival? A digital competition? We should start by asking rights holders if they agree,’ Fremaux tells Variety.

Hinting towards a few titles to be highlighted in this year’s edition, Fremaux added, ‘Films by Wes Anderson or Paul Verhoeven on a computer? Discovering “Top Gun 2” or (Pixar’s) “Soul” elsewhere than in (a) theater? These films have been postponed to be shown on a big screen; why would we want to show them before, on a digital device?’

THIERRY FREMAUX © BRIGITTE LACOMBE

‘Directors of “films” are driven by the idea of showing their movies on a big screen and sharing them with others at events like festivals, not for their works to end up on an iPhone.

‘If all the festivals are canceled, we will have to think of a way to showcase films, to avoid wasting a year, but I don’t think a precarious and improvised alternative of Cannes or Venice — no sooner done than forgotten — would be the solution’, Fremaux further elaborated.

Venice Film Festival’s Alberto Barbera seems to be on the same page as Fremaux on this matter. He disclosed in an interview with Italian news agency ANSA over the weekend that he is currently not taking into consideration any digital options. In the interview, he was weighing in on the Toronto Film Festival’s co-heads Joana Vicente and Cameron Bailey’s statement that they were ‘looking at both on-site and digital innovations’ for their event.

ALBERTO BARBERA © ANDREAS RENTZ

‘Toronto is a different type of festival, not comparable to Cannes or Venice,’ said Barbera, who also added that although it’s unclear at this point how things will develop, they are not considering dropping the physical aspect of their event.

A spokesperson for Venice told Variety on Monday, ‘The Venice Film Festival cannot be replaced by an online event.’ He went on to add, ‘there is obviously the possibility that we use technology for some initiatives,’ but that at present ‘it’s too early for this to be decided.’

The decision to digitalize their events doesn’t come without its own share of challenges for the festivals that chose to go down this path. This new approach has given birth to concerns regarding piracy, distribution and rights, among other issues. Given the uncertainty of the current global crisis, how the organizers will choose to deal with these obstacles remains to be seen.

For now, the Venice Film Festival and the Toronto Film Festival are going ahead with their plans to host their events in September, and the Cannes Film Festival is still considering to go forward with this year’s edition at a later date, possibly in June or July, having postponed their initial May event.

The upcoming Academy Museum of Motion Pictures have announced that a number of prolific filmmakers will collaborate on exhibitions when the museum opens—among them, Spike Lee and Pedro Almodóvar, as well as composer Hildur Guðnadóttir, Oscar winner for her ‘Joker’ (2019) music score, and Ben Burtt, a veteran sound designer of ‘Star Wars’ and ‘Indiana Jones’ franchise fame.

Bill Kramer, the Academy Museum’s director, announced the details of these future partnerships on Saturday. The institution is due to open on 14^th December this year, nearly a decade after the project was first made public.

‘We will open the Academy Museum with exhibitions and programs that will illuminate the complex and fascinating world of cinema — its art, technology, artists, history, and social impact — through a variety of diverse and engaging voices. We will tell complete stories of moviemaking — celebratory, educational, and sometimes critical and uncomfortable. Global in outlook and grounded in the unparalleled collections and expertise of the Academy, these first exhibitions will establish this museum as incomparable in the world of cinema’, Mr Kramer said in his statement.

SPIKE LEE, ©JORDAN STRAUSS/INVISION/AP

He also acknowledged that this announcement comes at a difficult time for most museums, movie theatres and other cultural establishments, given that the coronavirus pandemic has forced them to shutter for the foreseeable future.

‘We are keenly aware that we’re working towards the opening of the Academy Museum during a time of great challenge. Over the past century, motion pictures have reflected and impacted major historical issues and events. The stories we tell in the Academy Museum are part of those bigger stories, and we are committed to highlighting the social impact of motion pictures. We look forward to brighter days for everyone, everywhere’, the Academy Museum’s director added.

PEDRO ALMODOVAR, ©NICO BUSTOS

The six-level museum will be located at Wilshire Boulevard and Fairfax Avenue in Los Angeles, and its exhibits will tell stories of our beloved film industry—stories from all over the world, giving visitors an opportunity to dive into the arts and sciences of filmmaking. Among the planned galleries, the Academy museum will focus on classics such as ‘The Wizard of Oz’ (1939), ‘Citizen Kane’ (1941), ‘The Matrix’ (1999), along with works from Studio Ghibli, Hayao Miyazaki’s stellar animated production company.

Spike Lee won his first Academy Award for Best Adapted Screenplay last year thanks to ‘BlacKkKlansman’ (2018), after an honorary award received in 2016. Pedro Almodóvar has earned his own share of Oscars over the years—one for ‘All About My Mother’ (1999) and another for ‘Talk to Her’ (2002). Ms Guðnadóttir is only the fourth woman in history to win the Best Original Score Academy Award, and Mr Burtt is the recipient of plenty of trophies of his own for the ‘Star Wars’ trilogy, ‘Raiders of the Lost Ark’ (1981), ‘E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial’ (1982), and ‘Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade’ (1989).

The coronavirus outbreak has wreaked havoc through the British film industry, halting filming on most major TV shows. In response, the BBC has outlined a plan for assisting the UK production community.

Given that its funding is guaranteed by the licence fee, the BBC is in a most fortuitous position, keen to show that it’s using this advantage of relative stability to support program makers across the country. According to Deadline, the proposed five-point plan covers the following:

1. Supporting producers with shuttered shows. The BBC stated that it would be flexible regarding delivery times. There will also be cash flow solutions on offer, on a ‘title-by-title’ basis.

2. Doubling its Small Indie Fund. Plans were set out in January to offer access to a £1M development funding pot to producers whose revenue is below £ This fund will now be doubled to £2M.

3. Supercharging development. Although production has stopped, the BBC said it will increase development spending across the program-making community. There will also be clarifications about short- and long-term opportunities.

4. Boosting BBC Three’s nations and regions initiative. The youth channel is looking to build on partnerships with regional organizations such as Northern Ireland Screen to develop and pilot ideas from out-of-London indies.

5. Ramping up acquisitions and archive investment. The BBC has pledged to spend more on finished programs, but also archive material.

LORD TONY HALL, BBC DIRECTOR GENERAL, ©BBC PICTURES/DIGITAL PICTURE

‘We recognise this is an incredibly challenging time for all of those working in the creative industry and especially the smaller independent production companies. We want to do what we can to keep creativity focused and thriving so that we can continue to bring audiences the high-quality content that they expect. These measures demonstrate our long-term commitment to sustaining the creative health of the industry, right across the UK’, says BBC director of content Charlotte Moore.

Bal Samra, the BBC group’s commercial director, added: ‘It’s at times like these that the creative industries need to pull together – to make sure the sector we return to at the end of the pandemic is as rich and vibrant as the one we have now.’