THE UK film and TV industry has historically failed to represent people from working-class backgrounds and has built a system designed to keep them out, leading voices from the industry have said ahead of a new documentary.
More needs to be done to address the “monster” created by nepotism across the UK’s screen industry, says Aberdeen-born filmmaker Mark Forbes, as he tackles the historical systematic exclusion of people from the working class in his latest feature-length film.
Forbes joined the award-winning actor Peter Mullan on a panel discussing working-class representation before a test screening of his documentary, Quiet On Set: The Class Division In The Film Industry?, at a Scottish Producers Circle meetup last Monday.
The pair fielded questions by the group's co-founder and organiser, Maureen Hascoet, as they explored themes presented in the documentary with an audience composed of some of the biggest names in the Scottish film and TV industry.
Forbes, who didn’t go to university or film school due to financial restrictions and is a self-taught filmmaker, spoke to the Sunday National about his “horrible experiences” trying to make his way into the industry.
“It's never been easy, especially for people from working-class backgrounds,” he said.
“The door has always been open for somebody who's gone to university or film school, always.
“Film schools are not about teaching people technical skills but about connecting people to the industry.
“You could have absolutely no talent and just go to film school, and you will get a job at the end of the day.”
Forbes, whose dad died when he was young, spoke fondly about his stepfather, Norman Adams, who helped him cultivate a love for film and influenced him hugely.
His stepfather even collaborated with him on short movies, despite him not being part of the industry, which has led to Forbes having a 25-year-long career making films.
The filmmaker said the industry has been going in the wrong direction for decades and it has forced many people from working-class backgrounds out of it.
He said that so many doors were “slammed shut” on him by the people at the top of the industry because he wasn’t as well connected as those from places of privilege.
Forbes decided to address the “huge beast” of classism in TV and film as he shot and edited the documentary without any funding, grants, or crew.
“Still, most of the time, producers can't be bothered to look at your emails, so I thought, I'm just going to do it myself,” he said.
“I'm just gonna go for it.
“The film itself, it's just sort of pointing the fingers at the industry and saying ‘you know what you're doing, it has been wrong historically, it's been wrong for many years’.
“But I want them all to come together and make a change,” he added.
Throughout Quiet On Set, Forbes speaks to prominent producers, directors and actors from a multitude of corporations including ITV, Channel 4, and the BBC.
He explores the question of whether it is justifiable for certain individuals to enjoy an unfair advantage due to their middle- or upper-class upbringing within the industry.
He also highlighted that those from privately educated backgrounds can “effortlessly navigate” their way into coveted roles and jobs by “leveraging” their privilege.
Forbes believes the reason why his documentary has resonated so well with those who have seen it is because the story of struggling to get anywhere in the industry for those with working-class roots is so widespread.
Discussing the issue during the evening, it was clear that the main hurdle was making those who are at the top of the industry acknowledge the problem as there was vocal support from those who attended the event who agreed it needed urgent addressing.
Mullan shared his support for Forbes’s film as he told the Sunday National: “What I loved about the documentary is, it really looks into what is class, what do we mean when we talk about class, and how much does that affect your job opportunities?
“How much does that affect your life opportunities?
“It's not something they'll solve overnight, nor necessarily something we can legislate overnight, but we have to address it.”
The veteran actor added: “We have to address it for the sake of the next generation and generation after that and particularly in film and TV, we have to wake up, we just have to wake up and I would look at myself as much as anybody else.”
The Trainspotting and Braveheart star also spoke about how inspiring young people by giving them better access to resources to learn about TV and film can help pave the way for the next generation of media talent.
Mullan said the industry has to lead by example by working with schools across the country and demonstrating that it is willing to invest in young working-class kids.
“We need to get into universities and colleges, and any community centres, any places where we can go and provide the equipment and the skills so that people can actually get into the industry,” he said.
“Next step after that is we need AAA, a decent sophisticated apprentice system so that youngsters have a genuine opportunity to work in all avenues of film and TV.
“And have a genuine chance of getting proper paid work.”
Screen Scotland has been working towards making film and media courses part of the mainstream curriculum at primary and secondary schools across the country.
In August this year, it announced a summer course for 2025 where 40 teachers from across Scotland will learn practical filmmaking skills to help them test the potential of the subject at their schools.
Hascoet (above right) believes Screen Scotland’s initiative is a step in the right direction as she said: “Kids grow up with phones, they grow up doing it anyway, so doing it in an informed way, in a structured way at school, normalises it.”
She also raised the point that if there are jobs available to young people in the future, will they be available in Scotland?
Hascoet said: "It's always the worry about training people, and not necessarily having the right learning place for them here.
“But this is why we set up the Scottish Producers Circle because the idea is to come together.”
“It feels like pockets of people are doing really great things.”
