OKRE Summit 2022

For collaborations to work for both sides, charities and entertainment creators need to engage early in the process – but how does this work in the real world? Miles Jacobson OBE, studio director of Sports Interactive, the studio behind the global hit Football Manager, discusses successful collaborations, authentically representing difficult subject matters and what needs to change with Simon Gunning, CEO of the Campaign Against Living Miserably (CALM), Samir Patel, CEO of Comic Relief, and Sophie Neary, Group Vertigo Director at Meta. The panel will be moderated by journalist, broadcaster and author Ayesha Hazirika.

Multi-award-winning British actress Samantha Morton first garnered international attention in 1997 starring in Carine Adler’s Under the Skin, earning her the Boston Film Critics Award for Best Actress.

In a highly decorated acting career Morton has twice been nominated for an Academy Award®, three times nominated for a BAFTA award, eight times nominated for a BIFFA award (winning once) and in 2007 she received a Best Actress Golden Globe® for her portrayal of notorious child-murderer Myra Hindley in the NBC/Channel 4 film Longford.

In 2009, Morton made her directorial debut with The Unloved, a semi-autobiographical film based in the British children’s care system, winning the BAFTA Television Award for Best Single Drama.

Both on and off screen, she has addressed the British children’s care system and care leavers, and in this recorded in conversation discusses bringing lived experience into her creative work and what she would like to see the industry address in 2022.

Continuing drama is the global sweetheart of television. From The Archers and Hollyoaks to the telenovelas of South America, it’s watched by hundreds of millions of viewers, produces some of the biggest names both in front of and behind the camera – and pioneers storylines that tackle big issues. Join Lucy Allan (Lime Pictures), Jeremy Howe (The Archers), Alejandro Villanueva Argüelles (Fundación Televisa), Martha Williams (Beat) and Ria Hebden (journalist and TV Presenter) to discuss long-term approaches to weaving social issues into continuing drama and the benefits this can have for charities and producers alike.

Method X Studios are a new studio, where behaviour change and mental health experts, work alongside content creatives and technologists. Founder Deborah Coughlin talks to Dr Iain Jordan (Oxford University Hospitals) about whether entertainment can be designed to reach broader socioeconomic demographics than other mental health interventions and improve audiences’ mental wellbeing.

Depicting mental health in entertainment content can feel like a minefield – but by working with experts and people with lived experience, content producers can tell stories that reflect reality rather than recycling tropes. Together, Sangeeta Pillai, founder of the taboo-busting South Asian feminist network Soul Sutras, BAFTA award-nominated film director Stewart Kyasimire, Alex Bushill, Head of Media and PR at Mind and Kate Martin, Head of Lived Experience at the Wellcome Trust, look at different approaches and discuss how to move the narrative forward.

The award-winning drama series Shuga has aired in 40 different African countries and been shown internationally by almost 90 different stations. The series provided viewers with their first encounter with Oscar winner Lupita Nyong’o and also featured leading South African actress, Thuso Mbedu. Dealing with issues of sexual health, gender-based violence and female empowerment, the series has become a global hit.

Executive producer Georgia Arnold – now Head of VIS Social Impact, Paramount’s new cause-driven studio, and Executive Director of the MTV Staying Alive Foundation – talks to writer and director Thishiwe Ziqubu about the differences in the broadcasting landscape in Africa and why MTV Shuga has been such a success in driving behaviour change in the demand generation.

With award-winning journalist Dhruti Shah

From children’s TV to reality shows, games to podcasts, the similarities and differences when it comes to tackling big issues make for a fascinating insight into audiences’ mindsets. BAFTA special award winner Jocelyn Stevenson, writer of Fraggle Rock, The Magic Schoolbus and Barney & Friends, BBC Entertainment’s commissioning editor Ruby Kuraishe, Jamie Bartlett, presenter of the podcast The Missing Cryptoqueen, and Playtra founder Dan Bernardo join journalist Dhruti Shah to explore what lessons we can learn from mega hits.

How are commissioners working to push audiences to places they haven’t been before? Join Naomi Sesay, Head of Creative Diversity at Channel 4 and creator of the station’s new commissioning guide; Priya Matadeen, Managing Director of Dazed Media, Nick Callaghan, Head of Industry, Entertainment UK, Meta, Hermione Kasirye, Save The Children’s Youth Advisory Board member and Anne Morrison, Nevision’s Creative Director, Factual Programmes to discuss how to develop innovative, inspirational content that resonates with audiences.

Greenpeace’s Chris Till talks about how Greenpeace Brazil brought the real impacts of the climate crisis into the virtual world of the game GTA. In Los Santos +30C, citizens of the most famous city in the gaming universe suffered from the consequences of extreme events, with flooded areas, dry reservoirs, air pollution and a drastic decrease in fauna and flora.

Big idea and successful implementation; creativity vs authenticity – what is the cornerstone of effective behavioral change from entertainment? Speakers from across formats discuss smarter ways to integrate impactful messages. With Susie Braun (ITV), Tommy Nagra (Children In Need), Molly Lyy (Snap Inc) and Mia Powell (Lammas Park).

Ginger Johnson is an award-winning artist, writer, performer and theatre maker with a sweet tooth for the ridiculous. She creates surprising, thoughtful work that makes space to allow audiences to feel at ease with ideas that might otherwise be hard to swallow.