TIME & LOCATION
About
Chair
SPONSOR
Panel
Paula Campbell has been working at Northern Ireland Screen since 2011. During that time, she has been responsible for the delivery of their skills development strategy which includes managing all their trainee work placement & skills development programmes across the 6 priority screen sectors. In April 2022 she took a secondment from this role to head up the Creative Industries New Entrants programme (CINE). CINE is a new initiative which aims to broaden access to the screen and creative industries at entry level and will prioritise people from backgrounds that are currently underrepresented in the industry. Prior to joining Northern Ireland Screen, Paula worked in production for over 25 years including being a founder and director of a Northern Irish based production/post-production company for 10 of those years.
Emma Patterson-Bennett has been with BBC NI since July 2022. Emma works to ensure Diversity & Inclusion best practice is embedded across the organisation and supports the BBC NI leadership team to deliver effective cultural change. Previously Emma was the Equality & Diversity Manager at the Education Authority (EA) providing advice and guidance on all aspects of equality, diversity and inclusion to staff and schools. Emma developed the first Gender Action Plan for EA including designing and leading on the award-winning EA Menopause Workplace Policy. Emma has a background in human rights having previously worked for the NGO, the Committee on the Administration of Justice (CAJ) and was part of the BrexitLawNI Project identifying the human rights and equality aspects of the EU exit for Northern Ireland. Emma is a Board member for Employers for Disability NI and the CINE Programme and an independent assessor for Diversity Mark NI.
Gavin Halpin is the Managing Director of Paper Owl Films, which he co-founded in 2012. Since graduating with a 1st class honours degree in Film and Communications from the Dublin Institute of Technology, Gavin has produced hundreds of television programmes and his experience has given him a unique perspective on the creativity, resilience, and belief it takes to create award winning content. Gavin is a driving force in Paper Owl Films as the key business affairs contact and Executive Producer and is an active member of the board of Screen Producers Ireland.
Gerard Stratton is filmmaker and company director of Triplevision Productions, an ambitious disabled-led independent production company based in the heart of West Belfast. He has worked in the industry from 1998 and has directed and filmed many hours of television for Triplevision and numerous other production companies and broadcasters. Triplevision is a group of creative storytellers who aim to produce compelling documentary content in factual, specialist factual and factual entertainment genres for UK and International markets. They make authentic, powerful, thought-provoking films that connect with audiences in an emotional way and on a global level. They specialise in gaining unique access to challenging stories in distinct territories and are widely respected for building trust with contributors through a down to earth, warm and sensitive approach. Triplevision aims to promote the next generation of filmmakers, having strong relationships with local universities and colleges, and is committed to increasing diversity in TV, being proudly partnered with 1in5 – a Social Enterprise dedicated to developing digital content from disabled creatives.
Lata’s career began in N.I. in 1985 as a musician and actor. Understandably at that time, professional acting work here was very limited for actors of different ethnicities, so after a short stint gaining broadcasting experience in London, she returned home and began working as a reporter in BBC N.I. She became a presenter/broadcaster on national BBC television and radio and, on becoming a mother of three, returned home to present for BBC N.I., write an opinion column for a local newspaper and become a social and cultural commentator for BBC Radio Ulster and U105. In the last three years Lata returned to acting and has written her first one woman show, 'Sausage Sodas and Onion Bhajis' (which she performed at the Sanctuary Theatre in March and September 2023). Lata has also written short stories aired on BBC 4 and Radio 4, and presented a six-part series for Radio Ulster entitled 'Roar of the Greasepaint'. For the past nine years Lata has worked in the voluntary sector and has been Chair of Ards and North Down Borough Council's Intercultural Forum for the past seven years.