Today, 15th September 2021, Friends, Families and Travellers (FFT) are inviting Gypsy, Roma and Traveller creative professionals to register to receive news about opportunities in the creative sector.
At Friends, Families and Travellers, we are receiving increasing numbers of requests from producers and writers planning to create TV shows, films and plays with Gypsy, Roma and Traveller characters and storylines.
To do this well and with best practice, we believe there needs to be involvement of people from Gypsy, Roma and Traveller communities within their production teams from the outset – as writers, actors, directors, costume designers, dancers, technical crew and much more.
We are excited to see production companies making efforts to improve representation of Gypsy, Roma and Traveller people on television, in film and in the media.
We know that TV shows and films have often been the worst offenders in promoting negative stereotypes of Gypsy, Roma and Traveller people, but we also know that TV and film can be used as a tool for social change. It’s time to flip the narrative!
For this reason, we have launched a way of connecting Gypsy, Roma, Traveller, Boater and Showmen creative professionals with opportunities in the creative sector.
We invite creative professionals from a Gypsy, Roma, Traveller, Boater or Showman background, to sign up and receive introductions and alerts when we become aware of opportunities.
Speaking about the launch, Mattey Mitchell, Health Campaigns Officer at Friends, Families and Travellers said:
“I applaud this effort to align Romani and Traveller portrayals with Romani and Traveller creatives. Empowering individuals to represent themselves on screen – via acting, writing, filmmaking or through any other art – is a natural and vital step towards equality. Not only is it ethically correct, but mining new perspectives and narratives is the very lifeblood of storytelling. Who better to lead on those stories than those who’ve lived them?”
Reflecting on the news, Chris McDonagh, Campaigns Officer at Friends, Families and Travellers said:
“Traveller and Gypsy people are too often portrayed in TV shows or other events as the stereotypical angry criminal or the romanticised ‘free spirits’ who live off the land. We are so much more. A network for Gypsy, Roma and Traveller creatives, who are uniquely qualified due to their lived experiences, to instruct, teach and influence portrayals of their community on TV and stage; and who can help paint a truer picture of who they truly are, has long been overdue. This is a step in the right direction.”
About Friends, Families and Travellers (FFT)
Friends, Families and Travellers is a leading national charity that works to end racism and discrimination against Gypsy, Roma and Traveller people and to protect the right to pursue a nomadic way of life.
Media Contact
Lucy Hetherington
Tel: 07425 419853 Email: lucy@gypsy-traveller.org
Relevant Resources
Connecting Gypsy, Roma and Traveller creative professionals with opportunities in the creative sector. Get involved.
