Oscar-winning director Steve McQueen has condemned the British film and television industry for its lack of diversity, describing the situation as 'shameful' and 'blatant racism'. In an interview with The Observer, the 12 Years a Slave director said the UK is 'so far behind' the US in terms of representation, and called for urgent change.
McQueen, who is making his television debut with the BBC series Small Axe, recounted visiting a London film set last year and being struck by its 'whiteness'. He said that during the filming of Small Axe in Wolverhampton, the only BAME (Black, Asian and Minority Ethnic) people on set were drivers and one electrician, despite tax breaks and financial support.
The director argued that the lack of diversity is not just about race but also class, with the 'Oxbridge thing' pervading the media. He called for quotas for actors and crew on every British production, and for fast-tracked training and apprenticeship schemes for young BAME talent. 'We need to put an infrastructure in place where people from the BAME community, who make up around 14% of the population, have access to jobs,' he said.
McQueen praised the BBC for funding Small Axe but stressed that initiatives to remedy the situation must be expedited across the board. He questioned the diversity of crews on other major productions, including the recent BBC Windrush drama Sitting In Limbo and the Harry Potter films. 'It's not just about black people working on black films, it's about black people working in film and television, period,' he said.
The director expressed frustration at the lack of progress, saying he has heard promises of change 'a thousand times' but seen little action. 'Now is the time for real change,' he concluded. McQueen, who won an Oscar for 12 Years a Slave, will debut Small Axe, a series of six films about black British experience, in November.
