OKRE

We're thrilled to share that we have published our latest research report 'Delivering Social Impact in Entertainment Content' At OKRE we understand that storytelling through entertainment content has the power to influence perceptions and shape culture. TV, film, social media and interactive entertainment are all uniquely placed to create conversations and expand people’s understanding of the world. But how much do we know about whether this has a lasting impact on society? This report gathers the findings of an extensive qualitative and quantitative research project conducted in the latter half of 2023, following on from the work of OKRE’s Entertainment Industry Taskforce. The Taskforce, led by Hana Canter, was composed of leaders across the UK entertainment industry, representing major media corporations including Netflix, Prime Video & Amazon MGM Studios, BBC, Sky, ITV, Spotify, Snap Inc., The Walt Disney Company, and supported by Comic Relief. To read & download the report, please visit the OKRE website: https://lnkd.in/eA5YDrZb Continuing to lead in supporting the entertainment industry to measure social impact, we have also announced we are working on the development of an ‘Entertainment Impact Index’. This new framework will complement existing impact measurements, while enabling greater cross-sector collaboration and shared understanding of definitions and impact language. OKRE will work in conjunction with BAFTA – an arts charity and academy with over 12000 members working in film, games and television – to scope this project through the remainder of 2024.

New Year - new challenge? Check out this exciting opportunity to help us deliver an initial scoping of a 'UK Video Games Econometrics' project. Applications close Wednesday 8th January.

As we wind up for 2024 and head home for mince pies and movies (Die Hard, Elf & Nightmare Before Christmas among the team’s many favourites) - we’ve taken a look back at OKRE’s 2024 in 24 seconds.  OKRE Fund:   Coming of age feature ‘Black Dog’ was released to digital audiences and very well received by critics – it was a pleasure to have George Jaques speak at our Summit about the project.   ‘My Blonde GF’ from TYKE FILMS LTD was nominated for a Grierson and screened in Parliament. Feature film ‘The Ceremony’ won the inaugural Sean Connery Prize for Filmaking Excellence at the Edinburgh International Film Festival Ornella Mutoni’s powerful short ‘The Things We Don’t Say’ premiered on Guardian Docs. Victoria Mapplebeck's ‘Motherboard’ premiered at CPH:DOX in Denmark, screened at LFF and Victoria won Best Director at the Women in Film and TV Awards. ‘Smoggie Queens’ from Hat Trick Productions –  supported via funding raised through our KindQueerHeart campaign - debuted on BBC Three and iPlayer.     OKRE Events: Our flagship OKRE Summit: the only event that brings together the worlds of entertainment, technology, academic research, lived experience and charities. The Sister Act Charity Gala: An incredibly special evening that raised money for our #KindQueerHeartFund to improve the authentic representation of LGBTQIA+ people and the issues affecting the community. Huge thanks to all who came out to support, partners LGBT Great and especially to Simon Ruddick for his inspiration, determination and generosity in making it all happen – wonderfully supported by Alice I..  The OKRE Comedy x Climate x Cocktails event where we brought together the perfect mix of comedy writers & climate/health researchers to provoke and inspire. Two new BBC Radio 4 drama’s launched, developed as part of OKRE’s ‘Experimental Stories’ strand.  We launched our latest research report - 'Delivering Social Impact in Entertainment Content' - which gathered the findings of research into the ways in which the entertainment industry tracks the social impact of content.    OKRE’s Jenna Al-Ansari spoke on two panels at Wildscreen Festival and OKRE Director Iain Dodgeon hosted the Advocacy Microtalks at Game Developers Conference. And to round off the year, into 2025, OKRE with Ukie were awarded funding from British Film Institute (BFI) Innovation Fund for a ‘UK Video Games Econometrics’ project – a study of the economic, cultural and social value of the UK sector. Huge thanks to Nick Button-Brown and Nick Poole OBE for their stewardship of this project. 2024 has been a transformative year for OKRE – with new team members delivering a host of programmes, projects and events. We’re ready for a few weeks of rest and excited to be heading into 2025 with lots more to achieve. Huge thanks to all of our supporters, our Board of Trustees and the many many collaborators who have shared their knowledge and expertise with us this year. Happy Holidays!

We’re excited to share the news that Stephen Lee has joined OKRE’s Board of Trustees 🍾🍾   Stephen brings a decade of media experience through prior roles at Warner Bros. Discovery, where he launched new video streaming services and delivered Olympic Games content across Europe.   He is a Community Council member for the Power of Pop Fund, a pooled social justice fund led by Comic Relief as well as consulting for BAFTA Elevate, a talent development programme for under-represented TV and film professionals.    Working as a trainer and facilitator to help organisations and individuals boost their performance, Stephen draws on his decade long experience in improv comedy. He also has possibly one of the best six-word bio’s we’ve seen: 'looks Korean, sounds American, acts British'.    We’re thrilled to have Stephen bring his diverse range of skills and experience to our Board of Trustees, who all play a key role in shaping OKRE’s overall direction and supporting our continued growth. Commenting on the move, Stephen said: "I am honoured to be joining the OKRE Board at this critical time for the entertainment sector. OKRE's ability to lift the industry via direct creative funding, unifying impact research and convening leadership summits is unique in the field. I look forward to helping grow the team's social impact."

Huge congratulations to Victoria Mapplebeck for this well deserved award win. 👏🏻👏🏻🍾🍾👏🏻👏🏻

Do you: ❤️ 🎮 Love videogames and have research experience in economics, mathematics or statistics? 📊 Have the skills and experience to lead an exciting new econometrics project into the social, economic and cultural value of the UK sector? 💭 Think you can guide a steering committee to explore innovative research that includes a diversity of voices, experiences and identities? We have an exciting new opportunity for a Project and Research Lead to join us to help deliver an initial scoping of a 'UK Video Games Econometrics' project. The project - in partnership with Ukie - is one of the first recipients of funding from British Film Institute (BFI)'s Innovation Challenge Fund. Find out more, with details on how to apply here: https://lnkd.in/eGc4_f5u

Closing date for this role is Friday 6th December - if you're interested in creating amazing content that amplifies our work in public purpose entertainment, then we'd love to hear from you. Send us your CV and a cover letter outlining how you demonstrate the qualities, skills, and experience in the person specification to officemanager@okre.org 📨

CPH:DOX is a great event that hosted the world premiere of OKRE-Funded project 'Motherboard' last year - check out this British Film Institute (BFI) funded opportunity for UK producers/creators to attend in 2025...

Ay up babes! New OKRE Fund supported project coming in HOT 🔥🔥🔥 This is one we’ve been excited to share with you for a while – tomorrow sees the launch of the brand-new series ‘Smoggie Queens’ on BBC Three and BBC iPlayer. This out and out comedy is centred around a gang of fierce friends who are proud of their North Eastern town of Middlesbrough and their small pocket of the LGBTQ+ community. Written by Middlesbrough native Phil Dunning & produced by Hat Trick Productions the series was filmed exclusively in the North East - with funding support from North East Screen Industries Partnership delivered by North East Screen. ‘Smoggie’ is a term proudly used to describe people from Middlesbrough and the wider Teeside region. The OKRE Fund supported the series via funding raised through our #KindQueerHeart campaign this summer. We’re delighted to have played a part in bringing this amazing, irreverent and self-styled “stupid & weird” series to audiences and supporting collaborations with local LGBTQ+ charities. “An infectious sense of pride – both queer and regional – drives Dunning’s show” said The Big Issue of the series this week, adding "No one could accuse Smoggie Queens of being an issues-led comedy, but its sass and banter are firmly rooted in truth" – we wholeheartedly agree! Members of the OKRE team are currently hot-footing their way up to Middlesbrough to join tonight’s fantastic ‘Pink Carpet Premiere’ – we can’t wait for you to fall in love with the Smoggie Queens as much as we have. Smoggie Queens – available on BBC iPlayer and BBC Three on 28th November at 10:10pm Images: BBC/Hat Trick #kindqueerheart #okrefund #smoggiequeens #representationonscreen #lgbtqia+ #representationmatters #NorthEastScreen #OKRE

This month has seen two new audio dramas reach BBC Radio 4's audiences, developed in collaboration with scientific research through OKRE's 'Experimental Stories' programme - supported by Wellcome Trust. We spoke with the teams involved in these two very different and compelling dramas about their experiences…