The Film & TV Charity has launched its 2022 Looking Glass Survey to assess and support the mental health of the industry and is urging everyone who works behind the scenes to participate.

This is the third iteration of The Looking Glass Survey and runs alongside a call for donations to support the Charity”s services.

The first Looking Glass Survey in 2019 revealed shocking results, showing a mental health emergency behind the scenes in film, TV, and cinema. With 9 in 10 respondents to that survey stating that they had experienced a mental health problem, the Charity focused its attention on supporting everyone in the industry.

Following the 2019 survey, The Film and TV Charity bolstered the support it offered through its free, confidential, and completely independent 24/7 Film and TV Support Line with the launch of its Bullying Advice Service, a Freelancer Wellbeing Hub, and a host of practical tools and resources, all available through the Charity”s website.

A further Looking Glass Survey in 2021, commissioned to capture how film, TV, and cinema workers were responding to the challenges presented by the pandemic, saw that just 1 in 10 people agree that the industry was a mentally healthy place to work. However, there were also signs of an upward turn with respondents recognising that conversations around mental health, culture, and working conditions were starting to take root. Since then, the Charity has also launched further interventions, including its Whole Picture Toolkit, a free online resource providing UK productions with a framework to create a mentally healthy workplace.

Alex Pumfrey, CEO of The Film and TV Charity, said “We hope that everyone, from every corner of the industry, will complete this third Looking Glass survey. The data it returns is crucial for helping us – and the wider industry – to understand how we need to improve ways of working and the support people need. Much progress has been made but we also know much more needs to be done. Also donating to support us in delivering those services is an act of community and generosity which we know all our beneficiaries are incredibly grateful for.

“We”re asking everyone across film, TV, and cinema to take on this challenge by sharing the survey with their colleagues; tell us how you are feeling and what you need. And while we completely understand that many are feeling the effects of the cost-of-living crisis at the moment, donations from those who are able to help can make a powerful difference to so many people working behind the scenes.”

Click here to take part in the survey and click here to donate.