Event Preview: Edinburgh TV Festival

In its 44th year, Edinburgh TV Festival is celebrating creativity, diversity and inspirational talent in the media business—and it is not shying away from addressing some of the major issues facing the industry at present. This year’s event, held from August 21 to 23, is expected to draw around 2,000 delegates from across the spectrum of major networks, production companies and the digital world.

“I personally felt that it was really important to keep the festival as relevant and exciting as ever and to maintain the values that it has always had as being quite irreverent and provocative,” says Lisa Campbell, CEO and festival director. “That’s more important than ever in a climate where politicians are trying to have so much control via the kind of media that they want to speak to and the impact that is having on democracy. We have a really important part to play at the center of some of those debates.” And the event will address it “with our unique Edinburgh spin,” she says, in a “very engaging, entertaining and informative way.”

Campbell says that Edinburgh TV Festival has always tried to “make a difference and push boundaries,” acknowledging that it’s not always easy, as many in the industry are still locked into the traditional ways of doing things. “So, it’s not as straightforward as it might seem to make those changes. But we’re at such a turning point in the industry when it comes to things like trust and transparency, the impact on democracy, diversity and inclusion.”

Michaela Coel made waves with her MacTaggart Lecture at last year’s festival, revealing that she had been sexually assaulted, and she also sent a message about the duty of care the TV industry has toward artists. And the event is keen to push this message forward, says Campbell. “Michaela did such a powerful and moving speech that we wanted to pick up on her key message, which was: how do we fix this house? We’ve taken that as our starting point and looked at how we can use that theme across as many sessions as possible.”

Paul Feig, creator of the hit series Freaks and Geeks and director of the Academy Award-nominated movie Bridesmaids, will deliver the Worldview Address at the festival. “Having a man who is walking the walk as well as talking the talk is so vital,” Campbell says. “He’s got such fantastic views on the roles of women in the industry on camera and behind the scenes, and he was groundbreaking in his approach to female comedy.”

Jerry Springer is set to deliver the Alternative MacTaggart Lecture this year. “He’s very much the ‘man of the moment,’” Campbell says, “particularly around some of the issues we’re facing [in the U.K.] with duty of care to contributors.” The former talk show host will explore topics such as the role of a producer in looking after guests and the proper after-care situation. Also a former journalist and politician, Springer will share his views on politicians’ relationship with the media and what part traditional news organizations can play to uphold democratic debate in an era of fake news.

Russell T Davies will be looking back at 20 years of Queer as Folk on a panel that includes RuPaul’s Drag Race alum Courtney Act. “The series was really groundbreaking in its time,” Campbell explains. “It was one of the first series that represented gay people in a mainstream television. We’re looking at the impact of that and how far LGBTQ+ representation has come since.”

The festival roster also includes David Collins, creator and executive producer of Queer Eye. He will be speaking as part of EdTalks, which explores “TV as a source of good,” Campbell notes. “There’s been lots of negativity around the media this year particularly, but actually, how can TV play a part in things like sustainability and the environment or representation?”

BAFTA-winning documentary filmmaker, journalist and broadcaster Louis Theroux will join writer and journalist Dawn O’Porter on stage in a special interview. “That’s going to be a really fun and enlightening session,” says Campbell. “He’ll be sharing his views on the changing nature of authored documentaries to more celeb-fronted series, exploring the authenticity. How passionate is the celebrity about the subject and community they go into, or how much of it is a producer coming up with an idea and attaching someone to it. Authenticity is going to be a central theme.”

A spotlight once again will be put on controllers, giving attendees a look at commissioning wish lists and what producers are looking for. Georgia Brown, the director of European Prime Original Series for Amazon Studios, is taking part. There will be a focus on China, exploring the SVOD business there, the challenges involved in doing business in the country and the secrets to getting formats and ideas over. “The Making of a Mega Doc” session will explore how the documentary genre has gathered force among global audiences. It will feature, among others, the director of the explosive Michael Jackson exposé Leaving Neverland and producer of the much-buzzed-about Fyre Festival doc Fyre: The Greatest Party That Never Happened. Drama masterclasses will explore Killing Eve with actor Fiona Shaw (Harry Potter) and Top Boy, reinvented for Netflix by rapper Drake and featuring singer, rapper and actor Little Simz. And there’s much more featured among the packed three-day schedule.

A centerpiece of the festival as a whole, the James MacTaggart Memorial Lecture this year will be delivered by Dorothy Byrne. The head of news and current affairs at Channel 4, she is one of the longest-serving heads of commissioning in the TV industry and has won numerous International Emmy, BAFTA and RTS Awards. Byrne will be discussing issues around women in the industry, ageism, politics and accountability. “She’s funny, provocative and searingly honest,” says Campbell. “She’ll make us question ourselves and our industry.”

Pictured (in order from top left): Dorothy Byrne, Louis Theroux, Courtney Act, Hugh Laurie, Dawn O’Porter, Georgia Brown, Simbi ‘Little Simz’ Ajikawo, Jerry Springer.