Sargent-Disc sponsors PGGB’s Northern Ireland Committee

We are delighted to announce that Sargent-Disc (a Cast & Crew Company) is the official sponsor of The Production Guild of Great Britain’s newly established Northern Ireland Committee.

The new committee is one of six in the Nations and Regions being formed by PGGB, the leading UK membership body for production professionals, in response to the continuing boom in UK film and High-end TV production.

Lara Sargent, Co-Head of International, Cast & Crew and Director, Sargent-Disc says: “The work of the PGGB Northern Ireland Committee is going to be key to ensuring a joined up approach to high quality production across the UK, and crucially between Northern Ireland and the Republic. Sargent-Disc is honoured to support the Committee, as well as production on the island of Ireland and across the UK.”

The PGGB Northern Ireland Committee is chaired by Belfast-based freelance producer Amanda Black, who is currently producing Mammoth Screen’s upcoming second series of BBC One World War II drama World on Fire. Vice Chairs are: Paula Crickard, Head of Post-Production at Nu Boyana Studios and a producer whose feature film credits include Everton, Howards Way (2019) and BIFA-nominated Winter (2015); and emerging Production Accountant Michael Kilpatrick whose credits include Game of Thrones and upcoming Florian Zeller feature The Son starring Hugh Jackman and Anthony Hopkins.

Committee members are: Production Manager Darren Chesney (The School for Good and Evil, The Northman); Production Accountant Richard Henry (Rush, Cats); Location Manager Naomi Liston (The Northman, Game of Thrones); Louise Morrison, a Production Accountant working in production development and Training Consultant currently delivering ScreenSkills’ UK Assistant Production Accountant Apprenticeship; and Production Manager Stacey Quigley (Invasion, Dungeons & Dragons).

Lyndsay Duthie, PGGB CEO, says: “We’re delighted to continue PGGB’s roll out into the Nations and Regions with the launch of our new Northern Ireland Committee, and we extend our thanks to our official sponsor Sargent-Disc (a Cast & Crew company). By creating a network of professionals based across the country, we’re enabling better dialogue about how to target industry support that suits differing needs on the ground. With recent hits including The Northman, Belfast, Derry Girls and Game of Thrones, and upcoming releases like Dungeons & Dragons to look forward to, Northern Ireland is generating some of the most exciting screen content in the country. I’m pleased that this new Committee will help PGGB better represent the interests of its production professionals.”

Producer Amanda Black says: “I’m delighted to be chairing the Production Guild’s new Northern Ireland Committee. At a time when our industry in Northern Ireland is stronger than ever, it’s important that those working behind the camera are well represented by national organisations that represent the UK industry as a whole. The launch of this committee is another strong step in that direction. I look forward to working with my colleagues and putting Northern Ireland further on the map as a place of excellence for filming.”


PGGB’s Northern Ireland Committee is the second PGGB National and Regional Committee to be established. It follows the PGGB Bristol and South West England Committee which launched in September. Locations have been chosen in line with the British Film Commission’s Stage Space Support Development hub centers. Four further Committees are set to launch in Scotland, Wales, the North West of England and Yorkshire in the coming months.

Each committee will meet a minimum of four times per year and deliver a variety of activities within their area including forums, masterclasses and networking events. PGGB’s Chair and CEO will meet with the six National and Regional Committee Chairs annually as a steering group.

For more information about the PGGB’s Northern Ireland Committee sponsored by Sargent-Disc (a Cast & Crew company), click here.

 
 

Celebrating the return to the Festival de Cannes!

After two years of COVID disruption, it was a welcome return to normality at this years’ 75th Festival De Cannes (17-28 May). Sargent-Disc and parent company Cast & Crew were delighted to have a strong combined representation at the festival, and to produce and sponsor a number of industry events that brought international delegates together.

Attending from the UK were Laurence and Lara Sargent, Co-Heads International at Cast & Crew and Sargent-Disc Directors, were accompanied by Sargent-Disc executives Sarah McKenzie (Business Development) and Emma Hicks (Marketing Manager); from Cast & Crew in the US were Andrew Jablonski (Vice President – East Coast and International Sales), David Benavente (VP Head of Independent Sales and Services), Diedre Owen (Incentive Financing Vice President, Production).

Sargent-Disc and Cast & Crew’s Cannes Festival Lounge at the Grand Hotel on Boulevard de la Croisette, welcomed the steady flow of festival delegates dropping in for meetings, refreshments – and access to those all-important device charging points!

On the Festival’s opening weekend, Cast & Crew with Sargent-Disc co-hosted the seventh International Producers Reception. Taking place at the Members Club, Long Beach on Saturday 21 May, the return of this event after a two-year hiatus gave producers and financiers from across the globe the valuable opportunity to gather in person, strengthening existing relationships and building new connections. We extend our thanks the International Federation of Film Producers Associations (FIAPF), Producers Alliance for Cinema and Television (PACT), The Production Guild of Great Britain (PGGB), Screen Producers Ireland, the British Film Commission and New Zealand Film Commission, for their support for the event.

Sargent-Disc was also delighted to sponsor the 2022 Screen International Cannes UK Reception on 23 May alongside headline sponsor British Film Commission. Welcoming guests to the always popular event, which this year took place on the beach at Le Gray d’Albion, were Matt Muller (Editor, Screen International), Laurence Sargent (Co-Head International Cast & Crew and Director Sargent-Disc) and Adrian Wootton OBE (CEO, British Film Commission & Film London). View photos from the Reception here.

Away from the buzz of parties and receptions, it was a strong year for UK film at Cannes, with five UK features and seven shorts in selection, and the coveted Palme d’Or going to Ruben Östlund for black comedy satire Triangle of Sadness, a Swedish/UK/German/French co-production starring Woody Harrelson, produced by the UK’s Mike Goodridge.

“It was wonderful to be able to meet colleagues face to face again at the world’s biggest film festival, leaving behind the virtual settings of video calls that have dominated throughout the pandemic,” says Laurence Sargent, Sargent-Disc Director and Co-Head International at Cast & Crew. “The production industry has stayed strong throughout the challenges of COVID-19 but the return of Cannes is a real reminder of how worthwhile it is to be able to reconnect again in person.”

“We were particularly proud to see two films supported by Sargent-Disc going on to shine at Cannes. Scottish filmmaker Charlotte Wells’ debut Aftersun, which we provided Payroll, CrewStart, PSL+ and Digital Purchase Order services to, received the French Touch Prize of the Jury in Critics’ Week, and Alex Garland’s latest feature Men starring Jessie Buckley, which we provided Digital Purchase Order support to, had its World Premiere in Directors Fortnight. Congratulations to everyone involved in those films!”

For more information about Sargent-Disc’s Digital Production Office suite of applications, click here.