Production Guild Of Great Britain Talent Showcase 2025

We were proud to have supported The Production Guild of Great Britain’s annual PGGB Talent Showcase last week. During the event, the winner of the third annual Duke of Edinburgh Film & TV Inclusion Award was announced. Launched in 2022, this initiative highlights the inspiring work of organizations and individuals promoting talent inclusion in the UK screen production workforce. This year’s award goes to the Sara Putt Associates Trainee Scheme & Foundation! The award was presented by HRH The Duke of Edinburgh to Laurily Adams, Nicola Lees, and Kelly Spearman at The InterContinental Hotel in London. The winner was selected by a jury from PGGB’s Equality, Diversity & Inclusion Committee.

The evening was made even more special for the Sargent-Disc team and our guests with the chance to meet HRH The Duke of Edinburgh.

Founded 12 years ago, the Sara Putt Associates Trainee Scheme & Foundation aims to support new and diverse talent in the film and TV industry. This scheme helps trainees develop essential skills through workshops and events, providing them with valuable industry access. Additionally, the formation of the Foundation has expanded the talent pipeline, enabling individuals who might not otherwise have opportunities to enter the industry, enhancing diversity and representation.

The evening also featured an insightful panel discussion on the impact of inclusion in the industry, expertly hosted by the brilliant Ria Hebden. It was an inspiring reminder of the importance of diversity and representation in film and television.

All photographs by Theo Wood.

UK Launch of AP Automation

On November 20th, we were thrilled to host the UK launch of AP Automation—a ground breaking new feature in DPO that transforms how productions manage their accounts payable processes. The event began with an engaging showcase of the feature, followed by a audience Q&A session. We want to express our heartfelt thanks to everyone who attended and contributed insightful questions to the discussion.

After the presentation, attendees had the chance to network over some canapés and drinks, while also exploring the new system hands-on. Laptops were set up around the room, allowing participants to experience AP Automation first hand and discover how it simplifies and streamlines AP workflows.

So, what is AP Automation? The innovative new DPO feature is designed to significantly reduce the time and effort that currently goes into traditional AP processes. By automatically suggesting best match purchase orders for invoices sent directly to DPO, users can shift their focus to higher-value activities, while DPO handles the tedious work—such as data entry, document collation, and approval routing.

With PO and AP approvals integrated into DPO, as well as seamless integration into PSL+, productions can benefit from a one-stop-shop approval workflow. This streamlined process not only enhances efficiency but also improves visibility, enabling departments to track the real-time status of invoices and purchase orders with ease. The result? Faster, more transparent approvals that keep your production running smoothly.

If you’d like to see AP Automation in action or learn more about its integration with PSL+, we’d love to hear from you! Contact us at sales@sargent-disc.com to schedule a demo or for more information.

Celebrating Talent – Production Guild Awards 2024!

The 2024 PGGB Awards are a celebration of the depth and breadth of talent working within the UK production industry. Launching the evening in style, sponsors Cast & Crew, Sargent-Disc’s parent company, was delighted to welcome guests to the pre-Awards reception.

 

Award nominees across the six categories were a roll call of the best talent working within our industry.  The winners all stressed the importance of the production team to deliver the very best work, and the quality of the talent they work alongside.

 

Producer, David Heyman (Barbie, Wonka and Paddington) was presented with the ‘Contribution to the Industry Award’ for his incredible body of work which includes all eight Harry Potter features, the three Fantastic Beasts movies, Paddington, Barbie and Wonka.  He thanked the Guild and said, “This has been a really challenging period for the film and television industries in the UK – we’ve had COVID, we’ve had the strikes, and the economy in general has been struggling, to put it mildly. But I feel we’re turning a corner.”

 

“Next year, I think more productions will start up and more will come to the UK because it’s the best place in the world to make films and TV shows.”

 

Cast & Crew with Sargent-Disc hosted a table, and with our guests, we toasted the nominees and winners.  We were delighted that Sargent-Disc founder Marija Sargent was able to join us, whom with the late John Sargent, won the 2018 PGGB ‘Contribution to the Industry’ Award.

Courtesy of The Production Guild of Great Britain

Congratulations to all the nominees and winners!

The 2024 winners were:

Contribution to the Industry – David Heyman

Production Team of the Year, Film – Wonka

Production Team of the Year, HETV – Supacell

Inspiration Award – Georgette Turner

Diversity and Inclusion – Valeria Bullo

Spotlight on New Talent – Marc Ronnie

Courtesy of The Production Guild of Great Britain

Congratulations to the Edinburgh TV Festival 2024!

Patrick Spence – Producer AC Chapter One; Monica Dolan – actress; Sarah McKenzie, Business Development Sargent-Disc

Cast & Crew was delighted to be the headline sponsor of the Edinburgh TV Awards 2024 for the third year running at the Edinburgh TV Festival.

Another inspiring Festival, the 2024 edition shone the spotlight on several key issues including the social make-up of the work force and reduced production budgets. It also celebrated the incredible depth of talent, creative and crew, within the British industry.

The pain felt by company closures was clearly acknowledged. However, many industry insiders such as Patrick Holland (Banijay UK), Charlotte Moore (BBC), Nicola Shindler (Quay Street) and Ian Katz (C4) expressed a long held view that there were just too many indies to be sustainable.

This ‘resizing’ of the workforce is likely to make it harder for working class people to enter the industry and build their careers. Both James Graham during his McTaggart Memorial Lecture and Carol Vorderman in her Alternative McTaggart Lecture highlighted how serious an issue this is for the future of the industry. They spoke about the detrimental impact of only 8% of those working in television coming from a working-class background – in terms of content, representation and workplace role models. Several participants feel that the TV Access Project (TAP) is making a difference. It’s importance was also flagged up by Julie Clark, ITV Studios, Director of Production Drama during her Sargent-Disc International Women’s Day In Conversation. With the support of the broadcasters and streamers it is having a real impact, but more work needs to be done.

The extent of talent and creativity within the UK television industry along with the current financial challenges were clearly evidenced in so many of the festival sessions. For instance, ‘Back From the Brink: Reimagining The Future of Television’, the ‘Spotlight On …….’ series with ITV, BBC, Netflix, C4, Warner Brothers;  ‘Will.I.Am: AI and The Future of Creativity’ supported by his AI assistant, ‘Saving Mr Bates: The Future of Factual Drama’ and many more.

The Festival’s major celebration of this creativity was the 90 minute 2024 Edinburgh TV Awards which showcased the best of the previous year’s British and international productions. Cast & Crew was honoured to support the event. Sargent-Disc, Cast & Crew’s UK company, was proud to Chair the ‘Best Drama’ and ‘Best International Drama’ judging panels and to present the best Drama Award to the very deserving winner ‘Mr Bates v the Post Office’. It was a thrill to realise Sargent-Disc had provided payroll, production accounting and Digital Production Office services to so many of the nominated productions

Congratulations to all the nominees and winners!

Patrick Spence and Monica Dolan accepting Best Drama Award for Mr Bates v the Post Office.

The 2024 winners were:

Outstanding Achievement Award:
Martin Lewis

 

Channel of the Year:
ITV1

 

Production Company of the Year:
Studio Lambert

 

Best Drama:
‘Mr Bates vs The Post Office’ – ITV Studios and Little Gem for ITV1

 

Best International Drama:
‘The Bear’ – FX Productions for Disney+

 

Best TV Actor – Comedy:
Bridget Christie in ‘The Change’

 

Best TV Actor – Drama:
Monica Dolan in ‘Mr Bates vs The Post Office’

 

Climate Impact Award:
‘The Great Climate Fight’ – Keo Films Ltd for Channel 4

 

Best Comedy Series:
‘Big Boys’ – Roughcut TV for Channel 4

 

Small Indie of the Year:
Hardcash Productions

 

Best TV Presenter Entertainment:
Graham Norton – ‘The Graham Norton Show’

 

Best TV Presenter Factual: Nadifa Mohamed – ‘Britain’s Human Zoos’

 

Breakthrough Performance:
Dylan Thomas Smith in ‘G’wed’

 

Best Documentary:
‘Once Upon a Time in Northern Ireland’ – Keo Films & Walk on Air Films for BBC Two & BBC Northern Ireland

 

Best On Demand Service:
BBC iPlayer

 

Best Entertainment Series:
‘The Traitors’ – Studio Lambert for BBC One

 

Best Popular Factual Series:
‘Sort Your Life Out’ – Optomen for BBC One

 

Production Group of The Year:
Banijay UK

 

TV Moment of the Year:
‘Hairy Bikers Coming Home for Christmas’

 

What a fantastic year it’s been!

Sargent-Disc Rolls Out Okta

What is Okta?

Okta, an integrated identity and mobility management system, allows users to connect to applications securely from any devices 24/7 using multi-factor authentication (MFA).

Benefits of logging in via Okta

  • Greater security when logging in using multi-factor authentication
  • More authentication options including password, push notification, and Okta code verify are available
  • Biometrics or facial recognition can be setup on Okta Verify and using push notifications you can log in without needing a password each time
  • Okta will allow single sign on to be rolled out in future across all SD applications
  • Okta will allow federation so that Studios can manage their own user logins from their own Okta tenant
  • For more information about Okta click here.

Please see below guides for how to log in for the first time and set up the Okta Verify app.

Migration Guide
Login Guide

How to install the Okta app

For a short video on Okta and how to install the app check out the below video or click here

FAQs

A: Okta, an integrated identity and mobility management system, allowing users to connect to applications securely from any devices 24/7 using multi-factor authentication (MFA).

Okta supports the following web browsers: Microsoft Edge, Firefox, Safari and Chrome.

This new sign–on process is security that relies on more than just your password, and is similar to what most financial institutions employ to protect your personally identifiable information. In short, MFA is a better way to secure your account.

Yes, MFA is an important part of Sargent-Disc’s commitment to security and protection of your documents and is required to access your account beginning September 22, 2024. MFA adds the additional necessary security that is necessary to protect your account against today’s sophisticated cyber threats.

You will receive a message to say your account has been locked and will be automatically unlocked after 30 minutes.

Okta Verify is a multifactor authentication (MFA) app that allows users to confirm their identity when they sign in to their Okta account.

To install Okta Verify, please refer to the below video/ guides:

 

Video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DZu–diVQCg            

 

Apple: https://support.sargent-disc.com/portal/en/kb/articles/review-2-downloading-okta-verify-app-apple

 

Android: https://support.sargent-disc.com/portal/en/kb/articles/review-2-downloading-okta-verify-app-android

If you’ve forgotten your password when migrating your account to Okta, please refer to the following guide:

 

https://support.sargent-disc.com/portal/en/kb/articles/review-2-payslip-forgot-password-during-okta-migration

If you’ve forgotten your password when logging in (after account has been migrated) refer to either of the following guides:

 

Forgot Password with Okta Verify app installed:  https://support.sargent-disc.com/portal/en/kb/articles/review-2-forgot-password-with-okta-verify-app

 

Forgot Password without Okta Verify installed:  https://support.sargent-disc.com/portal/en/kb/articles/review-2-forgot-password-without-okta-verify-app

Correct! A password will no longer be needed to sign into SD applications if you have the Okta Verify app installed with biometrics enabled.

Want to know how to install the app / setup biometrics? Refer to FAQ: What is Okta Verify app / how do I install this?

On the SD login page, click the ‘Forgotten username’ tab and enter the required fields to be sent an email to recover your username.

Yes! Follow the guide on how to setup Okta Verify once logged into your account: https://support.sargent-disc.com/portal/en/kb/articles/review-2-setup-okta-verify-app-later-after-account-has-been-migrated  

Please contact our Customer Support team for further assistance. Our Customer Support team can be reached by calling 01753 639007 or emailing support@sargent-disc.com

For any errors received during migration or sign in process, please contact our Customer Support team with the error code.

Okta allows you to have more than one device linked to your account. You can setup additional mobile numbers / additional devices on Okta Verify.

Refer to the following guide: https://support.sargent-disc.com/portal/en/kb/articles/review-2-link-additional-devices-to-account        

When migrating your account via your mobile device, you will be given two options to setup Okta Verify (via email and text). It is important you have the Okta Verify app installed before going through this process.

 

Via email: https://support.sargent-disc.com/portal/en/kb/articles/review-2-okta-verify-setup-on-a-mobile-device-email-option

 

Via text: https://support.sargent-disc.com/portal/en/kb/articles/review-2-okta-setup-on-a-mobile-device-text-option

Sargent-Disc and Okta – How to Recover Passwords

Sargent-Disc’s Okta rollout is coming soon! It is important to recover and save your passwords in advance to a ensure a smooth migration. Below, you will find links to guides for the most commonly used password managers, browsers and operating systems to help you through this process

Common Password Managers:

NordPass

1Password

Dashlane

Keeper

Common Browsers:

Chrome

Safari

Microsoft Edge

Opera

Firefox

Common Operating System:

MacOS

Chromebook

Read the previous article on Okta here

Don’t forget to download the Okta Verify App! Please see below video for a guide

Sargent-Disc Summer BBQ 2024

Sargent-Disc was delighted to hold the Summer BBQ for the second time in June – this time with a new addition. The SD team had the opportunity beforehand to vote for their favourites to win the first ever Sargent-Disc Awards!

Members of the team came together with their families at the Beaconsfield Rugby Club to enjoy the sunshine and discover who would be taking home the prizes. The event was a success yet again and we hope everyone had a lovely time. See below for the list of winners.  

2024 Sargent-Disc Award Winners:

Best Dressed Award: Anna Iwanek

From Left Anna Iwanek, Lara Sargent

Masterchef Award (best lunch): Charly Grace

From left: Laurence Sargent, Alex Rayner, Lara Sargent

Always in a Meeting Award: Laurence Sargent

From left: Laurence Sargent, Marija Sargent

The Coffeeholic Award: Scott Hardy

From Left: Laurence Sargent, Jam Sutton

Office Jokester Award: Logan Kwiecien

From left: Laurence Sargent, Logan Kwiecien

On the day, there was also a ping pong competition, of which Chloe’s son Loris was crowned champion! He was very pleased with his chocolate prize!

From left: Loris, Laurence Sargent

Sargent-Disc celebrates World Day for Cultural Diversity

The team enjoyed sharing their cultures with each other for World Day for Cultural Diversity last week. We took the opportunity to reflect and recognise the importance of embracing diversity and the impact this has on our world as well as making our work space a vibrant, welcoming place.

The Sargent-Disc team embraces diversity and each other’s heritage, so we loved the chance to mark the day in a special way. The office communal spaces hosted a plethora of food as colleagues brought in dishes to represent their cultures including Coconut Turnovers from Trinidad; Indian Rassomalai; Welsh Cakes; a selection of cakes from the UK and Almond Tart and Cheese Bread with Guava Dip from Portugal.

Over lunchtime, members of the team also participated in games together including flag bingo, with prizes for the winners!

Sargent-Disc returns to France for the 77th Festival de Cannes

Members of the team were pleased to return to France last week for the opening weekend of the 77th Festival de Cannes. Sargent-Disc were involved in a number of events designed to bring together international delegates.

Festival Winners

With the festival having wrapped on Saturday 25th May, we reflect on the winners. The prestigious Palme d’Or was awarded to Sean Baker’s Anora – the US comedy-drama follows a sex worker who must fend off the parents of a Russian oligarch who are keen to action an annulment after she finds herself married to him.

Jacque Audiard’s Emilia Perez took home the best actress prize shared by Adriana Paz, Zoe Saldana, Karla Sofia Gascon and Selena Gomez. Whereas Jesse Plemons took the award for best actor for Yorgas Lanthimos’ Kinds of Kindness.

Star Wars filmmaker George Lucas was met with a standing ovation as he was presented with an honorary Palme d’Or by Francis Ford Coppola.

View the full list of winners here.

The Sargent-Disc International Producers Reception

For the ninth time, Sargent-Disc hosted the International Producers Reception at the Members Club, Plage du festival on Saturday 18th May. Producers and financiers came together in a relaxed setting to establish new relationships and build on existing ones. The company gives thanks to the British Film Commission, International Federation of Film Producers Associations (FIAPF), New Zealand Film Commission, Producers Alliance for Cinema and Television (PACT), The Production Guild of Great Britain (PGGB) and Screen Producers Ireland for their support with the event.

Women in Film and Television Brunch

The team was proud to sponsor the annual brunch held by Women in Film and Television (WFTV) again, held on the Coutts boat on Sunday 19th May. The event offered the opportunity for women, established and new to their careers, to meet and converse about the state of the industry.