In response to the news: The Production Guild of Great Britain announces winners of its 2022 Awards in association with Warner Bros. Studios Leavesden.

The Production Guild of Great Britain (PGGB) will celebrate the winners of the 2022 PGGB Awards in association with Warner Bros. Studios Leavesden tomorrow night, as the UK industry gathers to recognise remarkable achievements made by Production Guild members working in film or television drama within the production office, accounting, locations, assistant directing, post-production and VFX.

We’re delighted that The PGGB 2022 Inspiration Award sponsored by BCD Media and Entertainment, has been awarded to Samantha Perahia MBE, British Film Commission’s Head of Production UK, for the continuous guidance, advice and support she has provided to the UK film and high-end TV production sector, particularly throughout the COVID-19 pandemic.

Adrian Wootton OBE, Chief Executive of the British Film Commission (BFC) said: “I would like to express my heartfelt congratulations to Samantha Perahia MBE on receiving the Production Guild of Great Britain’s Inspiration Award 2022. Samantha has been an invaluable member of the BFC’s team and a trusted colleague for many years. Since joining the BFC in 2004, she has played an integral part in many milestones for the UK’s screen industries, including the introduction of the Creative Sector Tax Reliefs and the British qualification procedure for the Film Tax Relief. And particularly throughout the COVID-19 pandemic Samantha’s continuous guidance, advice and support to the UK film and high-end TV production sector have been crucial in helping our industry get back on track. As Chief Executive of the BFC, I sincerely thank her for her tireless work at the BFC and for her continued dedication and outstanding contributions to our industry in the UK and beyond.”

Six awards will be presented at the glittering ceremony hosted by comedian and TV presenter Patrick Kielty tomorrow evening (Saturday 26 March) at The Grove in Hertfordshire.

For more information on the British Film Commission please contact Sara Oberthaler, Communications Coordinator:
Sara.oberthaler@britishfilmcommission.org.uk
Mobile: +44 (0) 7436034742

–Ends

Notes to the editor:

Samantha Perahia MBE, Head of Production UK, British Film Commission (bio):

Samantha has played a part in a number of landmark developments that have benefited the UK film and High-End TV industry since joining BFC in 2004, including introduction of the Creative Sector Tax Reliefs and the British qualification procedure for the Film Tax Relief. Her work saw her awarded an MBE for services to the film and TV industry in the New Year Honours List 2019. However, it was in her current role as BFC’s Head of Production UK that she faced the challenge of navigating a path through the pandemic, which posed the largest threat to UK production in history. Samantha was an integral member of the BFI Covid Safety Taskforce, which drafted the BFC’s ‘Working Safely During COVID-19 in Film and High-end TV Drama Production’ guidance. Working remotely, her team led one of the biggest cross-industry consultations ever undertaken, considering hundreds of submissions to develop the guidance. Working with the Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS), Samantha led the guidance through government scrutiny to the highest level, including the Deputy Chief Medical Officer of Public Health England and, finally, No.10. On 1st June 2020 the UK film and High-End TV sector became the first industry to publish Government-endorsed safety guidance, enabling production to start moving again. Since then, Samantha’s team has regularly updated the guidance amidst a constantly evolving landscape of changing restrictions, providing an invaluable source of up-to-date guidance to production professionals in the UK and overseas.

About the British Film Commission:

The British Film Commission (BFC) is the UK Government’s national organisation responsible for international film and television production in the UK. Funded by the Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, the Department for International Trade and the BFI, the BFC leads on:

Maximising and supporting the production of major international feature film and high-end television in the UK;
Strengthening and promoting the UK’s film and television infrastructure;
Liaising between the Government and the film and television industry on policy issues that impact on production.

With offices in the UK and the US, the BFC provides free tailored production support at the highest level, from the earliest stages of development through to post-production, including guidance on the UK’s lucrative film and television tax reliefs and assistance with sourcing key crew, talent, facilities and locations.

The BFC has industry sponsors who form the membership of the agency’s innovative public/private partnership: Angels Costumes, Bray Film Studios, The Walt Disney Studios, Harbottle & Lewis, HBO, Movie Makers, Netflix, Pinewood Studios, Saffery Champness, Warner Bros., 3 Mills Studios, BBC Studios, DNEG, Elstree Studios, FirstStage Studios, Framestore, MPC, The Bottle Yard Studios and Working Title.

The BFC is the national division of Film London.

www.britishfilmcommission.org.uk
Twitter: @FilmInUK_BFC
Linkedin: British Film Commission

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