Building and sustaining freelance careers in a small nation: The case of Cardiff’s film and television industries

Genders, Amy

Abstract

Often characterised as an occupational group of highly skilled, responsive, resilient and creative individuals, freelancers make a vital contribution to the strength and sustainability of film and television production. Freelancers are both intrinsically situated in the places they work through the interrelations of local authorities, cultural institutions and the labour market, and are themselves placemakers, contributing to the local milieu through building place-based communities to mitigate the inherently precarious nature of their careers. Based on in-depth interviews with freelancers and screen agencies in Cardiff, this paper explores the complex relationships between creative workers and their locality. It exams how freelancers negotiate precarious careers in a small nation through the support of local development agencies and government intervention. In doing so, this work builds on previous research concerning freelancer labour in Bristol, furthering the contention that place-based interventions and policy occupies an important role in nurturing diverse and resilient regional production sectors.

• Journal Article Type: Article
• Acceptance Date: Feb 7, 2024
• Online Publication Date: Feb 19, 2024
• Deposit Date: Apr 22, 2024
• Publicly Available Date: Apr 23, 2024
• Journal: International Journal of Cultural Policy
• Print ISSN: 1028-6632
• Electronic ISSN: 1477-2833
• Publisher: Taylor & Francis (Routledge)
• Peer Reviewed: Peer Reviewed
• DOI: https://doi.org/10.1080/10286632.2024.2317332
• Keywords: regional production, creative labour, freelance labour, creative industries
• Public URL: https://uwe-repository.worktribe.com/output/11676574
• Publisher URL: https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/10286632.2024.2317332?src=exp-oa