A network to improve representation of British East and South East Asians in front of and behind the camera has officially launched.
EAST is a dedicated network for East and South East Asians (ESEA) creatives working in scripted television.
It was set up by three execs: JT Wong, Emma Ko and John Jackson (pictured above, left to right). Wong is the managing director and co-founder of Three Tables Productions while Ko (“1899”) and Jackson (“Grantchester”) are both writers.
EAST’s advisory committee includes former ITV drama exec Chloe Tucker, Eleventh Hour Films’ Christopher Kam, Coutts’ media finance director Judith Chan and Wenying Li of Mitsubishi UFJ Financial.
Last month the network held its first event, a speed networking session enabling EAST writer members to meet commissioners from broadcasters and producers including BBC, ITV, Sky, Disney, Apple, Kudos, Greenacre and Objective Fiction, among others. The event was supported by producers body Pact and hosted by ITV.
Future events will include masterclasses, soft skills workshops and ‘Ask Me Anything’ series with experienced ESEA creatives.
In a statement, the network explained the reason for its formation, saying: “Although there is no single East or South East Asian identity in the U.K., we find ourselves in a situation where several minorities are grouped together, whether by demographic grouping or simply perception. There is some irony to this, given that many of these ethnic and national groups have historically not liked each other much. But, since we are perceived and treated similarly, we share each other’s experience.”
The statement also cited an increase in anti-Chinese and anti-(East) Asian hate in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic and the results of Diamond’s Deep Dive into Racial and Ethnic Diversity (Oct. 2020) which showed so few East Asians in off-screen roles such as commissioning editors, writers, directors and producers that the statistics couldn’t be counted, and were simply written as “redacted.”
“We were overwhelmed by the response and support from broadcasters and producers to the launch of EAST,” said Wong. “Emma, John and I want to bring East and South East Asians to the forefront of representation issues in the industry because we feel it’s so often, and so easily, forgotten. We hope EAST will play a part in doing that.”
