Expanding the Gaze - Reclaiming Who Gets to Look

Who gets to be the lead rather than the side character? Who gets to tell the story behind the camera? And whose perspective are we being asked to see the world through?

Expanding The Gaze is a new conversation series looking at representation and perspective across film, television and visual culture — and how the industry can move beyond the identities, bodies and viewpoints it has historically treated as the default.

For our first conversation, Redefining The Gaze: Reclaiming Who Gets to Look, we bring together three tastemakers working across different sides of the screen industry to explore what this means in practice.

BAFTA award-winning director, producer and writer Cherish "Chez" Oteka, actor, director and producer Shakira Newton and casting director Hannah Marie Williams will discuss everything from casting and character to who gets behind the camera, how people are portrayed on screen and whose point of view ultimately shapes the stories we watch.

Together, they’ll explore when they first became conscious of “the gaze” in their own work, the conventions they would like to challenge, and what changes when creatives choose to look — and tell stories — differently.

Presented by actor and producer Rosie Skuse, Expanding The Gaze is an intimate evening of film, culture and conversation, with the opportunity to continue the discussion over drinks afterwards.

Welcome cocktails courtesy of Renais Gin.