Joanna Boateng | Producer

Joanna Boateng | Producer

Joanna Boateng’s aim for her work is, on paper, a simple one: to capture real human interest stories that depict marginalised communities with nuance and depth. But, if it was as easy as all that, everyone would be doing it. It’s testament to Joanna’s skill and talent that her first documentary as a full producer, Uprising (2022), would win a BAFTA. This three-part BBC documentary series explored the New Cross house fire tragedy in 1981 and its impact on UK race relations, and would go on to also pick up an RTS award. She’s currently working on a true crime series about a global illegal wildlife trafficking syndicate.

In their own words:

“I studied English at university and didn’t really know what I wanted to do. I knew I wanted to work on something that could impact as many people as possible, while being accessible and democratic. A friend knew of an internship at a London production company and I thought why not? I’d never considered working in television, no one in my family had ever worked in anything creative... I kept working my way up, learning on the job. I didn’t study film or media. I just really liked television and wanted to make some of it...

“All the things I’ve worked on have been about something that relates to my identity and marginalised identities. So, about blackness or living in a council flat or being working class or being a woman or queerness. When I think about why I wanted to work in television, it’s because I wanted to speak to those things that I knew were issues and I hadn’t seen represented when I was growing up...

“I’ve reached a stage in my career now where I’m doing really well but need a little guidance... I’d love to find a high-profile person in film or television, who’s from a similar background as me, to tell me how you navigate the industry at this level. I also really want to meet other people in the industry. That was actually the main reason for applying to Breakthrough, to connect with other people.”

Joanna’s Breakthrough credit is television documentary Uprising

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