Casting is ready to take centre stage in creative awards

Leanne Flinn's work can be seen in film, music videos and adverts all around the globe. As Casting Director she has been worked with pop stars like Dua Lipa and The Shoes, while her credits include work with Uniqlo and Absolut Vodka. She's the D&AD Awards 2019 Casting Jury President.

Here she argues why it's time for Casting to become more prominent in creative awards and why recognition from the industry remains important.

As we reach the end of 2018, I think it’s important to reflect on the year and successful projects or developments in the area of Casting.

I’m excited about a couple of projects from 2018 (yet to be released) but are pushing the boundaries somewhat. Tackling subjects we all want to get behind. Working with a great team of people to make quality commercials is exciting regardless of whether it wins an award or not. I feel privileged to have worked on both of them and look forward to seeing them.

I am a member of the Casting Directors Association (CDA) and this year we held our 2nd casting awards. It was set up in 2017 by members of the CDA to celebrate the art of casting. In 2019 the Casting Directors Guild (CDG) are also holding a casting awards show, the Emmy’s continue to, and the British Independent Film Awards (BIFA) have recently added a casting category. It's great to see that the hard work and effort that Casting Directors bring to individual pieces of work in the industry is further recognised.