This workshop is a practical session for documentary teams who want to strengthen contributor casting, improve representation, and build more accurate and responsible narratives.
Led by ZBD Talent, a global agency representing disabled, visibly different, trans and non binary talent, the workshop will draw on real experience supporting productions and broadcasters to embed inclusion into everyday creative practice. The session will explore why representation matters in documentary, where contributors’ lived experiences directly shape public understanding. Participants will also examine what diversity looks like in non-fiction storytelling and review examples of documentaries that have handled representation well.
We will then look at the editorial, ethical and audience benefits of inclusive casting, and discuss why many productions still default to narrow contributor types. A short exercise will help teams identify the organisational or cultural barriers that limit diversity in their own workflows. A focused section on authenticity versus tokenism will cover extractive storytelling, trend-driven casting and assumptions about audience performance. We will then moves into applied practice, including how to create psychologically safe environments, accommodate disabled contributors on set and avoid reductive portrayals.
ZBD will share practical tools such as access riders, communication protocols and inclusive casting processes.
The session will end with a group exercise and a discussion on the future of inclusive documentary and AI-supported storytelling.
Facilitators: Laura Winson & Laura Caine
Laura Winson is the CEO and co‑founder of ZBD, the global talent agency reshaping representation in fashion, advertising and entertainment. ZBD champions disabled talent, people with visible differences, and trans and non‑binary people, placing them in thousands of major campaigns for brands including Amazon, Apple, Unilever, Estée Lauder, Disney, Gucci and many more. Laura’s work has been featured in Vogue, Grazia and the BBC, and the agency was the focus of Channel 4’sNew Model Agency. With a background in social work, she brings a grounded, values‑driven approach to pushing the industry toward more authentic and equitable storytelling, helping brands, agencies and productions cast inclusively and connect with wider audiences.
Laura Caine is COO at ZBD, leading operations, talent strategy, and global partnerships across the UK, EU, US, and Australia. With extensive commercial experience and managing large teams, she now oversees a brilliant team of bookers and a diverse talent roster, working collaboratively to open up more opportunities for underrepresented voices and championing inclusive casting that helps brands create authentic, representative work.
In collaboration with ZBD Talent. Find out more about them here.
