Get help now Watch Apply
SearchApply or register interestContactGet help now
A trainee looks up from the camera on a stage, a colleague behind her.

Working in the industry · Faith on set

Keep your practice. Do the job.

Prayer, fasting, holy days, food, dress and content you're unsure about. How crew raise it, and how HoDs plan for it. For every faith and for none.

Crib sheet for HoDs How to raise it The Faith Inclusion Toolkit
Checked against Acas, HSE, the ICO and the Equality Act. Sources General information, not legal or religious advice. Practice differs from person to person.

Faith inclusion, from the set

Crib sheet for HoDs and ADs

One page. Pin it in the production office or send it with the crew list.

A crew member watches a monitor during a classroom shoot.

Raising it

At booking, not on the day

Schedules are built in prep. A need raised then is a line on the schedule. Raised on the floor, it's a problem.

  • When

    After the offer, with the deal memo, or as soon as the schedule lands.

  • Who

    Your HoD. For timings on the day, the 2nd AD.

  • What

    What you need, not what you believe. Nobody should test your faith before saying yes.

  • Say it simply

    "I pray at sunset. It takes ten minutes. Can I step off between set-ups?"

    You speak for yourself, not your whole faith. Practice differs from person to person.

Prayer

Ten minutes, a quiet corner

Many crew pray at set times. Muslims may pray up to five times a day. Jewish, Christian, Sikh, Hindu and other crew may keep morning or evening prayers. Most need little more than time and a clean, quiet space.

  • Times move

    • Muslim prayer times follow the sun and shift through the year
    • In winter, sunset prayer (Maghrib) can land near wrap
    • Friday midday prayer (Jumu'ah) can mean a longer lunch or a swap. Put it on the schedule.

  • The space

    • Ask the 2nd AD or locations for a clean, quiet room or corner
    • Washing before prayer (wudu) needs water nearby
    • A unit base with a spare room or a quiet trailer works

  • On the day

    • Step off between set-ups, never mid-take
    • Tell your HoD and get cover sorted first
    • Keep your walkie on if you're needed
A training group gathers round a long table in a café as a scene is set up.

Fasting

Long days on an empty stomach

Ramadan runs dawn to sunset for a month and moves about 11 days earlier each year. Lent, Yom Kippur and other fasts work differently. Ask the person, not the calendar.

Film and TV Charity: Ramadan guide for the industry

    • Ask catering to keep a meal back for after sunset
    • Night shoots can suit fasting crew. Ask.
    • Plan heavy lifts earlier in the day where you can
    • Eid dates depend on the moon. Book a floating day off, not a fixed date.
    • Dizzy or faint? Step back from kit and heights and tell your HoD. Safety first, always.

Sabbath and holy days

Flag it when you're pencilled

  • Shabbat

    Runs from Friday sunset to Saturday nightfall. In winter that means an early Friday finish. Say so at booking.

  • Sunday

    Worship matters to many Christians. A Sunday off is a normal thing to ask for.

  • Festivals

    Christmas, Easter, Passover, Rosh Hashanah, Eid, Diwali, Vaisakhi and more. Agree days off in prep and get them on the schedule.

  • Turning down a day

    Better at the pencil than the confirm

    Saying "I can't do Friday nights" early is a fair call. Saying it the week before isn't.

Food

It's the kitchen, not the label

Halal, kosher, vegetarian and vegan are about how food is prepared and kept apart. A veggie option isn't halal or kosher provision.

    • Tell the production office before the shoot, not catering on the day
    • Ask what's in it at the crafty table
    • Not sure? Bring your own. Nobody minds.
Two women build a camera on a vehicle rig on a stage, one smiling to camera.

Dress, PPE and contact

Safe and true to yourself

  • Turbans and hard hats

    Turban-wearing Sikhs are legally exempt from workplace head-protection rules. Other PPE still applies. (HSE)

  • Head coverings and modest dress

    They sit fine under hi-vis and hoods. Loose ends near moving kit are a safety issue for anyone, so talk it through with your HoD.

  • Contact

    Some crew don't shake hands with the opposite sex. A nod works. Ask about changing space and lone working rather than guessing.

Content

Scenes you're unsure about

Read the script or brief before you sign. Most worries can be sorted in prep.

  1. Ask what you'd be onWhich days, which scenes, which unit.
  2. Raise it at bookingYour HoD may swap you onto other days or the second unit.
  3. Turn it down if you need toThat's your call. Better a polite no now than walking off later.
  4. Know the limitsNot every request can be met. A good HoD will tell you plainly.

Your rights

If it goes wrong

Religion or belief, including having no belief, is a protected characteristic under the Equality Act 2010. Harassment or worse treatment because of it is unlawful.

Acas: religion or belief discrimination

  1. Write it downThe same day. Use our incident note.
  2. Tell someone on the productionYour HoD, the production manager, or the contact named in the bullying and harassment policy.
  3. Get adviceFilm and TV Charity Support Line (0800 054 0000) for the Bullying Advice Service, Bectu, or Acas.
  4. Report it confidentiallyCIISA takes reports of bullying, harassment and discrimination in film and TV.

For HoDs and ADs

Plan it at prep

Crib sheet (PDF)

  • Ask

    • Ask everyone the same question: "Anything we should plan for: prayer, food, holy days, kit, access?"
    • Don't guess from a name or how someone looks. Don't assume someone has no needs either.
    • Never ask what someone believes. Ask what they need.

  • Plan

    • Prayer space and water at unit base
    • Friday prayer and Shabbat on the schedule
    • Food requests to catering before the shoot
    • Floating days for festivals with moving dates

  • Keep it private

    Faith is special category data

    Under UK GDPR it needs extra care. Never put it on a call sheet or crew list. Write down the plan, not the belief, and share it only with people who need it.

Checked 13 Nov 2026

Sources

General information, not legal or religious advice. Written with Futures in Film's Faith Inclusion work. Something wrong or missing for your faith? Tell us.

Last reviewed 13 November 2026