The Integrity Pioneers

It might just be the positive intentions that go hand-in-hand with the start of a new calendar year, but there’s a buzz around the concept of workplace wellbeing. 

Slowly but surely, more enlightened employers are noticing that burnout frazzles people to a crisp, zapping them of the ability to be creative. Not to mention the human cost of burnout to individuals and their loved ones.

Lowkey didn’t just satisfy the basics of the [B Corp] criteria required, it exceeded them.

Defying those practitioners of old-school approaches steeped in bluster and bravado, developing a more nurturing environment that protects people’s mental health is not an impossible feat. Nor is it at odds with a thriving business. Step forward five-year-old Lowkey Films that positions itself as “the creative studio with a culture of integrity”.

It’s not like it’s a cool little club. Everyone should do it [B Corp].

Those aren’t just words that have been printed out and plastered on a kitchen cupboard in Lowkey’s Clapham kitchen. Visible, but ignored. Laminated, not lived. Lowkey has put its money where its mouth is. In July 2025, it qualified for B Corp certification, an intricate process which took nearly two years and which keeps it accountable on important issues including human rights, climate action, and justice, equity, diversity and inclusion.

What’s more, Lowkey didn’t just satisfy the basics of the criteria required, it exceeded them. Most uncertified B Corp companies achieve a median score of 50.9 on Impact B assessment. To be granted certification, organisations must hit a minimum of 80. Lowkey scored 92.8.

Above: Lowkey co-produced the much awarded satirical short film More Flames, from Adam McKay‘s Yellow Dot Studios and Climate Spring, which aims to change the narrative around the climate crisis.

Lowkey’s founders, Jamie Gamache and Connor O’Hara, are evangelical about the benefits of being a B Corp . “It’s not like it’s a cool little club. Everyone should do it,” says O’Hara, who’d like

to see industry-leaders like Agile, Netflix and the BBC becoming B Corps. Gamache adds that any organisation considering it should “just do it. It’s so worth it. Do it before you grow.”

We’re not coming up with [new tech]. But we can pioneer a change in values so that great films are still getting made, but the way they’re being made changes.

Gamache and O’Hara have known each other since they were teenagers playing in a “supergroup” called A Wolf Like Me (“We wanted to be Queens of the Stone Age but we were more emo and had fringes,” says Gamache).

When I meet them in their comfortable south London home-from-home HQ near Clapham Common, they’re keen to set out their stall. “We’re in an age and an industry where a lot of stuff creatively has already been done: we’re not coming up with Steadicam or motion control or VFX. But we can pioneer a change in values so that great films are still getting made, but the way they’re being made changes,” says Gamache.

Above: Lowkey Films partnered with McCann London, and directing duo BRIGHTNIGHT, to produce the Cannes Lions Grand Prix-winning film, The Everyday Tactician, for Xbox and Football Manager.

Start with the values 

The pair worked out their values (non-toxic, authentic, diverse, personal, fun) before so much as writing a business plan. In fact, the values are so core that they came up with them before they even thought Lowkey could be a business — when Gamache and O’Hara were still making zombie films and uploading them to YouTube. O’Hara says: “We didn’t have a clue what we were doing when it came to starting a company. But we did know the people we wanted to be.”

The worst work we’ve done is when we’ve had a miserable time on set.

They also knew the people they didn’t want to be. O’Hara’s first boss “went down in the Weinstein scandal and I saw bad stuff." And Gamache was unimpressed with his early experiences as a producer. So they committed to working together again on Lowkey in 2020, as the world was shutting down due to the pandemic. Post-lockdown, when everyone re-emerged, Lowkey took on mostly music video briefs. “It was the real foundation of building a company,” remembers O’Hara.

We encourage everyone to communicate about anything that’s wrong, and we make sure we’re on the crew’s side as well as the client’s.

Seeing crews not being treated well also taught them some huge lessons. “Even though the budgets aren’t huge on music videos, the expectations are really high and people don’t take no for an answer,” says Gamache. “That taught us early on how to set boundaries and not get burnt out. The worst work we’ve done is when we’ve had a miserable time on set.” He has a simple formula: “If you’re happy, you’re more creative and the work is better.”

Above: To mark Dua Lipa’s landmark sell-out shows at Wembley Stadium, Lowkey and director Becky Garner's cinematic short film was a low-impact production – aligning with both artist and crew's commitment to sustainable creativity.‍

Setting boundaries

So what does setting boundaries look like in an industry where long shoots and 12-hour days are par for the course? O’Hara says: “We’re very clear with all our clients that we’ll do a 10+1 day, or we’ll talk about overtime. We use the Call it! App where a crew member can scan a QR code and have the space to talk about us or the crew or their experiences. We encourage everyone to communicate about anything that’s wrong, and we make sure we’re on the crew’s side as well as the client’s.”

We got offered a massive oil campaign which would have been the biggest budget thing we’d ever done. It was the easiest ‘no’ we’ve ever said.

It also means Lowkey carefully considers what projects it takes on. “We had a fully financed film offered to us recently from an exciting director, but the script was derogatory to women. Even though we had the time to do it, there was no chance. We also got offered a massive oil campaign which would have been the biggest budget thing we’d ever done. It was the easiest ‘no’ we’ve ever said.” O’Hara, a director, was also praised for his positive portrayal of masculinity in his 2023 feature, Kindling.

Flexibility and full disclosure

Lowkey’s commitment to workplace wellbeing primarily incorporates its team of four: O’Hara, Gamache and two full-time employees, Tara Bartlett, Head of Special Projects and Isabella Simpson, Production and Marketing Assistant. And that commitment also extends to how Lowkey works with directors. It no longer has directors on a roster but operates on a Full Disclosure Representation (FDR) basis where they work with directors on an agile basis. O’Hara explains: “I don’t direct commercials but if I did, there’s no world where I’d like to be owned.