Photo: Mandy Chang
The UK’s Documentary Film Council (DFC) has today announced the appointment of the highly respected filmmaker and executive, Mandy Chang, as its first Chief Executive Officer. This appointment marks a major step forward for the member-owned organisation, which was formed to represent the UK documentary sector at a critical moment for the industry.
Founded in 2023, the Documentary Film Council has rapidly grown into a national membership body representing nearly 1,000 filmmakers and industry professionals working across the UK’s documentary ecosystem.
The Documentary Film Council exists to strengthen and advocate for the UK’s documentary sector. As a member-owned co-operative, it represents the voice of the documentary community to industry and government, builds connections across the field, and works to create a more sustainable, inclusive and resilient future for nonfiction storytelling.
Mandy Chang joins the DFC with a formidable reputation, most recently serving as Global Head of Documentaries at Fremantle, and previously as Commissioning Editor of the BBC’s prestigious Storyville strand from 2017 to 2021. In a career spanning more than two decades, Chang has directed, produced and executive produced over one hundred films and series across television, radio and film, with recent feature projects including Two Strangers: Trying Not to Kill Each Other, It’s Never Over: Jeff Buckley, The Mole Agent, Writing with Fire and Welcome to Chechnya. Chang said:
“I am thrilled to be joining the Documentary Film Council at a critical juncture for our industry. Documentary filmmaking is a vital part of our culture, and yet our community faces unprecedented challenges. We need an organisation like the DFC to advocate for our industry, and I’m honoured to be working with the board, our members and sister organisations across the field in this next stage of the DFC’s growth. And while I will continue to work on independent documentaries, I am fully committed to and excited about building an organisation that will benefit our entire documentary community.”
Chang takes the reins from Steve Presence and Emily Copley, who have served as Joint Acting CEOs since the organisation’s launch. In a joint statement, they said:
“We are incredibly proud of the foundation that has been built over the past two years and deeply grateful to the hundreds of filmmakers, organisations and supporters who believed in the need for the DFC and helped bring it into existence. With Mandy’s leadership, we are excited to see the organisation move into its next chapter and continue working towards a stronger, more resilient and more unified documentary ecosystem in the UK.”
Board expansion
Alongside Chang’s appointment, the Documentary Film Council is also strengthening its board with the co-option of two new Trustees: Zara Meerza and Julian Carrington. Meerza is an Emmy Award-winning writer, filmmaker and programmer whose work spans television, journalism and film culture. Carrington is Executive Director of the Documentary Organization of Canada and a leading advocate for documentary filmmakers internationally.
Photo: L: Julian Carrington, R: Zara Meerza
Upon appointment, Meerza shared the following response:
“The DFC embodies the concepts that I believe are necessary to nourish our industry – through an co-operative, imaginative. and ambitious approach. I’m proud to be helping our work move forward in the face of great challenges and supporting our community in feeling safe in how we live and make.”
And Carrington shared:
“Documentary filmmakers in the UK, Canada and beyond are facing many of the same structural challenges. I’m delighted to join the board of the Documentary Film Council and look forward to strengthening collaboration between our communities as we work to support independent documentary creators.”
On behalf of the Board of Trustees, DFC Chair Fiona Fletcher, said:
“With Mandy now at the helm as our first CEO, we are also delighted to welcome Zara and Julian to the board. Both bring a wealth of experience from across the documentary ecosystem alongside strong international perspectives. Together with Mandy’s leadership, their insight and expertise will be invaluable as the DFC continues to grow and deepen its work on behalf of the UK documentary community.”
We look forward to this next chapter in the DFC’s development and thank all of our Members and partners for their continued support.
In co-operation ✊