Film Still: Evelyn (2018)
An open letter to the UK screen industries: independent documentary is at risk
This is an open letter from the UK’s independent documentary film industry. We are raising the alarm about the very serious challenges facing our sector and the urgent need to support the Documentary Film Council (DFC), a new national organisation for UK documentary that launched at Sheffield DocFest in June.
Owned and run by and for its members, the DFC has been developed in consultation with hundreds of filmmakers working in collaboration with UKRI-funded researchers. It was co-designed with all the major organisations in the field – Doc Society, Sheffield DocFest, the Grierson Trust, The Whickers, Scottish Documentary Institute, Docs Ireland, BBC Storyville and others – and is based on the recognition that independent documentary in the UK faces an existential threat and that there is urgent need for coordinated, long-term interventions across the sector.
If you work in independent documentaries, you know this already. But many colleagues, executives and policymakers outside the indie docs community are unaware of the crisis unfolding in our midst. In some ways, this is understandable. Despite repeated efforts to expose the ‘golden age of documentary’ as the corporate age of true crime and ‘celebrity’ docs, the success of the commercial end of the spectrum, though welcome in many respects, has fostered the widespread misconception that the entire documentary ecosystem is booming. It is not.
As demonstrated by the UKRI-funded research project that led to the DFC’s development, films at the independent end of the spectrum – creative, observational, character-led films, films that originate outside of a commissioner’s brief or which explore difficult-but-vital political or cultural questions – are increasingly hard to get made. Production funding for independent docs is chronically low and support for development, let alone distribution and exhibition, is practically non-existent. Sustaining careers in these conditions is all but impossible aside for a relatively privileged few, which has direct implications for filmmaker wellbeing and the docs sector’s devastating lack of diversity.
Despite these and other barriers, British documentary filmmakers continue to find ways to make vital, award-winning films – but the odds are against them and getting worse. Yet we need documentaries. Their ability to challenge our assumptions and help us understand the past, present and future of the world is vital to our culture and democracy. Nonfiction is an essential part of the independent film landscape, but it is unique, distinct and requires bespoke support.
Intervening in this situation is thus urgent and requires coordination at a national level by a democratic organisation with the remit and the resources to act on behalf of the sector and which is accountable to those it is designed to represent. As a member-led charitable co-operative (the first of its kind in the UK screen industries), the DFC is legally owned by its members. It has an elected board and, like all co-ops, is independent and committed to the values and principles of co-operativism.
More importantly, the DFC will enable the documentary community to generate, for the first time, a clear strategic agenda for this sector, with a clear set of priorities held in common. These priorities will shape the Council’s activities and the member-led committees it will support across each of its three-year terms (beginning 2024-26). Early consultations with members indicate that the DFC’s first set of priorities will focus on funding (especially development funding and the standardisation of application processes); policy (contributing to DCMS inquiries and consultations on, for example, the Media Bill, the Audiovisual Media Services Directive, the impact of AI and so on); distribution and exhibition (improving support for exhibition across the nations and regions; harnessing distribution support more effectively to production funding); and developing the DFC’s membership base (including regional chapters).
But this work needs funding. The DFC’s development has been supported with a seed-funding grant from the Arts and Humanities Research Council. Since the DFC launch at Sheffield DocFest in June, we’ve approached every major broadcaster and streaming service in the UK, as well as a host of philanthropic and charitable organisations. Everyone has been extremely positive about the DFC, but we still only have our members’ fees in the bank. Obviously, raising funding for a new national body is challenging in the middle of an industry downturn. But organisations like the DFC don’t come along every day, and with the seed-funding ending in December, it’s really now or never.
If you can help support our pioneering work with a funding contribution, please contact the DFC at [email protected] or donate here. And if you’re not a member yet, please join today here.
To add your signature to this letter please fill out the short from below:
Signed
Documentary Film Council Interim Board:
Emily Copley – Joint Acting Director, Documentary Film Council
Flore Cosquer – Managing Director, Scottish Documentary Institute
Roisín Geraghty – Head of Industry, Docs Ireland and DFC Board Member
Dewi Gregory – Producer, Truth Department and DFC Board Member
Jessi Gutch – Filmmaker and DFC Board Member
Zeynep Güzel – Filmmaker, Senior DAE Consultant, Head of Doc Station at Berlinale Talent and DFC Board Member
Priscilla Igwe – Founder & CEO, The New Black Film Collective and DFC Board Member
Keisha Knight – Director, IDA Funds & Advocacy and DFC Board Member
Jenny Horwell – Director & Programmer, Bertha DocHouse and DFC Board Member
Sandra Whipham – Director, Doc Society and DFC Board Member
Sarah Mosses – Founder & CEO, Together Films and DFC Board Member
Dr Steve Presence – Associate Professor of Film Studies, UWE Bristol and Joint Acting Director, Documentary Film Council
Paul Sng – Director and DFC Board Member
Dr Christo Wallers – AHRC Research Fellow, Aberystwyth University and DFC Board Member
DFC Members, Allies, Supporters and Doc Lovers:
Steven Lake – Producer, Brass Mill Media
Nadja Lapcevic – Independent Producer, Varda Pictures
Isla Badenoch – Director, Independent
Adam Brown – Director, Independent
Charlie Phillips – Producer, I am Charlie
Owen Peters – Supervising Sound Editor, Paradigm Post-Production
Jill Daniels – Independent Filmmaker, University of East London
Cécile Embleton – Documentary Director, Independent
Duncan Cowles – Documentary Filmmaker, Relative Films Ltd
Tina Gharavi – Director/Screenwriter, Bridge + Tunnel
Amanda Huntley – Film Archivist, Huntley Film Archives
David Wilkinson – Chair, Guerilla Films
A. Saiz – Head of Sales and Acquisitions, Impronta Films
Ben Young – Producer/Director, Autokino
Susan Perz – Director/Producer/Cinematographer/Editor, Independent Documentary Filmmaker
Sean Parnell – Technical Coordinator, Bertha DocHouse
Simon Clode – Director, Crowblack Films
Marco Giacomo – Video Creator, University of Westminster
Usayd Younis – Director, Black & Brown Film
Sebastien Rabas – Director/Producer, Independent
Liz Smith – Documentary Filmmaker, Page75 Productions Ltd
Vicki Lesley – Director, producer Tenner Films
Jemma Jupp – Documentary Filmmaker, Independent
Jeremy Bubb – Chair, NAHEMI
John Edginton – Producer/Director, Otmoor Productions Ltd
Gregory Browning – Producer, Polyphonic Films Limited
Jeanie Finlay – Filmmaker, Glimmer Films LTD
Hugh Hartford – Director, Banyak Films
James Dunlop MBE – Director/Producer
Phoebe Cottam – Director, Independent
Samir Modi – Student, NFTS
Ulrike Kubatta – Filmmaker, Independent
Sophia Seymour – Freelance Director/Producer, Isosceles Productions
Rich Felgate – Director, Independent
James Staunton-Price – Filmmaker, Educator, Researcher in Anti-extractive Nonfiction Filmmaking and its Education Field Studies; NAHEMI; Prifysgol Aberystwyth / UWE Bristol
David Ward – Director, Atticus Film & Television Ltd
Christine Morrow – New and Emerging Talent Executive, Northern Ireland Screen
Jerry Rothwell – Documentary Filmmaker, Met Film
Joanna Wright – Director/ Producer/ Researcher, Tiny City. Fellow @ MIT Open Documentary Lab / Co-Creation Studio
Tony Dowmunt – Emeritus Professor, Department of Media Communications& Culture, Goldsmiths University of London
Zak Brilliant – Head of Sales & Distribution, MetFilm
Maria Springis – Director and Producer, Dreams Into Reality Production
Sinead Kirwan – Producer, Enemy Films
Clair Maleney – Filmmaker, Independant
Leah Borromeo – Co-founder & Director, Disobedient Films
Christo Hird – Producer, Dartmouth Films
Tajender Sagoo – Artist, Frank Brazil
Helen Lawrie – Producer, Land & Sky Media
Melanie Iredale – Director, Reclaim The Frame
Dr André Singer OBE – Chief Creative Officer, Spring Films Ltd
Mark Cousins – Director, Shut Up and Deal
Mark Bould – Professor of Film and Literature, UWE Bristol
Julia Veidt – Head of Documentary, OnSight
Andrew Kötting – Professor Time Based Media, UCA
Lily Ahree Siegel – Producer/Director, Independent
Miranda Stern – Student, Directing Documentary, NFTS National Film and Television School
Mandy Chang – Global Head of Documentaries, Fremantle
Louise Fox – Director, Mor Media Charity
Kim Warner – Head of Production, Ffilm Cymru
Elhum Shakerifar – Producer, Hakawati
Rebecca Day – Psychotherapist/Consultant, Film In Mind
Ella Glendining – Director, Independent
Clare Tavernor – Documentary Director, Independent
Garry Clarkson – Director, BMT Film & Lecturer Open College of the Arts/Open University
Jemma Gander – Director/Producer, Two Step Films
Daisy Asquith – Filmmaker/Head of Dept, Goldsmiths Goldsmiths
Max Cambridge – Sound Recordist, Independent
Lesley Smith – Producer/Director, Independent
Gráinne Lyons – Producer, Independent
Paula Vaccaro – Producer, Pinball London
Mira Aroyo – Development Producer, Mercury Studios
Gabriella Meade – Producer/Director, Independent
Jane Ray – Artistic Director, The Whickers
Georgina Leslie – Producer/Director, Independent
Ella St John McGrand – Producer, Independent
Suniti Somaiya – Producer/Director, BBC Studios/Freelance
Kate Misrahi – Producer/Director, Independent
Ella Pham – Festivals & Assets Manager, MetFilm Sales
Nafi Gordon-Sy – Head of Home Entertainment, Dogwoof
Jen Corcoran – Producer, Freya Films
Sophie Deveson – Producer/Director, Independent
Linda Sands – Series Producer/Director, Freelance
Janine Marmot – Producer, Hot Property Films
Greg Tomkins – Finance Office, Dogwoof
Olivia Daley – Sales Assistant, Dogwoof
Aleksandra Bilic – Producer/Director, My Accomplice
Naina Anoop – Management Accountant, Dogwoof
Rajesh Thind – Director/Writer/Producer, Pindu Productions
Emma Green – Marketing Consultant, Independent
Cheryl Tuckett – Producer, Light and Lion
Elliot Nosworthy – Marketing Manager, Dogwoof
Jane Mote – Editorial Consultant, The Whickers
Allison Gardner – CEO, Glasgow Film
Kim Hopkins – Company Director, Labor of Love Films Ltd
Margareta Szabo – Producer, Labor of Love Films
Stuart Sloan – Head Programmer, Docs Ireland
Brian Woods – MD, True Vision Productions
Finlay Pretsell – Director, Parcel of Rogues
Adedara Oduguwa – Dr., Exclusive Biographer
Alice Hughes – Producer, Beehive Films Ltd
Tom Tennant -Director, Independent
Sarah Collier – Acquisitions Executive, Journeyman Pictures
Martin Radich -Director/Writer/Cinematographer, Independent
Jessica Bishopp – Director, Lecturer, Nowhere Films, University College London
Prof Lucy Brown – Professor of Film and Television Practice/Head of Film, London South Bank University/Founder Women in Screen
Christopher Murphy – Disc Jockey DJ, Chico Malo
Audrey Evrard – Associate Professor of French and Francophone Studies, Fordham University
Joanna Rabiger – Proposal Writer for Independent Documentary Filmmakers, www.joannarabiger.com
Gail Pearce – Artist, Independent
Kim Longinotto – Filmmaker, Independent/Vixon Films
Sanghita Sen – Assistant Professor in Film, Northumbria University
Zaferhan Yumru – Producer and Director of Communications, International Documentary Association (IDA)
Gabriella Ortega Ricketts – Manager of Artist Programs, International Documentary Association (IDA)
Lilla Sparks – Writer/Filmmaker/Program Coordinator, International Documentary Association (IDA)
Orlando von Einsiedel – Director, Grain Media
Simon Chambers – Film Director. Independent
Jen Davies – Director, Conic
Neepa Majumdar – Associate Professor, Film & Media Studies Program, University of Pittsburgh
Joanna Suchomska – Assistant Producer, Blast Films
Elizabeth Wood – Company Director and Founder, Bertha DocHouse
Marc Isaacs – Director, Independent
Gareth Evans – Producer and Curator, Independent/Open City Documentary Masters Mentor
Alison Morrow – Producer/Head of Documentary, Met Film Production
Prof Bert Hogenkamp – Emeritus Professor, Department of Arts & Culture, VU University Amsterdam, and Netherlands Institute for Sound and Vision
Cecilia Aldarondo – Filmmaker and Professor, Blackscrackle Films/Williams College
Paul Thomas – Producer/Director, Jackamo Productions
Roger Hallas – Associate Professor, Syracuse University
Rebecca Alvin – Associate Teaching Professor, School of Media Studies, The New School
Alisa Lebow – Professor of Screen Media, University of Sussex
Jusep Moreno – Filmmaker, Branta Films
Elizabeth Cowie – Professor Emeritus in Film Studies, University of Kent
Catalin Brylla – Principal Lecturer in Film and TV, Bournemouth University
Colin Ramsay – Director, DragonLight Films
Hope Tucker – Filmmaker, Independent
Anna Murphy – Creative Director, Grain Media
Ed Owles – Filmmaker, Postcode Films
William Hewitt – Director/Editor, Melt the Fly
Saeed Taji Farouky – Filmmaker & Educator, Tourist With A Typewriter / Radical Film School
Natalie Hewit – Director, Independent
Sean McAllister – Documentary Filmmaker, 10ft films ltd
Eva Culhane – Line Producer, Pulse Films
Ellen Buddle – Production Manager, Independent
Ed Gibbs – Producer, WHITE RIOT, Smoking Bear Productions
Luke W Moody – Head of BFI Doc Society Fund, BFI Doc Society
Annabel Grundy – Managing Director, Sheffield DocFest
Raul Niño Zambrano – Creative Director, Sheffield DocFest
Andy Rice – Assistant Professor of Film Studies and Media and Communication, Miami University in Ohio
Austen McCowan – Producer, Melt the Fly
Sylvia Bednarz – Managing Director, The Grierson Trust
Sandra Leeming – Producer, Sandslate Films Ltd
Symon Lord – Freelancer, Independent
Alison Rooper – Producer, In Focus Productions
Mark Lo – Producer/Director, Asylum Giant Ltd
Liv Proctor – Producer, LUCA
Christian Cargill – Director, Dalmatian Films
Hannah Bush Bailey – Film and Production Executive, Doc Society
Erinm Ochu – Director, Squirrel Nation
Graham Fulton – Director, Conic
Rob Lemkin – Documentary Filmmaker, LemKino Pictures/Old Street Films
Steve Horton – Documentary Filmmaker, Somerton Films Itd
Jelena Krivosic – Student, UWE Bristol
Amy Densley – Research Centre Coordinator, UWE Bristol
Jamie Perault – Student, National Film & Television School
Dionne Walker – Film & TV Producer and Filmmaker, Founder of Dvrse World/CEO Nanny Maroon State Film & TV Prod Ltd
Khadija Khan – Producer/Engagement Manager, Doc Society
Zeena Starbuck – Project Coordinator, Independence Project & Democracy Story Unit, Doc Society
Mike Brett – Founder/Director/Producer, Archer’s Mark
Andy Mundy-Castle – Founding Director, Doc Hearts
Jo-Jo Ellison – Head of Film Production, Archer’s Mark
Anna Sulley – Supervising Sound Editor/Sound Designer, Independent
Niam Itani – Co-Founder & Executive Producer, placeless films
Nicolas Raffin – Managing Curator, Cinema, Institute of Contemporary Arts
Ismaele Tortella – Director and Cinematographer, Independent
Dan Faber – Filmmaker, Independent
Hanna Havryliuk – Dialogue Editor, Sound Post-production
Mariia Ponomarova – Director/Creative Producer/Senior DAE Consultant
Alice Aedy – Director/Producer, Co-Founder + CEO, Earthrise Studio
Mike Lerner – Producer/Director, Roast Beef Productions Limited
Megumi Inman -Director/Producer, Independent
Delphine Lievens – Distribution Consultant, Independent
Paul Pauwels – Manager/Owner, Congoo BV
Pailin Wedel – Documentary Director, 2050 Productions. Co. Ltd
Alex Bescoby – Co-Founder, Grammar Productions
Ben Kempas – Documentary Campaign Strategist, Film & Campaign Ltd.
Alexander Bodin Saphir – Producer/Director, Breaking Productions
Marcus Relton – Producer/Director, 1DigitTV/Freelance
Alexander Kann – Chief Executive, Together TV
Maria Palacios Cruz – Festival Director, Open City Documentary Festival
Derren Lawford – CEO and Founder, DARE Pictures
Kat Mansoor – Producer, Snowstorm Productions
Lucy Wardley – Festival Producer, Open City Documentary Festival
Christine Morrow – New and Emerging Talent Executive, Northern Ireland Screen
Roger Chapman – Director of Photography, Independent
Eliz Mizon – Strategy Lead, The Bristol Cable
Mark Thomas – Unscripted Screen Officer, Screen Scotland
Jasmine Haniff – Marketing Coordinator Bertha DocHouse
Tom Dwyer – Marketing Manager, Bertha DocHouse
Nora Seelmann – Operations & Partnerships Manager, Bertha DocHouse
Roseanna Dias – Creative Director, Studio Susegad
Kat Chirnside – Digital and Marketing Manager, Independent
Ryan Finnigan – Head of Cinema and Programming, Showroom Cinema
Nuala O’Sullivan – Director, Women Over 50 Film Festival
Madeline Bowers – Production Assistant, My Accomplice
Lucy Wilson – Impact Producer, Self Employed
Liz Banks – Filmmaker and Senior Lecturer in Film and Photography, University of the West of England
Francesca Aita – Head of Marketing, Together TV
Sonja Henrici – Producer, Sonja Henrici Creates
Andy Robson – Film Researcher, Freelance
Dani Carlaw – Head of Unscripted, Screen Scotland
Sky Neal – Director, Satya Films
Barbara Orton – Producer, True TV and Film
Martyn Robertson – Director/Producer, Blackhouse Films
Meera Mistry – Producer, Meera TV Ltd
Paul Romero Mendez – Director/Producer, Self Employed
Pranati Wadhwa – Independent Producer, Monkey Gruffo Productions
Keith E Hoult – Owner & Executive Producer, 3rd Strike Entertianment Ltd
Gannesh Rajah – Producer, Court Productions
Noe Mendelle – Exec Producer, SDI
Mandy Rose – Professor of Documentary and Digital Culture, UWE Bristol
Jason Wood – Executive Director of Public Programmes and Audiences, BFI
Jen Fearnley – Director, Independent
Alex Wilson – Archive Producer/Archive Manager, Memory Dance/Villon Films
Carol Nahra – Documentary Journalist and Lecturer, RHUL/LCC/Syracuse/GriersonTrust
Krishan Arora – Int’l Content Consultant, SBS Television
Fiona Fletcher – Support Programme Manager, BFI Doc Society
Sarita Malik – Professor of Media and Culture, Brunel University
Rod Stoneman – Emeritus Professor, Huston School of Film & Digital Media/University of Galway
David Rane – Producer, Soilsiú FIlms
Gary Byungseok Kam – Documentary Maker, a member of AMPAS Mirror & Story
Rob Alexander – Producer/Director Perfectmotion ltd
Kam Gandhi – Film Lecturer, UWE
Chris Harris – Programme Manager, Picturehouse Cinemas
Stuart Mitchell – Associate Director, University West of England
Paul Ashton – Head of Film & TV, Creative UK
Steven Foxon – Curator of Non-Fiction Film & TV, BFI National Archive
Charlie Falconer – Development Producer, Snowstorm Productions
Matthew Harmer – Director, Freelance
Maureen Murray – Producer, Foxtrot Films Ltd.
Matt Hird – Head of Distribution, Dartmouth Film Ltd
Sophie Polonsky – Distribution Coordinator, Dartmouth Films Ltd
Samantha Steele – Producer, Little by Little Films
Graham Suggett – Director, Creative Tax Reliefs Limited
Teresa Cherfas – Documentary Producer, Self-employed
Mark Anderson – Documentary Producer/Director, Retired
Cathy Houlihan – Editor, Independent
John Blake – Ex-Producer and Commissioner, BBC and ITV
Marion Schmidt – Consultant/Co-Director, DAE – Documentary Association of Europe
Jez Lewis – Director and Producer, Bungalow Town Productions Limited
Daniel Gordon – Director, VeryMuchSo Productions
Lucinda Broadbent – Director, Media Co-op
Mick Gold – Producer/Director, Independent
Emma Webster – Producer/Director, Independent
Emma Davie – Personal Chair Documentary Film, University of Edinburgh
Norma Percy – Series Producer, Brook Lapping
Ged Fitzsimmons – Director/Impact Producer, Cosmic Cat
Rebecca O’Brien – Producer, Sixteen Films
Alexandra Colta – Talent and Distribution Manager, Scottish Documentary Institute
Mike Southon bsc – Director of Photograhpy, Freelance
Olly Lambert – Filmmaker, Independent
Nick Fraser – Executive Producer/Founder, Docsville Studios
Brian Hill – Director, Century Films
Karen Brown – Former Deputy Programmes Director/Commissioning Editor and Programme Maker, Channel 4, Granada
Lucy Parker – Filmmaker, Independent
Ann-marie McCormack – Director/Producer /Writer, AmmA Films and Productions
Kathryn Ferguson – Director and Writer, Tara Films
Elenor Emptage – Producer, Independent
Ben Coulson – Managing Director, Roundtable Post Production
Charlie Nairn – Director/Producer, Out to pasture
Laverne Caprice – Marketing Manager, Open City Documentary Festival
Dr Stephen Kelly – Visiting Professor in Media, University of Chester
Rachel Wexler – Producer/Executive Producer, Bungalow Town Productions
Robin Kent – Executive Producer/Series Editor, Independent
Jane Balfour – Managing Director, Jane Balfour Services
Asmahan Bkerat – Director/Producer, Independent Filmmaker
James Lewis – Producer, The Good Side
Shane O’Sullivan – Filmmaker and Associate Professor, Kingston School of Art
Simon Chinn – Producer/Co-founder, Lightbox
Madelyn Most – Producer, Most Films
Penny Woolcock – Documentary Filmmaker, Independent
Kazz Basma – Managing Director, Sideways Film
Joan Shenton – Producer, Meditel Productions
Mahdi Fleifel – Director, Nakba FilmWorks
Andy Mackinnon – Producer/Director, UistFilm
Yasmin Fedda – Filmmaker/Lecturer, Independent+ Queen Mary University London
Hannah Brown – Marketing and Communications Manager, The Grierson Trust
Eloise King – Director/Producer, Whiteteeth Productions
Yen Yau – Director of Training Programmes, The Grierson Trust
Ben Lowe – Producer/Director, Independent
Nick Cunard – Development Producer, Rural Studios
Stephen Bennett – Produce/Director, Freelance
Finlay van der Vossen – Administrative and Awards Assistant, The Grierson Trust
Rebecca Palmer – Director & Actor, Earthing Productions
Barret Stanboulian – Producer/Indie Consultant, The Public Square
Lucy Pilkington – Managing Director, Milk and Honey
David Charap – Editor, Arcimboldo Productions
Ollie Huddleston – Film Editor, Freelance
Paul Burgess – Producer/Director/Editor, PBTV ltd
Richard Melman – Executive Producer, Freelance
Holly Black – Co-Director and Co-Founder, Black Bark Films
Sue Sudbury – Filmmaker/Associate Professor of Media Practice ,Bournemouth University
Kate Parker – Producer, City Projects
Shanida Scotland – Director/Head of Film, Doc Society
Sarah Joyce – Head of Unscripted and Children’s TV, ScreenSkills
Dan Draper – Director, Shut Out The Light Films
Rosie Woodcock – Producer, Freelance
Hugh Davies – Producer, Insight Film
John Dower – Director, Independent
Sara Steckelings – Student, University of the Arts London
Nigel Smith – Editorial Advisor (freelance), Making Plans Ltd.
Alison Millar – Director, Erica Starling Productions Ltd
Deborah Perkin – Former BBC Producer, DPML
Michelle Heighway – Filmmaker, i4visuals
Laura Giles – Managing Director, Screen Cornwall
Angela Elvira Bruce – Filmmaker, Freelancer
Sam Coffey – Documentary Editor, Independent
Sophie Howery – Associate Producer, Goldcrest Films
John Burgan – Mentor, Nipkow Programm
Franky Murray Brown – Documentary Filmmaker, Independent
Mike Day – Director, Intrepid Cinema
Irene Carter – Development Producer, Mindhouse
Pinny Grylls – Filmmaker, Project 1961
Nas Parkash – Sound Supervisor/Re-recording Mixer, Molinare
Lucy Pullin – CEO/Co-Founder, ie:entertainment Ltd
Charlotte Hall – Assistant Producer, Finestripe Productions
Adam Brown – Director, Freelance
Akuol de Mabior – Director, Independent
Orban Wallace – Director/Producer, Gallivant Film
Kate Stonehill – Director, Venus Fly Trap Productions
Sara Hardy – Documentary Film Maker, Freelance
Ed Perkins – Documentary Filmmaker, Independent
Anke Lueddecke – Producer/Director, www.ankelueddecke.tv
Emma Norton – Producer/Production Manager, Freelance
Enrico Parenti – Documentary Director, Elliot Films
Becky Brand – Filmmaker, Independent
David Pearson – Director & Producer, Storyspring
Natasha Hawthornthwaite – Director, Northern Heart Films
Shuyu Gao – Filmmaker, Independent
Eilidh Munro – Documentary Director, Freelance
Anne M Milne – Filmmaker, ammfilm
John Archer – Producer, Hopscotch Films
Maria Lopes – Runner, Freelancer
Julie Bills – Cinematographer, Freelance/University of Edinburgh
Dawn Elrick – Producer/Director, Freelance
Ewan McPherson – Unemployed Filmmaker, Hugo and Clay Productions
Anna-Marie Jansen van Vuuren – Film Professor, Tshwane University of Technology
Katharine Round – Director, Disobedient Films, co-founder Doc Heads
Elena Santamaria – Producer/Director, OxyGene Film Productions
Daniella Rice – Producer, Independent
Honey Crespo – Filmmaking Lecturer, Liverpool Hope University
Alistair Payne-James – Producer, 140 Films
Sophie Nielsen – Producer, Media Zoo
Lizzie MacKenzie – Director, Of The Wild Productions
Taghi Amirani – Director COUP 53, AMIRANI MEDIA
Hannah Skolnick – Filmmaker, Freelance
Susy Pena – Documentary Director/Producer, Gato Negro Media
Parisa Urquhart – Producer/Director/MD, Urquhart Media Ltd
Louise Osmond – Documentary Director, Freelance
Steven Seidenberg – Head of International Co-production, LIC-BCBC China
Tabs Breese – Producer, Miriam
Alex Harron – Producer/Director, Buy The Ticket Productions
Nariman Massoumi – Filmmaker/Senior Lecturer in Film & Television, University of Bristol
Cara Bowen – Producer Director Independent
Michele Vicenti – Filmmaker/Film Editor, Freelancer
Clare Handford – Executive Producer, Handy Films
Kit Vincent – Director, Good Kid Films
Jordan McGarry – Head of Talent Development & Production, Film London
Claire Wallerstein – Producer, Cornwall Climate Care
Callum Macrae – Filmmaker, Outsider Television
Dean Woodhouse – Producer/Director, Independent/DRW.Photo/Mirrielight
Carmen Thompson – Programmer, Freelance
Toby Clarkson – Editor/Filmmaker, Freelance
Chloe Leland – Creative Director and Executive Producer, Grain Media
Alex Spence – Post Supervisor, Grain Media
Stewart Morgan Hajdukiewicz – Documentary Filmmaker, Independent, HajduKino
Natasha Jarvis – Director, Freelance
Charlotte Salkind – Producer/Director, Freelance
Rafa Pereira – Producer/Director, Freelancer
Bangaly Kamara – Finance Assistant, Grain Media Ltd
Becky Hutner – Director/Producer, Freelance
Christo Wallers – Filmmaker/Film Programmer, Star and Shadow Cinema
Nick Bradshaw – Journalist and Critic, Freelance
Adithya Sambamurthy – Director, Independent
Rico Johnson-Sinclair – Co-Director, ARTEF
Eleni Stavrou – Communications Coordinator, Sheffield DocFest
Oliver Wright – Director of Programming, Open City Documentary Festival
Alice Russell – Documentary Filmmaker, Freelance
Debbie Ballin – Senior Lecturer & Filmmaker, Manchester Metropolitan University
Iain Cunningham – Director, Forward Features
Andy Sowerby – Editor, Independent
Angela Neil – Director of Photography, Freelance
Julie Bills – Cinematographer, Freelance
Olivia Martin-McGuire – Director/Producer, Freelance
Katie Bailiff – CEO, Women in Film and Television
Giorgia Zarantonello – Film Editor, Self Employed
Alison Martin – 2nd AC, Freelancer
Tamara Turoczi – 2nd AC, Freelance
Sarita West – Filmmaker, Alchemy Films
Symon Lord – Independent Doc Maker, Symon Lord Productions
Matilda Lines – Graduate
Corrigan Lowe – Partnerships Manager, Sheffield DocFest
Peter Bromley – Filmmaker, 1968 Film Group
Molly Dennis – Shooting Assistant Producer, Freelance
Steve Smith – Executive Producer & Director Picture, Zero Productions
Rowan Bray – Group Managing Director, Clear Cut Group
Luke Oliveira-Davies – Founder & Creative Producer, Polari
Julian Rodd – Editor, Freelance
Dave Young – Filmmaker, Independent
Sean Lovell – Documentary Filmmaker, Freelance
Noemi Varga – Director / Editor, Freelance
Jessica Edwards – Head of Cultural Development, Nesta
Jethro Robathan – Journalist, Freelance
Rebecca Mark-Lawson – Producer, Tyke Films
Steve Buckley – Director, Sheffield Community Media
Marian Edusei – Producer, Broke and Bones
John Quinn – Director, John Q Films Limited
Lisa Cadwallader – VP Content & Development, WaterBear Network
Katie Moore – Filmmaker, Yak Media
Michaela Moir – Director ,Freelance
Amelia King – Producer/Director, Independent
Sarah Keeling – Editor
Jaime Taylor – Director, Postcode Films
Isla Gordon-Crozier – Development, WaterBear Network
Eleanor Church – Director/DoP/Editor, Lark Rise Pictures
Benn Wiebe – Executive Producer, HFP
Helen Lawrie – Producer, Land and Sky Media
Matthew Judge – Digital Media Manager, Blue Ventures
Mary Pattisson – Producer, Freelance
Josephine Cheney – Snr PR Manager, WaterBear Network
Shanine Gallagher – Documentary Filmmaker, Independent
Demelza Kooij – Filmmaker, Independent
Riad Arfin – Documentary Filmmaker, Independent
Alex Hetherington – Artist and Filmmaker, Alex Hetherington Films
Kristof Bilsen – Director/Producer, Limerick Films
Nikolai Galitzine – Producer/Director, The Heavy Lifting Company
Kath Pick – Documentary Director/ Senior Producer, Tigerlily 2/ BBC Scotland
Ling Lee – Director/Editor/Lecturer in Film & Moving Image, Edinburgh College of Art
Maythem Ridha – Director/Producer, 7th Heaven Studios
Daniel Elías – Director/Product Management, Wolftech Broadcast AS
Steve Bowles – Director/Producer, Eye Witness Productions Ltd.
Nick Read – Filmmaker, Red Zed Films
Gemma McKinnie – Filmmaker/Founder, Eye Contact Media
Anna Lamond – Production Manager, A+E Networks
Rupert Russell – Director, Independent
Jack Loughlin – Director of Sales, Molinare Film & TV
Leland Palmer – Director/Producer, Independent
Isaac Knights-Washbourn – Filmmaker, Independent
Sonita Gale – Director/Producer, Galeforce films
Adam Mitchenall – Director of Operations, Grain Media Ltd
Pascale Lamche – Filmmaker, Independent, Tell It Like It Is
Marie Thomas – Line Producer, Fulwell 73
Naomi Gayler – Executive Producer, Freelance – working for Channel 4 and BBC
Adam Young – Producer/Director, Paper Sky Films Ltd
Miriam Lyons – Producer/Director, Lyoness Films
Aaron Carruthers – Production Crew, Echoes Productions
Madalena Nicolau – MA Documentary Production Student, Salford University
Daniel Wan – Development Executive, Arrow Media
Leshu Torchin – Senior Lecturer in Film Studies, University of St Andrews
Angela Arora-Wilson – Senior Producer/Edit Producer, Bindi Media/Independent
Stewart Armstrong – Producer/Director, Freelance
Alex Cardon – Editor
Kate Kotcheff – Director/Producer, Speak Up Films Ltd
Carey Born – Filmmaker, First Born Films
Ian Haydn Smith – Writer, Independent
John Podpadec – Senior Lecturer in Filmmaking, University of the West of England, Bristol
Anastasia Arsan – Producer, Independent
Michael Fokias – Cinematographer, Self-Employed
Dylan Howitt – Producer/Director, Softly Films
Becky Hutner – Director/Producer, Independent
Ross Henbest – Creative Producer, NSPCC
Karoliina Gröndahl – Freelance Director, Board Member, Finnish Documentary Guild
Asmahan Bkerat – Filmmaker, Freelance
Alex Bingham – Archive Researcher, Freelance
Rob Curry – Director, Fifth Column Films
Monika Baker – Producer/Director, eMBe Productions
Ian A. Hunt – Freelance Executive Producer & Director, Thirty Media Ltd
Manon Euler – Head of Film Hub North, Film Hub North
Kristina Turner – Assistant Producer/Field Director, Co-founder, FF:W Filmmakers for Future: Wildlife (FF:W)
Zan Barberton – Director, Boundary Pictures
Joseph Curran – Filmmaker, PT Film
Martyn Robertson – Documentary Director, Urbancroft Films
Tabitha Jackson – Consultant, Fmr Director, Sundance Film Festival
