Annual General Meeting (AGM) highlights

• 2024-25 accounts approved.
• 2024-25 Annual Report approved.
• Audit requirement dis-applied (due to income below £250K).
• Last year’s election ratified; existing trustees approved to continue until Spring 2026.

First DFC CEO: advertising in October

But the most exciting news from the AGM is that we will be advertising for the DFC’s first-ever CEO in October! 

Our original plans to hire a team in Autumn 2023 were delayed due to funding, so Emily Copley and Steve Presence stepped up as Joint Acting CEOs. Now, with almost 1000 members and our fundraising efforts starting to bear fruit, the board has decided to advertise for the DFC’s first CEO in October: as a paid position if funding allows, or as a voluntary position with a generous honorarium if not. More info on this soon, but applications will close in early December, with interviews held in mid-to-late January 2026.

DFC election cycle, 2026

This will mean that our new CEO will be in-post ready to oversee the DFC’s second election cycle, which will take place in spring 2026. We’ll be working hard to prepare this and make sure the timelines are all in place so we can have another healthy contested election that once more leads the way in showing how screen industry bodies can be run in an open, transparent and democratic way.

DFC Trustee appointments

In the coming months, we’ll also be looking to appoint some Trustees to our existing Board. We have two spaces available as standard that the board can fill and also a Casual Vacancy following Emma Hindley, former BBC Storyville Lead Commissioning Editor, having to stand down last month. We’ll announce these appointments as soon as they’re made, so watch this space.

Retiring DFC’s Supporter category

This year will also see our ‘free’ Supporter category phased out by the end of September. When the DFC launched in June 2023, the industry was in the middle of a brutal recession in which more than half the workforce were unemployed. In that context, it was important to launch an untested new national organisation with a free membership category. Two years on, with nearly 1000 members, an elected board of trustees and big plans for the future, we need to phase out that category and move everyone into one of our two paid tiers: 

• Allies (£12 per year): For international supporters and UK residents who wish to support the DFC but not participate in its democratic processes.
• Members (£24 per year): Exclusively for UK residents who wish to participate in the DFC’s democratic governance processes and help set its strategic direction.

There are 1,663 users of this newsletter, nearly 1000 of whom are spread across our three tiers of membership. If you haven’t yet joined the DFC or have joined us as a Supporter, please consider becoming an Ally or Member today – we can’t do any of this without you. 

Join the DFC as an Ally or Member

BIG NEWS: DFC forms international alliance with documentary advocacy bodies in Canada & US

As reported in Realscreen, Business Doc Europe and POV Magazine, the DFC has formed an international alliance with documentary advocacy organisations, Documentary Organisation of Canada (DOC) and International Documentary Association (IDA) following our documentary film policy panel at Sheffield DocFest. Moderated by UK producer and DFC Member, Krishan Arora, the panel brought together leading international voices rethinking how advocacy and collective action can strengthen the documentary ecosystem by building sustainability and forging meaningful connections with audiences.

IDA Director of Programs Abby Sun said, “We can all see the present and coming challenges to the sector on a political, financial and technological level. I know that together we are stronger, both in the US and internationally. Doc makers are some of the most resourceful, committed and agile people in the industry and right now we all need to pull together”.

BBC seeks new Head of Storyville: deadline for applicants July 8 

Last week, the BBC advertised for a new ‘Head of Storyville’ following a restructure in which the previous Lead Commissioning Editor and Commissioning Editor posts – held by Emma Hindley and Lucie Kon respectively – will be replaced by a single role. 

According to the advertisement, the new post-holder will be ‘responsible for developing, directing and deploying the strategy for this genre in line with the BBC’s broader digital first strategy, and will represent the BBC within international markets with documentary film makers, ensuring the continued success of the strand’.

This is a hugely important position in our sector. Storyville is internationally respected as the home of some of the best feature-length documentaries in the world and, following the cancellation of Channel 4’s True Stories (1993-2012), is now the only series dedicated to feature docs on British TV. We’re delighted to see that the BBC remains committed to its flagship strand and urge all qualified individuals to apply. The deadline is tight: Tuesday July 8. 

Co-operatives UK offering one DFC Member a free pass to Congress worth £280!

Co-operatives UK – the representative body of all UK co-operatives – has offered the DFC one free bursary to this year’s annual UK Co-op Congress. This two-day event is the biggest gathering of co-operatives in the UK and includes a packed programme of including high-profile speakers such as actor and comedian, Steve Coogan, the Mayor of Greater Manchester, Andy Burnham, and political commentator and author, Grace Blakeley. The bursary also includes a pass to the drinks reception and evening supper at the Rochdale Pioneers Museum.

Who said there’s no such thing as a free lunch? If you’re interested in this please get in touch asap. 

Described as a space ‘for dialogue, not perfection’, the event is an ‘effort to create an open, community-driven alternative to traditional film spaces’ and is open to filmmakers, animators and artists of all kinds to meet one another and share and support each other’s work in progress. Follow them on Instagram @thisisnotascreening