Dear DFC Members, Allies and Supporters,
Some of you have been in touch to ask if the DFC is going to issue a statement on the Israel-Palestine conflict and the war on Gaza. The Interim Board has discussed this issue fairly extensively online and is meeting next week to explore it in more detail. While it’s fair to say that we have all been horrified at the scale of the violence in the region and in Gaza in particular, as a new organisation the DFC does not have policy in place that empowers the board to issue public statements of this type on its members’ behalf. Clearly we need to address this and it will be something we discuss at our first members’ meeting on Dec 13 (see reminders below).
Reminder: DFC Members’ Meeting, Dec 13 2023
Save the date! The first DFC members’ meeting will take place online from 7-8.30pm on Wednesday December 13th. More details and an agenda will be announced soon but the event will include an update from the DFC’s leadership team and board and will include plenty of time for the membership to meet one another and ask questions and suggest ideas as we prepare to begin the DFC’s first three-year term in January 2024. You can register for the event below.
Reminder: Pro bono Membership Officer
As a new co-op, the DFC is receiving business advice from Co-ops UK, which recently recommended that we put out a call for a pro bono Memberships Officer who could be seconded to us from another more established organisation. That organisation need not necessarily be from our sector – but obviously the more familiarity with documentary and/or the creative industries the better – and the secondment could be for just a day a week. A pro bono secondment of this nature would be enormously helpful until we can raise the funds to hire someone on a more permanent basis. Please contact emily@documentaryfilmcouncil.co.uk for more information.
Reminder: We Must Address Abuse in the Documentary Industry
This week, our close friend and colleague at The Whickers, Jane Mote shared via the IDA and during an event organised by DAE at IDFA, stories of filmmakers abused, harassed and taken advantage of by the very people supposed to be supporting them, in an attempt to break the culture of silence around abuse within our industry.
Alongside other partner organisations, including those above, the DFC will be part of the next phase of solution planning. We implore you to join us and others in a debate about how we can safeguard those in our community. If you would like to share your own story in confidence or talk to us about your concerns or solutions, please write to Jane Mote (jane@beechtobeach.com) or Emily Copley (emily@documentaryfilmcouncil.co.uk).
Read the full IDA article here
If you haven’t already done so, please help build the DFC: upgrade your membership to become a full voting member (it’s only £24 per year!) or invite your friends and colleagues to join.
You can also donate below to help us build the future of UK documentary together.
In co-operation,
DFC Leadership Team
