Dear DFC Members, Allies and Supporters,

Spring is in the air and exciting things are brewing at the Documentary Film Council, as we get underway with our first ever election process and welcome a new face to the leadership team. Read on for some more exciting updates and news from our industry friends.

DFC ‘Stand for Election’ form now available

We’re very excited to release our ‘Stand for Election’ form today. This marks the beginning of the DFC’s first election process and will culminate in the first ever elected board of representatives for UK independent documentary film.

There’s never been a more important time to stand up for documentary in the UK so please consider standing for election and encourage your friends and colleagues to do likewise – and to join the DFC if they haven’t already done so. Having an elected board of directors is vital to ensure the DFC is accountable to the community it represents, and serving on the board is an opportunity to work with colleagues across the industry to improve conditions for everyone. Full training will be provided so if you haven’t served on a board of directors before, don’t let that hold you back.

The deadline for nominations is April 14 (the list of candidates will be announced May 1 and voting will take place from May 13-31, with results announced on June 3). Because the DFC is currently a volunteer-run organisation, we are unfortunately unable to pay freelance board members for their time at present. However, this remains our intention as soon as we have the resources to do so.

Follow the link below the timeline for more information and to access our ‘Stand for Election’ form.

Build your profile on the DFC Directory

The DFC is only nine months old but we’ve already built a membership of more than 500 filmmakers and industry professionals (that includes Supporters, Allies and Voting Members). Our membership is the core of the DFC so we’ve decided to remove the ‘opt-in’ element of the Directory and make sure everyone involved in the organisation is listed. So, if you haven’t yet completed your profile, please do so by March 31 (you can do this by going to My Account > ‘Edit Profile’). It’s up to you if you would like to give permission to be contacted by other members, but we encourage you to network and share knowledge with your peers.

Thanks to the awesome work done by FWD-Doc, it will also soon be possible to search the Directory according to a much greater range of filters, from ethnicity and heritage to gender, disability, sexuality and class (an opt-in option for each category will enable users to consent to their profiles appearing in corresponding searches). This will make it much easier to find and work with a range of talented and under-represented people in our sector. More info coming soon.

Welcome to Kate Chapman

We are delighted to announce that Kate Chapman, Creative Analyst at the independent film financing company, Sons of Rigor (formerly in Acquisitions & Sales at Journeyman Pictures), has kindly offered to volunteer some of her time to the DFC Leadership Team. She’ll be working as Communications and Fundraising Officer alongside Emily and Steve as part of the Leadership Team. Hooray!

We are still on the look out for more volunteers, so if you would like to get involved please contact [email protected].

DFC session at TNBFC EXPO 2024

On Tuesday March 26 from 10-11.30am, the DFC will be giving a keynote presentation at The New Black Film Collective (TNBFC) XPO 2024. TNBFC was set-up in 2013 to help cultivate a vibrant Black ecosystem in the UK screen industries. The XPO is its flagship industry event and includes a fantastic line-up of talks, screenings and networking opportunities at London’s Rich Mix from 25-28 March. Free tickets are available now and will be snapped up fast so don’t miss it.

Major changes to UK tax relief: introduction of expenditure credit of 53% for independent films

People may have seen the news announced by the BFI on Weds March 6 that government is introducing an expenditure credit of 53% for qualifying independent films with budgets of up to £15m – even more than the 50% recommended in Keeping it Real report (2020). There is no budget floor to the scheme, so the credit will also apply to independent documentary films. We need to do more work to look into the details of this but these changes look set to be a potentially transformative moment for the sector.

Young Cooperators Network

As a co-operative, the DFC is independent, democratic and owned by its members. If you’re under 30 and part of a new or emerging co-operative (that includes the DFC!), you can become a member of the Young Cooperators’ Network (YCN): an independent network to grow the co-operative movement and help young people tackle the changing nature of work, housing and food by empowering them to join, form, and champion cooperatives.

From Our Friends

Our friends at Doc Society have stolen the spotlight on this occasion. They have been so busy that they have several new opportunities available at the moment: 

• Made of Truth: BFI Doc Society Short Film Fund: The fund supports up to 15 short films each year with a maximum of £25,000 in funding. Applications are now open and the deadline April 15. 
• Filmmaker Advice Sessions: The Doc Society team are also available at several forthcoming events (online and in-person) to give advice and guidance to filmmakers around the UK. 
• Rise Producer Programme: a programme of sustained producer guidance for 4 UK-based emerging producers over a 6-month period. 
• Producing Truth: supported by ScreenSkills Film Skills Fund and delivered by Doc Society, Docs Ireland, the Scottish Documentary Institute and Screen Alliance Wales, this training programme is targeted at mid-career independent doc producers outside of London. Applications close March 22. 
• GETTING REAL ‘24, Disabled UK Filmmaker delegation: In partnership with FWD-Doc, BFI Doc Society invite applications from disabled UK filmmakers to participate in in the Virtual Programme of the IDA’s Getting Real conference, a biennial 4-day event on the art and business of nonfiction storytelling. Applications close March 18.

Got any news?

If you have any news or information you’d like us to include in the next newsletter, drop us a line at [email protected].

In co-operation, 
DFC Leadership Team