The Documentary Association of Europe (DAE) announced September 23 the appointment of Charlie Philips as its new Programme Director (Advocacy and Curation). He replaces Brigid O’Shea, who has led DAE since its launch in 2020 and who will remain on the Executive Board.
Philips is an independent documentary producer based in the UK whose recent productions include the features All Rivers Spill Their Stories to the Sea (CPH Dox 2026), Our Land and Blue Has No Borders (Sheffield DocFest 2025), and the short film Free Lyric (Blackstar 2026).
He is a former Head of Documentaries at the Guardian, where his commissions won the Oscar and BAFTA short documentary awards, and was Deputy Director at Sheffield DocFest. He was also, until recently, Head of Stories at educational documentary platform Lyfta.
Philips will be the creative and strategic lead for DAE’s content, including its editorial and artistic direction, its flagship training and mentoring programmes, and the association’s lobbying and advocacy work to European stakeholders. He will be a spokesperson for the organisation, and European documentaries more generally.
“A well-known face in the industry, he’ll bring that experience of working across production, commissioning and festivals to the future of DAE, as it embarks on the next phase of its development to advocate deeper and wider for European documentary film workers,” DAE writes.
“At a moment of change and pressure for documentary making, he will use his experience of 20+ years in the industry to champion the creative, cultural, and economic interests of documentary practitioners across the continent. Initially, he will continue to work closely with his predecessor, Brigid O’Shea, who initiated the association and has led it since its inception. Charlie will continue to be an independent producer alongside his DAE role,” the festival adds.
Charlie Phillips comments: “I have watched Brigid’s amazing work building DAE in the last 6 years with massive admiration, and I am excited to build on her work. DAE is a network of mutually supportive documentary professionals working to uplift one another, and as a producer myself, I can’t wait to speak to the membership about the pressing industry issues that we need to tackle. This is a moment of crisis and opportunity, and I will help DAE to be at the forefront of documentary making’s role in addressing the cultural, economic and political earthquakes happening around us.”
Brigid O’Shea adds: “We are honoured to welcome someone of Charlie’s experience and stature to DAE, his 360-degree experience in the field brings a wealth of ideas, network and knowhow to us. Instrumental in the ideation stage of the association before its founding, I can’t imagine a better candidate to lead us into the next chapter.”
Fellow board member Natalia Imaz adds: “We were humbled by the level of interest in this new role at DAE, and by the expertise we encountered throughout the recruitment process. We want to thank everyone who took part. Welcoming Charlie Philips into this role is both an honour and a joy, and we look forward to his contributions to DAE. We’re excited for what’s ahead for the association and our community, and confident this new chapter will build on the strong foundation we’ve all worked so hard to create.”
Marion Schmidt, co-founder and board member of DAE, comments of O’Shea: “As DAE board members and co-founders, we are immensely proud and grateful for Brigid’s work and leadership, which have shaped DAE into what it is today: a vibrant, transnational community standing on a strong institutional foundation, equipped to meet the many challenges of today’s realities. We are also deeply grateful to Brigid for managing this transition with such care and integrity, both in her outgoing role as director and as a continuing board member.”
