Earlier this month, vastly experienced filmmaker and executive Mandy Chang was appointed as Documentary Film Council’s first chief-executive officer. This is the subscription-based, member-driven organisation set up in 2023 to advocate for documentary in the UK – and which currently represents around 1000 filmmakers and industry professionals from every part of the UK doc sector.
“I think if you are privileged enough to work in this industry, you have to give something back – and I feel we are at a critical time in documentary where some of that space that documentaries once took up in the broadcasting schedules has been eroded away by formats and by other kinds of filmmaking,” the former BBC Storyville commissioning editor and Fremantle Global Head of Documentary reflects on why she was so keen to take up the new position. “The next phase of their growth and development is something I feel I can help with because of my experience and that is what they need at this point of time.”
While cautioning that she is only days into the new job, the new CEO does offer some early insights into how she hopes to help DFC “develop into something that has more power and clout.”
“There is the television documentary world and there is the independent film world – and we [at DFC] are there to serve both,” she insists. “There is a division between the two and I think it is really healthy for both disciplines to be talking to each other. It’s [about] each part of the industry understanding each other and about sharing information, being transparent – and fairness!”
Chang praises the work done by Steve Presence and Emily Copley, who’ve been joint active CEOs since DFC was formed, in getting to 1000 members and assembling a board full of influential figures in the UK doc world, among them Sandra Whipham, Director, Doc Society; Flore Cosquer, Director, Scottish Documentary Institute; producer Roisín Geraghty, DFC Chair, Head of Industry, Docs Ireland; and Olu Adaeze, Director/Producer, Ikenga Creative Lab.
This is a collective and inclusive organisation “owned by everybody and for everybody…the power is in the people who are members,” says Chang.
Unlike other organisations in the UK, for example Pact or the Directors’ Guild, the aim is not just to represent the interests of filmmakers but also to support editors, sales agents and “festival people.”
“A lot of people still feel the DFC is just for filmmakers. It’s not…it’s for anyone who works in documentaries,” Chang re-emphasises the point. “Anyone who works in the field or has a connection with it is welcomed into the organisation…there should be young people and more experienced people.”
She hopes the DFC will also become “a point of information for people to come for all sorts of advice as well,” and also a potentially a source for accurate data about the UK doc industry.
The CEO wants to encourage “more fluidity between independent filmmaking and television” and to promote a “holistic” approach in a sector that has become increasingly fragmented, and where (Chang believes) “we don’t talk to each other enough.”
“We can also connect people up regionally. I think Emily and Steve have worked hard to start the grassroots of connecting people up and providing a place where can people can get together and share experiences and also team up,” she reflects. “We need to get more members in, have a really clear goal in our advocacy and what is about, but also bring the community together from all parts of the UK. I think that is the next step…the goal is to reach out into regional places as well, and to understand what people want and need, and what is going to help our community in quite a fragile moment for documentary.”
The AGM at Sheffield DocFest (10-15 Junes) will provide an early opportunity for Chang to hear from members. DFC is also expected to organise an industry session in Sheffield. “Now, it [DFC] needs to ramp up more,” Chang warms to her theme. “It’s an organisation that needs money now to do ambitious things and that’s where I feel I can be helpful.”
The aim is to target “anywhere and everywhere we think we can get support.” Chang is hoping the broadcasters and streamers might get behind the organisation – and she will be lobbying government too.
One message Chang is pushing in Copenhagen this week is that “more and more, the people who make documentaries for television are having to understand the world of co-production.”
Doc filmmakers need to look “more internationally” for their financing beyond what commissioning editors can put into projects – and this is something she can advise on thanks to her background and extensive contacts.
At CPH:DOX, Chang will also be meeting with other organisations, among them US-based IDA (International Documentary Association) that has been in existence for more than 40 years and has thousands of members globally.
She wants to hear their advice and learn about “best practice” for growing a grassroots organisation. “That is what I am interested in at this point of time.”
Back in the UK, securing extra support for production remains a key goal. “There are organisations like BFI Doc Society which do a really good job, but is there a need for a broader fund within the UK?” Chang asks. “Where the money comes from for that I don’t know – but this is what I want to dive into.”
Chang isn’t sure whether DFC itself at this stage should be administering such a fund. “We have to make sure that is the right thing,” she hedges. “I don’t know yet. I’ve got to get my feet under the table and see what is needed.”
“One area where there is a real need [for support] is development. You can’t get a commission without having properly developed your story,” she says, underlining that potential financiers now expect a lot from producers and filmmakers. “Everybody wants a sizzle and a fully developed deck. That all costs quite a lot of money.”
Chang remains active as a producer herself – “I have to pay the rent,” she tells BDE. Elena Andreicheva’s Intelligence Rising (on which she is an exec producer) screens this weekend at CPH:DOX, and she is developing several new projects, including a Palestinian-themed doc with Alex Gibney’s Jigsaw Productions.
As for the role at DFC, Chang reiterates that she is “really committed to this industry and passionate about it. It [being part of the organisation] is a way I can do something that’s bigger than just mentoring other documentary filmmakers…I am at a certain period of my career where it is really a good thing to give back to the industry. I really believe in that…”
