Following the launch of the Documentary Association of Europe (DAE) during the European Film Market in 2020, the association held its first official general assembly on March 8, 2021.
DAE members elected advisory board members Diana el Jeiroudi (filmmaker, Germany/Syria), Adriek van Nieuwenhuyzen (IDFA, Netherlands), Charlie Phillips (The Guardian, UK), Joanna Solecka (Alpha Panda, Poland) and Biljana Tutorov (Wake Up Films, Serbia) with a remit “to shape and build a modern, international, interconnected and influential network defending and securing the place of documentary filmmaking in the audiovisual market and society more generally,” reads a DAE statement.
Co-directors Marion Schmidt and Brigid O’Shea expressed their enthusiasm for the election of the advisory board: “We could not be more happy with the democratic process that elected such a group of individuals to help secure the association and advise us and our executive board, including chairperson Julianna Ugrin, through these important first years.”
They continue: “We had an incredible turnout of 27 candidates all willing to volunteer their time and expertise to the association. We can only hope that this is the bridge between our members and the documentary community at large, to build a strong, united and truthful network…More so, we are aware that now an enormous amount of work lies between us and a sustainable framework for the network to continue. We invite all to join the association and shape a future that represents Europe in its entirety”.
Chairperson of the board Julianna Ugrin added: “DAE survived its first year of existence in an extremely challenging time thanks to the co-directors’ tireless work. Now it’s time to act on a broader level. We welcome the newly-elected advisory board members, and invite all the members to participate in this committed work in favour of documentary filmmaking, because we need each other!”
The association has already grown to more than 300 members, confirms DAE. “Working groups will now be established to tackle larger subjects facing the European and international documentary sector, and new resources for the industry were also presented during the GA. These will be available after a website relaunch scheduled for early April.”
DAE will be active at the upcoming East Doc Platform on March 16/17.
