DAE members at the Berlin 2020 launch: Samia Labidi, Tiny Mungwe and Laura Klöckner.
Photo: Lars Rummel.
“What a year to launch a new entity…but it has been a really rewarding process and we have learned a lot.” DAE (Documentary Association of Europe) co-directors Brigid O’Shea and Marion Schmidt open up to BDE about the fledgling organisation’s first year in business, and assess the year to come.
At Berlinale 2020 Brigid O’Shea launched DAE (DAE (Documentary Association of Europe) with a manifesto to represent, and lobby for, the interests of documentary and non-fiction storytelling. But within weeks COVID (or coronavirus as we used to term it) had put the stoppers on face to face festival and industry engagement, a situation which has continued into 2021. How did she and co-director Marion Schmidt react to this new reality?
“We tried to create solid and stable ground for many who felt the metaphorical carpet torn out from under them. It became our focus to unite a community of professionals looking for stability in a shaky moment,” O’Shea and Schmidt comment (by email).
“The first year was all about reaction and adjustment. We did a lot of listening, organised many meetings online from individual consultations to group hangouts and drinks to a pan-European summit of documentary groups, guilds and networks,” they continue. “We partnered with amazing organisations, from Rawiyat – Sisters in Film to Cannes Docs and International Documentary Association. We had a lot of time to collect information, feelings and read the pulse of those interacting with documentary. We gave awards and lent our expertise as much as we could, while learning as much as possible about the seismic shifts occurring around us. It was very collegial, very reciprocal and fast.”
Because of the rapidly changing situation, what they were unable to dedicate time to, let alone prioritise, was long term, strategic planning and building an infrastructure for the future. “We were very in the moment, like we think many in our industry have been, and focused on survival.”
But survive they did, which means, having shored up their legal status they are now eyeing up their first general assembly which will take place during the European Film Market in March 2021, at which point elections for the advisory board will also be held.
Despite these straitened times, experienced by most both personally and professionally, the pair are careful to avoid the “disaster narrative” offered up by the temporary closure of cinemas, reduced film/programme sales and us all having to operate or network at distance. Instead, they are “amazed” by the collective resilience of the doc community in simply keeping going.
“Being stuck in a disaster narrative of course isn’t helpful or productive,” the pair underline. “We use our meetings and communication to share as much information as we can with each other and we are excited to launch new resources this year. Our Mapping European Independent Documentary Summit in December 2020 showed us also how much willingness for collaboration there is in our community. It’s DAE’s job to channel it, not to reinvent the wheel or tell people what to do.”
Throughout 2020 the organisation served as an online hub/gathering place for industry during core doc events. Did this work well and what did they glean from this more informal set-up?
“We met with a group of members regularly, offered individual consultations and hosted hangouts for accredited guests at many film festivals,” O’Shea and Schmidt point out. “In individual consultations we were looking for common threads: ‘should I premiere my film at an online festival?’, for example, came up a lot in the first months of the pandemic. We didn’t have a crystal ball, except perhaps having an amazing network of generous professionals who shared their experience and expertise with us helped us develop common and updating in real time answers to queries and concerns.”
“We also had regular group hangouts, hosted not only by us but a really dedicated group of documentary people. Some were more formal, topic-driven groups and others were more, ‘oh my god, it’s Friday afternoon, let’s just have a coffee or a beer’. We also learned about timing: for professionals with young families, [or that] Friday afternoon is a disastrous time for group meetings, or that some dedicated people in LA would attend at 8:00 still in their pyjamas to connect with their European friends.”
“It was a great experiment and also translated into formal actions such as a peer-based mentoring group, lectures, articles and even a session on production and distribution of youth documentaries at IDFA. We are also deepening ties to other networks through these hangouts.”
Given the considerable groundwork laid down in 2020, what are the Association’s priorities in 2021 in terms of strategy, policy and targets?
“Our first priority are our two GAs planned for the first quarter of the year. Our first democratic steps for members to actively build our association. Then we are also publishing our first outcomes from the Mapping European Independent Documentary Summit that occurred in December 2020. Thirdly, we will launch an events calendar with updated information on all opportunities documentary (starting with all the shifts in the festival landscape) in March.”
“After these short-term goals, we are looking at fundraising, institutional partnerships and of course turning up at the usual places you’d expect us. This will be an insular year for DAE: we really need to focus on building a strong foundation for the Association’s future. We are open to feedback and all support. If anyone has thoughts or ideas on this, they should feel very free to email us”
“And of course: join the association!” they implore. “We’re offering great discounts and freebies all year, we are building a strong and united community and lobby. And hopefully, once we can meet again in real life, the very best networking events for you to attend in person. Until then, we will see you in zoom.”
