The Documentary Film Council: Building a new infrastructure for UK nonfiction film

纪录片委员会：为英国非虚构电影建立新的基础设施

• 批准号: AH/W011352/1
• 负责人: Steve Presence
• 金额: $ 10.27万
• 依托单位: University of the West of England
• 依托单位国家: 英国
• 项目类别: Research Grant
• 财政年份: 2022
• 资助国家: 英国
• 起止时间: 2022 至 无数据
• 项目状态: 已结题
• 来源: https://gtr.ukri.org/projects?ref=AH%2FW011352%2F1
• 关键词: Documentary; Film; Council; Building; new

This application is to support impact and engagement activities resulting from Dr Steve Presence's AHRC ECR grant, 'UK Feature Docs: Studying the Feature Documentary Film Industry' (2018-2020, from here 'UKFD'). The application proposes the creation of a new national organisation for UK documentary - the Documentary Film Council (DFC) - that has been co-conceived by the research team in collaboration with the leading organisations in the industry. The DFC will consist of a range of working groups that address the different needs and represent the different sub-sectors in the documentary industry. The specific aim of this project is to target Follow-on Funding at key elements of this proposed organisational infrastructure: the core work required to establish the DFC, and the specific activities of its Diversity, Equity and Inclusion (DEI) and Mental Health working groups. This strategic use of funds will directly support the foundations of the DFC and address two of the most pressing industry-wide issues - diversity and mental health - while also animating the DFC's broader organisational infrastructure and stimulating activity across all the DFC's proposed working groups. The UKFD project was primarily a work of cultural history that explored the evolution of documentary as a cinematic form over the past two decades. However, the project also included a more future-facing research strand that aimed to investigate the challenges faced by those working in the sector today. This strand of the project expanded well beyond its original scope following high levels of stakeholder engagement and the formation of close relationships with leading industry bodies. As the research developed, it emerged that policymakers in the film and television industries alike had, for various reasons, largely overlooked the unique needs of the nonfiction sector. As a result, UK documentary was suffering from a range of problems that stemmed from a long-standing lack of tailored support. This work thus exposed an urgent and unforeseen need for widespread policy intervention across the documentary industry.Responding to this need, the UKFD research team scaled-up their originally modest plans to explore challenges in the sector. In partnership with Doc Society - the lead body for documentary in England - and with additional 0.4 RA support, funded by UWE in recognition of this expanded remit, in April 2019 the UKFD team launched what became the largest survey ever conducted of UK documentary producers and directors. The results were published by the UKFD team in June, which in turn became the basis for an extensive sector-wide consultation in summer and autumn 2020, the results of which were published in a second major UKFD report in January 2021. This Follow-On Funding bid is the product of this unanticipated and unforeseeable research trajectory. The proposed project builds on the original UKFD research and takes it in a significant, innovative and exciting new direction. The proposed structure and reach of the DFC is without precedent in the UK screen sector. It will generate a range of creative, innovative and evidence-based interventions across the documentary industry, and will attract national and international attention, engaging a genuinely diverse range of new audiences and user communities. As evidenced by the UKFD project research, many of the issues and challenges facing the documentary industry can only be addressed via sustained and collective commitment to the problems at hand. A secure and sustainable cross-sector infrastructure is a precondition to building and maintaining such commitment. With support from the AHRC at this crucial stage, this project will provide that infrastructure to the UK documentary sector, delivering significant cultural, economic and social benefits to the sector and its audiences and ensuring the impact of AHRC-funded research is felt across the UK screen sector and beyond for years to come.

这个应用程序是为了支持Steve Presence博士的AHRC ECR赠款所产生的影响和参与活动，“英国故事片文件：研究故事片电影行业”(2018-2020，从这里开始，“UKFD”)。申请建议创建一个新的英国纪录片全国性组织-纪录片委员会(DFC)-这是由研究团队与行业领先组织合作共同构思的。DFC将由一系列工作组组成，以满足不同的需求，并代表纪录片行业的不同子部门。该项目的具体目标是针对这一拟议的组织基础设施的关键要素提供后续资金：建立DFC所需的核心工作，及其多样性、公平和包容性(DEI)工作组和精神健康工作组的具体活动。这种对资金的战略使用将直接支持DFC的基础，并解决行业范围内最紧迫的两个问题--多样性和心理健康--同时还将活跃DFC更广泛的组织基础设施，并刺激DFC所有拟议工作组的活动。UKFD项目主要是一部文化史作品，探索了纪录片在过去20年中作为一种电影形式的演变。然而，该项目还包括一个更面向未来的研究链，旨在调查当今在该部门工作的人所面临的挑战。在利益攸关方的高度参与和与主要行业机构的密切关系形成之后，该项目的这一部分远远超出了最初的范围。随着研究的发展，人们发现，出于各种原因，电影和电视行业的政策制定者在很大程度上忽视了非虚构类行业的独特需求。结果，英国纪录片遭遇了一系列问题，这些问题源于长期缺乏量身定做的支持。因此，这项工作暴露了在整个纪录片行业进行广泛政策干预的迫切和意想不到的需求。作为对这一需求的回应，英国电影发展研究所的研究团队扩大了他们最初的温和计划，以探索该行业的挑战。UKFD团队与英国纪录片的牵头机构Doc Society合作，并在UWE的资助下额外提供0.4 RA支持，以确认这一扩大的职权范围，2019年4月，UKFD团队对英国纪录片制片人和导演进行了有史以来最大规模的调查。UKFD团队于6月份发布了这些结果，这反过来又成为2020年夏秋两季广泛的全行业咨询的基础，其结果于2021年1月发布在UKFD的第二份主要报告中。这次后续的资金竞标是这一出乎意料和不可预见的研究轨迹的产物。拟议的项目建立在最初的UKFD研究的基础上，并将其带入一个重要的、创新的和令人兴奋的新方向。DFC的拟议结构和覆盖范围在英国银幕行业是前所未有的。它将在整个纪录片行业产生一系列创造性、创新性和循证的干预措施，并将吸引国家和国际关注，吸引真正多样化的新观众和用户群体。UKFD项目研究证明，纪录片行业面临的许多问题和挑战只能通过对手头问题的持续和集体承诺来解决。安全和可持续的跨部门基础设施是建立和维持这种承诺的先决条件。在这个关键阶段，在AHRC的支持下，该项目将为英国纪录片行业提供基础设施，为该行业及其观众带来显著的文化、经济和社会效益，并确保AHRC资助的研究在未来几年内在英国银幕行业乃至更远的地方都能感受到影响。